| Review | Jones Road Beauty Miracle Balm All-Over Glow

 

| Review | Jones Road Beauty Miracle Balm All-Over Glow 

Bobbi Brown's newest brain-child, Jones Road Beauty, is all about no-makeup makeup. Which really what her namesake brand was originally about. After selling Bobbi Brown to Estee Lauder, she came out with this latest brand, known for its clean ingredients and simple aesthetic. This brand is very reminiscent of Glossier, selling some very basic, natural, easy to use products for everyday use with a cool-girl model-off-duty vibe. 

This is also a great time to release a very easy and minimalist brand because people are really pulling away from the full-on glam these days because we're all stuck at home. Most of us just need a few pieces to swipe on and get on with our errands or pop into a quick zoom conference. These multi-purpose balms really caught my eye and hand be totally intrigued by their unique formula. 

The Jones Road Beauty Miracle Balm All-Over Glow retail for $38.00 USD for 50 g./1.76 oz and is available at Jones Road Beauty. This balm is packaged in a very simple white plastic tub with a twist-off lid. This minimal packaging coordinates very well with the minimalist brand aesthetic. The tub is quite large and it comes with a lot of product for the price. 

SHADES 

These balms currently come in 4 shades, one of which is completely clear. I'm sure if the brand grows in popularity, more shades will be released, as this has become quite an iconic staple product from the brand. 

01 Tawny - This shade is a rosy bronze with no shimmer and while it looks dark in the pan, the formula is quite sheer and buildable. For fair skin tones, this shade is a lovely eyeshadow or blush. The rosy tones will offer a very sun-flushed look to the skin. For medium to deep skin tones, it will work beautifully as a bronzer, cheek color, or eyeshadow. 

02 Bronze - This shade a warm golden bronze with a lot of fine gold shimmer throughout. This shade will work on all skin tones to add a warm glow to the complexion. For a deep skin tone, this shade will make a beautiful highlighter. 

Swatches from left to right: Tawny 01 (Heavily Swatched), Tawny 01 (Blended Swatch), Bronze 02 (Heavily Swatched), Bronze 02 (Blended Swatch)

Swatches from left to right: Tawny 01 (Heavily Swatched), Tawny 01 (Blended Swatch), Bronze 02 (Heavily Swatched), Bronze 02 (Blended Swatch)

FORMULA 

This unique formula has a seal over the top of the product, which makes the balms so iconic because the brand promotes "breaking the seal" as a way to show off the unique formula. The waxy seal on this product is pretty strong and takes a fair amount of pressure to break through. You can run your finger over the surface of the product but the waxy seal prevents you from really picking up any of the pigment or really the true texture of the products. Breaking the seal is the only way to truly experience this formula. 

So after you apply pressure with your finger to one area of the product, it pushes the balm up, almost like a scrapping motion. This brings forth the very emollient, slightly tacky balm. The balm is very reminiscent of vasaline, it has a thick and emollient texture with an almost-greasy feeling. I know this doesn't sound very appealing but the best way I can describe it is that it's very much like vasaline with very sheer pigment and some shimmer. This texture isn't that unusual or unique but actually reminds me of classic face gloss formulas. Expect your hair to stick to your cheeks because this formula doesn't set down and remains quite wet on the skin. 

After you break the seal

After you break the seal

After you break the seal

The formula isn't tacky, per se, but because the pigment is very sheer to start, if you build the product on the skin, it will begin to feel a bit tacky and heavy. The formula is quite slick and smooth when you apply a thin layer. Also, layering this product is kind of difficult because it is so sheer, you have to actually apply a fair amount of product to get more color onto the skin. Also, the texture of the balm is so emollient, when you try to build the product, it moves the product around creating patches. You really have to tap this product on but even then, it isn't foolproof. As you attempt to layer the product, it has a tendency to clump together as you pat it around the skin. 

This product is best used on bare skin because it removes and picks up the base products underneath it. Even then, it doesn't build up to be very impactful on the skin because the pigment is sheer. One way I did like wearing it was when I mixed these with other cream products. I like taking a little scrape of this balm and a little scrape of a cream bronzer. It mixes very well with other formulas and it creates a glossy and glowy version of the other product you mix it into. This way, you get both pigment and a glossy glow.  The application of this mixture layers very well and applied evenly across the skin. It also wears longer and better than just the balm. 

This balm is designed to be multipurpose, to be used all over the face and body. Not only can you use this balm on the cheeks but other recommendations from the brand are using it on the eyes, lips, and body. I would be wary of applying this balm everywhere before reading about the ingredients, depending on your skin. 

Due to its thicker emollient texture and tackiness, this product adheres to the skin very well and will last on the cheeks for about 5-8 hours, depending on your skin type. Applying it on the eyes, lips, and other areas will vary in wear-time. On my dry skin and in a colder winter climate (60-70 degrees Fahrenheit), I can wear this balm all day, about 8 hours, on the cheeks. On a warmer day, I can see this slipping off my skin in about 3-5 hours. 

INGREDIENTS 

What is supposed to be "special" about the Jones Road formula is that it is a "clean" formula. Clean formulations are becoming increasingly popular in the beauty industry with modern customers being warier about the ingredients that are inside their products. This may also pose an issue because some clean ingredients can react very strongly to sensitive skin types or trigger allergies.

Here is the full ingredients list from the Jones Road Beauty website: 

Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Cera Alba/Beeswax/Cire d'abeille, Castor Isostearate Succinate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Diisostearyl Malate, Caprylic/Capric/Myristic/Stearic Triglyceride, Coconut Alkanes, Mica, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Brassica Campestris/Aleurites Fordi Oil Copolymer, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) Fruit Oil, Rosmarinus Officianlis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Oil, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Silica, Tocopherol, May Contain +/-: Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Iron Oxides/CI 77491/CI 77499/CI 77492, CI 77163/Bismuth Oxychloride, CI 77891/Titanium Dioxide, CI 77861/Tin Oxide, CI 45410/Red 28 Lake

This formula seems to be made of a blend of various oils, the major ones being, castor oil, coconut alkanes (derived from coconut fatty acids), jojoba oil, and a variety of extract oils. Extracts oils can react to sensitive skin and trigger allergies. Additionally, coconut alkane has a high comedogenic scale, which means it tends to be pore-clogging. Now, I haven't had any issues with my pores clogging while using this but I am prone to getting milia around my eyes. I often avoid anything that is heavy or contains heavy oils around my cheekbones and eye area. I really only apply these balms to my cheeks and forehead. This balm can be used on the eyes but again, I personally can't use heavy oils near my eyes, so I avoid using these around my eyes. It is even suggested that this product be used all over the face as a moisturizer for a glow and I just can't imagine doing that considering the ingredients and the tacky texture of this balm. 

THE LOOK 

Here is Bronze 02 applied to the cheeks, temples, and chin. You can see this balm adds a nice warmth and glow to my warm-toned complexion.

Here is Tawny 01 added to the apples of the cheeks and temples. The Tawny 01 shade adds a nice sun-flushed look to the cheeks. On a deeper skin tone, this shade will be more suitable as a bronzer. 

Here is Bronze 02 mixed with Sol Body Face & Body Bronzing Balm in Medium, about 50/50 ratio. You can see I still get the glossy glow of the balm but I get some additional pigment from the cream bronzer. The application is also more even when mixed. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

I really wanted this balm to be something new and innovative but it really isn't. This product is essentially a multi-purpose face gloss with a clean formula. While it looks lovely on the skin and provides a very pretty glow, I don't know if it's necessarily worth it. It is marketed as a "do-it-all multi-purpose product that you will use for everything" but if I'm being honest with you (and myself), I won't be using this product for everything. It actually is a product that I think is designed to provide a very particular look and I'm not enough a minimalist to make this product a core part of my routine. 

You do get a lot of product for the price, which is fantastic but while it is recommended for use all over the face, I won't be using it in that way. My biggest concern about this formula is the heaviness of the oils used in the formulation. These heavy oils can be pore-clogging and I am already quite prone to getting milia. Also, the tacky texture of this gloss is heavy and not the most comfortable to wear. Also, because when you layer it, it can get patchy, the application process is not as effortless as is advertised. I really do enjoy using this product mixed in with other products to create a unique glossy bronzer or blush. However, I have a hard time recommending this product because I find the formula finicky to work with. This product just really isn't for everyone. If you like a really sheer barely-there look and a glossy texture for an everyday look, this may be for you but I think for most people, this is a product that won't get as much use out of this multi-use balm. 

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