Burt's Bees Radiance Night Creme: Makes Me Feel Like the Queen Bee, Alright

Oh my heavens.  It IS a trifecta and Burt has earned himself some brand loyalty from my little corner of the consumer world. 

I’ve been using Burt’s Bees Radiance, Night Creme with Royal Jelly for three weeks now, and I LURV this stuff.  And because of its efficacy, I’m thinking I may have to invest heavily in Royal Jelly futures, for I do believe it may be the miracle potion of the future.  Royal Jelly, according to the cute packaging this little pot of gold’s all dressed up in, "is one of the most powerful nutrients found in nature.  Fed to the queen bee, Royal Jelly contains 8 essential amino acids, vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12 C, D & E along with Niacin and Folic Acid.  It is the reason she lives 40 times longer and is 50% bigger than worker bees." 

Not that I wish to be 50% bigger than the males of my species, let me make that clear.  Seriously, especially not up here in the Midwest, okay?

But the rest intrigued me when I read it, so I dug a little further to find out more about this little gem of a compound.  From the PureRoyalJelly.com website, I learned that

"… although royal jelly has been traditionally known to prolong youthfulness and improve the skin beauty, evidence indicates that this substance increases energy, alleviates anxiety, sleeplessness, moodiness, memory loss, and bolsters the immune system."

Well OKAY, then.  But I’m gonna be needing the industrial sized bucket instead of this little 2 oz. jar, because after Mama puts a nice thick coating of this stuff on her face, she’s going to whip up a royal jelly milkshake.  Seriously though, I could go on and on about the merits of royal jelly.  Did you also know it packs a hefty dose of calcium, copper, iron, phosporous, potassium, silicon and sulfur***** Minerals are great for skin, too!   

I’ve never used a night creme before.  Up until a few years ago, putting a moisturizing product of any type was a hand-engraved invitation to disaster – I’d be a broken out, oily zit farm within days of applying even the lightest facial emollient.  But lately, well … time’s changed my teeny-bopper-like "oily T-zone" complexion into the ever-dry, line-prone hide of middle-age.   And I’ve been using good old Eucerin ® Calming Creme at night for about 6 months with great results, but this Radiance Night Creme caught my eye because I’m looking to find some all-natural products to add to my repertoire.  Y’all may be becoming painfully aware of my in-bred mistrust of the -alides, -alates and -esthers.

The first time I applied Radiance, it felt a little sticky on my skin.  I didn’t love that feeling.  I loved even less than that the mild stinging and burning that began within 5 minutes of application and lasted about 30 minutes.  Yeah, night time***** And stinging***** Not a great combo.  Not that I particularly love stinging in the light of day, you understand.  But the next night, staring down the barrel of having wasted an outlandish-for-me $17 bucks and change on 2 oz. of worthless bee colostrum, I dared to try again. 

And this time there was no stinging, and the stickiness went away within minutes.  The creme has very little scent at all – I’d liken it to the scent of that zinc oxide goop my Mom used to slather on my nose back when she’d cart my sister and me up to the local community center pool of a summer afternoon.  You know, just… there.  Neither good nor bad, just plain there.  It has a hint of a sheen to it, which I’m assuming is the Royal Jelly powder.  Anything that great has to sparkle, doesn’t it***** Like me.  Hee hee hee.

After a week of use, I honestly began to see a noticeable difference in my skin of a mornin’.  It became really, REALLY smooth and soft, and it does seem more radiant and younger-looking, too.  No, come on.  Stop giggling.  Seriously.  It does.  I was skeptical.  I fully expected failure and disappointment.  But there is no denying what I’m seeing in the mirror, particularly after two MORE weeks of use.  I’ve even taken to rubbing a little dollop into the backs of my hands at night, too, because they seem to be aging faster than anything else. 

Well, other than my poor feeble little brain, but then that’s why I’m considering those milkshakes.