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Elizabeth Arden

An Ode to the Comforting Power of Salves

From Eight Hour Cream to Aquaphor and more

When I was little, my grandmother used to take me to a diner she’d frequented as a young woman. The fries were curly and the walls calamine pink. It was the kind of place where a girl in a poodle skirt would’ve seemed right at home sipping a cherry-topped milkshake. A faded banner hung on the wall, declaring it the home of the city’s best burger. Those who knew, knew.

I tell you this story because to me, salves are a lot like that diner: unassuming and unchanged through the decades, yet legendary in status. Eight Hour Cream, Aquaphor, Skin Food… They are the beauty world’s humblest icons. 

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Egyptian MagicEgyptian Magic All Purpose Skin Cream, $51, amazon.ca

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Often, their name sounds a bit mysterious and hints at a fanciful origin story. The recipe for Egyptian Magic, for instance, is said to be modelled after a cream found in ancient Egyptian tombs. As for the famed Eight Hour Cream, it got its moniker after a mother applied the ointment on her son’s skinned knee and discovered the wound had disappeared eight hours later.

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Elizabeth ArdenElizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant, $29, elizabetharden.com

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Amusingly, Elizabeth Arden had originally intended the cream for a very different purpose: to soothe her horses’ legs. “She loved her horses and was one of the first women to own horses racing in the Kentucky Derby, which was big for the time,” explains Jenny Duong, brand manager for Elizabeth Arden. The Canadian-born cosmetic mogul would massage her thoroughbreds with the concoction, but after she saw what it did on that boy’s knee, the product was introduced for human use. The rest, as they say, is history.

To this day, Eight Hour Cream’s formula remains essentially the same as it was when Arden first whipped it up in 1930. Its main ingredients are petroleum jelly and lanolin, both occlusive substances fantastic to lock in moisture, and salicylic acid to exfoliate and smooth. The recipient of more than 100 awards, the cream has cemented a cult following with one tube sold every 30 seconds around the world.

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EucerinEucerin Aquaphor Multi-Purpose Healing Ointment, $11, shoppersdrugmart.com

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If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? “I used to work at Hermès and we would say, ‘The icons never change; the Birkin bag will never change,’ and it’s the same with Aquaphor,” says Paul Baillet, director of derma and healthcare for Beiersdorf, makers of Aquaphor. Patented in 1925, the ointment also banks on petroleum jelly and lanolin, mixing in glycerin, a humectant, and panthenol, a skin protectant. “It’s still the simple, effective formula that has been used for generations and will be used by future generations to come—that’s the beauty of it,” says Baillet.

Products like Eight Hour Cream and Aquaphor are interesting because their vocation is at once ambiguous and all-encompassing. They’re not really moisturizers or lip balms or rash creams, yet they’re all that and more. “It doesn’t matter what your skin needs are, it’s going to be there and it’s going to be effective for you,” Baillet says of Aquaphor. A cut, a burn, dryness, chapping, chafing—whatever life deals you, a good salve can solve it. 

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La Roche-PosayLa Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5, $16, laroche-posay.ca

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The advertised benefits are already plentiful, but consumers love going off label, using these products for a slew of additional purposes (some not condoned by brands’ legal departments): tattoo aftercare, makeup remover, diaper rash cream, highlighter, frizz-tamer—the list goes on.

As Duong says of Eight Hour Cream, “It’s garnered a reputation as a go-to staple because its usage is so diverse.” She posits it’s that reliability that makes consumers so loyal. Indeed, people are rarely ambivalent about their chosen ointment. Rather, these products tend to inspire patriotic pride—Aussies have PawPaw, the French rub Cicaplast—and enduring devotion. Celebrities rave about the tube or jar they always keep handy. Prince Harry is apparently an Eight Hour Cream fan, though Meghan Markle is said to favour Aquaphor. Kate Hudson loves Egyptian Magic and Julia Roberts is more of a Skin Food gal. 

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Lucas PawPawLucas PawPaw Ointment, $30 for 2 tubes, amazon.ca

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The one you pick tells a lot about who you are, too. Weleda Skin Food has an old-school crunchy hippie vibe, making it perfect for anyone who was cubing up tempeh long before it made its way into a Hollywood starlet’s salad. Eight Hour Cream, on the other hand, is for classic types, those who believe in thank-you notes and holiday cards, blush nail polish and pearl earrings. There truly is a balm for everyone.

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Honest BeautyHonest Beauty Magic Beauty Balm, $30, shoppersdrugmart.ca

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And the options weren’t all born decades ago in some quaint little apothecary, either. Jessica Alba made sure to include an Organic All-Purpose Balm in her Honest Company lineup as well as a Magic Beauty Balm in her Honest Beauty range. “It can go anywhere!” she says of the latter, a blend of sunflower seed, olive and coconut oils as well as shea butter. The brainchild of Hammam Spa founder Celine Tadrissi, Canadian skincare brand Céla markets a solid-to-liquid Miracle Multi-Use Oil that “performs miracles from head to toe—hair included” and features a stress-relieving scent.

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CélaCéla Miracle Multi-Use Oil, $45, thisiscela.com

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Each has its points of distinction, but all share the same mission: to soothe skin and protect it from all potential harm. It’s a comforting promise to make everything better. Like grandma buying you a milkshake and curly fries on a Sunday. Who couldn’t use that once in a while?

 

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