As promised in my skin care arsenal post, this is my review on the highly-raved Egyptian Magic Cream, or widely known as EMC. It is posted under “Skincare Arab” in our beloved forum.
I first read about this cream around last year in the forum, and quickly googled about it. It is an all-purpose cream that’s been raved by Madonna and Kate Hudson as their beauty secret. Or so I’ve read. I bought one right away and was quite shocked when the thing arrived.
The jar was far from looking convincing, and almost got myself a headache knowing that it has cost me almost Rp. 400,000! It looked more like cheap body-scrub jars I could easily buy from the supermarkets. Especially after reading the words on it: LordPharaoh ImHotepAmonRa • CEO & Founder of Egyptian Magic. What the …?!
The ingredients were quite convincing, though. Olive oil, beeswax, honey, pollen, royal jelly and propolis extract. All natural.
On to the content. The cream looked similar to petroleum jelly, only slightly more yellow. No unpleasant smell, but it felt sooo oily. I couldn’t imagine how oily my face would be wearing this, since my skin type was already oily. So I decided to share this with other FD members and was left with only 1/4 of the jar.
I soon learned that the cream was very useful for household needs. My son gets eczema pretty easily and I tried using this cream to heal it. Works like a charm! My husband has super-dry and cracked skin, especially around his fingers and ankles. Very unattractive, eh? :p This cream works for him, too! Now, he even keeps a small jar at the office, just in case he needs it. It also works amazingly for mosquito bites (reduces redness n itch), rashes, cuts and new scars. I did try using it as hair moisturizer, based on great reviews I’ve read, but it was a total disaster! My hair was super sticky, like it was glued together, and it was THE worst hair-day of my life. Turned out I was using it wrong. Someone in the thread explained that it was supposed to be applied a few hours before washing the hair. But I have never tried it. Still traumatic, I guess.
I’ve only started wearing it on my face last December. I was running out of my 1/4 jar share, so I ordered another one from eBay. I still can’t bear wearing this under my makeup during the day, so I only wear this at night, after my Hada Labo lotion.
Just take a pea-size of the product and rub it in your palms to form oil. Then rub it over your entire face and neck. It did feel oily. Still oily the next couple of mornings after use, but that changed after about a week. My skin would feel soft in the morning and really supple! I do not notice any brightening effect, just better skin texture. Knowing the benefit of propolis extract and beeswax, I do believe EMC can provide anti-aging result in a long run. You just need to be patient before seeing it. 🙂
I am also currently using EMC to help reduce my son’s chicken pox scars, but I got the 2nd jar a bit too late, the scars were already turning dark. So I wouldn’t count on it too much.
I noticed there are so many local sellers selling this product lately, but I honestly can’t tell which one sells the original. Yes, there are so many fake EMCs out there, especially since the texture looks very similar to petroleum jelly and most sellers offer sample sizes -which makes it much more difficult to check for authenticity-.
Some tips for those who intend to buy EMC:
- If it’s too cheap, you need to suspect it. Even on eBay, all reputable sellers put the same price tags, $29.95. Anything cheaper than that looks suspicious to me.
- The jar is sealed with some kind of styrofoam layer.
- The color is slightly more yellow than petroleum jelly, due to propolis extract as part of the ingredients.
- The surface should be smooth and untouched, kind of like MAC paint pots, when you first open it.
- Expiry date is printed underneath the jar.
- Better buy a full jar! It’s very easy to fake a sample. Even if you don’t end up liking it on your face, you can use it for other purposes.
- The product will smell something like propolis if you’re familiar with its smell.
The benefits I’ve personally proven:
- Skin moisturizer
- Skin rash
- Eczema
- Mosquito bites
- Makeup remover
- Chapped lips
- Cracked skin
- Paper or knife cuts
- Red acne scars
Here are some other benefits mentioned by EMC sellers (please note, these are not taken from the official website, so I wouldn’t blame the product if it doesn’t live up to these expectations):
- skin moisturizer
- makeup remover
- diaper rash
- skin rash
- clear up foot odor
- chicken pox
- stretch marks
- athletes foot
- sun and wind moisture protection
- Note:NOT A SUNSCREEN
- aromatherapy
- essential oils
- fungus
- hemorrhoids
- vaginal moisturizer
- vaginal cream
- cold sores
- chapped lips
- dry skin
- itchy skin
- cracked skin
- ashy skin
- massage lotion
- massage oil
- shaving cream for legs and face
- after-shave cream for legs and face
- relief from razor bumps
- dry scalp
- itchy scalp
- “hair tamer”
- hot oil hair treatment
- surgical incisions
- skin irritations
- eczema
- scars
- tattoo
- Pets/animals: dogs, cats, horses (heh?)
- helps to prevent pregnancy stretch marks
