Beauty rescue: Rosebud Salve
Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 7:37AM In 1895, an enterprising man called Dr. George F. Smith set up the Rosebud Perfume Co. to sell a homegrown balm that fast became a hit among his neighbors. He was able to grow the business by setting up a mail order and door to door sales system that not only sold the trademark Rosebud Salve but also perfumes and aftershaves. At one time, he had 70,000 salespeople going door to door to sell this popular product!
More than 100 years later, the Rosebud Salve (P420) is now a favorite among bloggers and celebrities like Natalie Portman, Eva Longoria, and Beyonce to name a few. This petroleum-based product is infused with oils, smells of roses, and is housed in a vintage-looking tin. It can be used as a lip balm, but it's really for any patch of our body that needs some TLC!
The Rosebud Salve is just okay as a lip balm (thin and moisturizing vs its greasiness and slight waxy texture). But you aren't really maximizing this if you just use this on the lips! It can be utilized several ways, but IMHO it is the best at reviving dry nails and cuticles. Do you have how dehydrated and chalky your nails look like after wearing nail polish for a while? Well this salve can give back the healthy glow of your nails, and give them some shine too. Actually instead of using clear nail polish, just use this to get the shine and the boost of moisture.
Here are other great uses for this product!
- Want long lasting lip color that doesn't feel like it was painted on? Grab your fave lip liner and line your lips. No need to be precise as you will blend the color properly using this balm (go for a brush or just your fingers). I think a red lip liner will work best with this as red stains well.
- Apply the Rosebud Salve on severely dry patches of skin like elbows, back of the feet, palms or even on scaly patches where eczema or psoriasis may be healing. I have a patch of eczema on my hand and have been applying this balm regularly. Where it was painful and cracking up, now it's smooth and on its way to normal!
- Are your undereyes and lids looking saggy? You can apply this at night to get a bit of suppleness back by morning.
- You can use this balm as a highlighter as it has a glossy/shiny look on skin. Apply sparingly on cheekbones, brow bones, and decolletage to capture the light.
- It's a quick hair fix. If you suddenly encounter a strong blast of wind or if you're just naturally frizzy, warm this up on your hands and apply it on your hair. I wouldn't recommend that this to take the place of proper hair serum, but if you don't have any on hand this is a good quick solution.
- You can also put this where your shoes, clothes, underwear, or bikini chafe on your skin to reduce friction.
Rosebud Salve vs good ol' petroleum jelly
Some people say that Rosebud Salve is just overpriced petroleum jelly. It has a "petrolatum base" after all! You can certainly use petroleum jelly the way I suggested you use Rosebud Salve. There is a difference though. RS is lighter, smells better (for me as I like roses), and is somewhat absorbed by the skin due to its oil content. Petroleum jelly tends to sit on skin and doesn't truly dry up. RS sort of dries up, which is good if you don't like leaving greasy tracks all over the place.
It's a big tin can. They don't say how much product is in it but it looks a lot.
Recommendations
The Rosebud Salve is a damn useful thing to have in your bag, period. Again you can just use Vaseline and call it a day, but if you want the vintage flair, the rose smell, and the kick of owning something Natalie Portman loves, then go for Rosebud Salve. It's the same reason we like Starbucks more than, say, instant coffee. It's cooler.
Oh if you're iffy about double-dipping in a jar, go for the tubed salves instead! I have the Strawberry one - I don't like the smell so much but it works and it's more hygienic.
Verdict
Love this stuff. I always keep the tin in my desk and the tube in my bag. :) Very useful for beauty emergencies! You can purchase it online from http://www.rosebudsalve.com.ph, the local distributor of RS. It is also available at the following retail locations:
SUESH Makeup Toolkit Showroom and Studio
34 Wilson Street, Greenhills, San Juan
Open, Mondays-Saturdays, 11am-7pm
Tel # 8068013
Mobile: 09178942625
SUESH ALABANG TOWN CENTER
Lower Ground Floor, The Gardens
MARGOT's BOUTIQUE
2nd floor Shoppesville Shopping Center, Greenhills, San Juan
Reader Comments (17)
You can also use that to prevent pulling skin when wearing tight (hehe) or new shoes :)
I first heard this from Michelle Phan, who loves this stuff. I wonder how this compares to Kiehl's?
Whoops, heard OF this...
A friend of mine used to sell this but I never knew that it had multiple purposes. Thanks for reviewing this. This reminds me of L'occitane
Whoa! You have eczema? How do you treat it? I've been suffering from it (on & off) since I was in gradeschool (I'm 21 now).. Please help! :]
@ManilaJen Yeah Michelle Phan loves this stuff too. :) It's a good thing that it's already available here. :)
Wow! This product seems amazing! And it has lots of uses too. :) Also affordable! :) An expensive petroleum jelly? It does not look like one. (With your review, I can say it's a lot better!)
What a cute-looking product! Sounds really useful too. Might get this mainly for the packaging, haha! <3
The fact that it's multi-purpose, can be used on my undereyes, and can be a subtle highlighter convinced me that I should have this in my vanity kit. Natalie Portman is actually one of my girl crushes, so I'd definitely have a kick out of owning a tube of this in the future. :P
I've got the Rosebud Salve in Mint Rose, and I like it for use on my lips, but I think I may try it for all these other uses :D
Gotta love multipurpose products! :) for a very versatile product, I think the price tag is pretty worth it
Haven't heard of this before.. Uhhh?? So basically its just petrolleum jelly packed in a pretty tin?
That's a LOT of uses for one product! :D I don't know why but this is the first time I've heard/read about it. haha But from the looks of it, this is definitely worth checking out. I wish I'd get the chance to sample it first. The places that sell it are sadly far from me :(
definitely one of my favorites! I love Kiehl's as a base before I put on any lipcolor as it makes my lips super soft but this one is an all-around dry patch savior! I have very dry cuticles and applying this salve on them overnight does the trick.
also, I'm not sure if they are still available in Iora boutiques but that's where I got mine.
I get my rose salve from Rose & Co Apothecary but I'm going to ask my mom to bring home some of Smith's when she next goes on a business trip. :P
I have seen this a lot from other blogs as well and never really paid attention to it. this does sound amazing. I just use my Palmer's Cocoa Butter with vitamin E Swivel Stick... It is also a multipurpose product, very effective too. It is for Marks, Blemishes, Rough & Dry Skin, and soothes chapped lips as well. and the best part is it only cost Php178 at Rustan's ^_^
Wow... And I thought I was the only one raving about this product! Mine's in Minted Rose, and I have it for quite a long while now. It's true what you called it--- a "beauty rescue". It was my instant moisturizer, both for my skin and my chapped lips, my natural lip gloss over my tinted lips, and my emergency makeup remover when my a part of my makeup goes haywire. Usually it's a concealer problem, and this balm is my instant partner in fixing it. It has earned a permanent stay in my kit, and I never leave home without it. I also love it on my lips--- it doesn't have that stinging sensation, unlike other mint balms. As a matter of fact, it's extremely soothing.
I didn't know you can use it on your hair! I must try that one sometime. My unruly hair always gives me problems, and I'll see if my Rosebud Salve can really help me out! THANK YOU THANK YOU for this post! I never knew what else Rosebud could do until now! Thank you! ^w^