My path crossed with H is for Love Bara Balm through thoughtfully curated Boxwalla beauty subscription box. It was accompanied with Lip Glacé and One Love Organics Love Springs Eternal Serum. At this point, I was in a new territory, with an open mind and willing to try the new lush balm.

The brand claims that BARA Balm is our answer to skin in need. Sometimes skin needs a little extra to soothe and protect.  BARA is formulated to take moisturizing to another level. Each ingredient has been chosen to soften skin, absorbing quickly, leaving your face with an ultra sheer layer of protection against environmental assault. BARA feels light, and has a delightfully sweet and uplifting scent. 

In the spirit of full disclosure of course of events, I must say the balm was initially formulated with Shea butter however I experienced the Shea Butter curdling (see pic). This didn’t imply that the product had gone bad/rancid or ineffective or would perform any differently. This is as a result of inherent nature of Shea butter. However it does impact overall user experience. I contacted Bee, the gorgeous soul and artisan of this brand and she advised the Shea has been replaced with Beeswax (no more curdling) and user experience elevated. Yes please!

Website was updated to include this verbiage: We have chosen to remove shea butter from the BARA formulation. Because of this, the texture of BARA stays consistent through temperature fluctuations, and even those prone to skin congestion can reap the benefits of this little pot of sunshine. BARA now has a smoother texture, and the tantalizing scent remains the same. 

Let’s get into the balm review starting with the ingredient listing:

Jojoba oil*, Macadamia nut oil*, Apricot kernel oil*, Pomegranate seed oil*, Tamanu oil*, Beeswax, Sea buckthorn oil*, Mixed tocopherols (Non-GMO Vitamin E), Marshmallow root*, Calendula*, Chamomile*, Lemon balm*, Essential oils of: Chinese rose, Vanilla ‘total’ CO2, Frankincense, Lavender*

*Our products are made in small batches and with ingredients of the highest quality. Because of this, slight fluctuations in color will occur from batch to batch even though ratios stay consistent.

The core of the formulation is simple with some powerful ingredients. With primary oil as Jojoba oil, which is wonderful particularly for combination and congestion prone skins as this oil has similar molecular structure to skin’s sebum. In addition, the botanical infusions (where the botanicals are soaked in oils to extract all benefits in the oil) of Marshmallow root, Calendula, Chamomile, and Lemon balm in the sun elevates the performance of this balm and contributes to deep golden yellow colour. The scent of this balm is comforting, soothing and calming on another level. In most simplest ways I could describe the scent as grounding Rose (Chinese Rose) with Vanilla. Has a certain floral earthiness and sweetness.  One sniff from the pot and you know you want to crawl in the jar and protect the skin from the world.

Housed in a typical miron glass pot, this balm is soft upon touch and instantly melts in the skin. It absorbs almost immediately, but it’s easy to go overboard with this balm (out of pure greediness). In terms of performance and results; it thoroughly protects, nourishes. It moisturises the skin’s surface dryness extremely well. In my experience this balm is a saviour to a skin in need.

HHW.com

xx