**REVIEW** Super Enriched Honey

My brother and I were having a discussion about this one the other night:

We both like honey, but he is allergic to bee stings. I know that he eats honey, but I wanted to ask if he knew about any of the other by-products (?) of honey and if he uses them. He told me that he still loves and eats honey (and even has a friend who is a hobbyist beekeeper!). He did not know about any of the stuff that is in this product: pollen, propolis, and royal jelly.

Ingredients

Each of those things is in this enriched honey, but I wanted to break down what they are and how I could use them so I did some online research:

pollen

• Bee Pollen (according to WebMD) is basically pollen that collects on the bodies of bees and might also include bee saliva. I was surprised to learn that honey, honeycomb, royal jelly, and bee venom don't contain bee pollen. It is known to be used in skin-softening products and dietary supplements. It's not safe for pregnant or nursing women and, of course, could cause severe problems for people with pollen allergies. (I'm going to mention something about that in a bit.) Other sources mention that bee pollen is rich in amino acids and protein. (Here are some more claimed benefits.) 

propolis

• Bee Propolis (and, again, I'm going to steal straight from the info source) "is a resinous material that bees use to seal small cracks and gaps in the hive (beeswax seals the larger gaps). It’s made when bees collect resin from trees and other sources and mix it with a little bit of honey." Wow. I recently saw something about propolis being used to "accelerate" hair growth.

royal jelly

• Royal Jelly, according to WebMD, "is a milky secretion produced by worker honey bees." The "royalty" comes from the fact that it's used for the queen bee.

I find all that very interesting. One thing that alarms me a little is that I hear so many people talking about treating their pollen allergies with these bee products. I'm all about going natural and earth-central for healing and sustenance, but I also believe in caution and common sense. 

My brother is going to be checking this blog and doing some of his own research, but I have no known allergies, so...

Since I do care lots about my health, I budget out each month to purchase things that might be good for me. This enriched honey was one such purchase, but I almost got this one too:

The reason I decided not to get that one is because I can manage with the enriched honey for now. Maybe I will try that extract later. This is a comparison of nutrition labels:

propolis
extract

enriched
honey

Taste

Of course, nothing good for you will work if you can't stand using it. Good thing that I like the taste of this. 

mix of smooth and gritty

It's sweet, but not sugary-sweet. I'd say it's a nutty-flavored sweetness. The texture is a bit rough and gritty-like at first contact. Not bad, just not smooth like plain honey normally is. 

In general, I try to take in at least 1 tsp, three times a day. I'll generally do this just before I drink a lot of water.

Effects

Honestly, I thought that it would be a week or so before I would feel any of the energy I've heard other people talk about. That energy came on the first time I tried it. Maybe because I was a little bit tired when I took it? I probably wouldn't have noticed the added energy, but I was tired and dragging. I took about a teaspoon and a half, then drank some water. I'm not sure exactly how long it was - maybe half an hour - before I noticed that I was back up to speed. Actually, regular honey will give me a little boost, but this was a bit more intense. A nice surprise. 

I'm only on Day 3 with this, so I'll have to come back and update on whether or not the longer term effects are different. 

Because I have used honey on my skin (as a rinse-off mask) and hair (to heal damage), I want to try this out that way. I'm still debating with myself on that. The jar cost me about $11 at the local store. I'm not sure how much of this it would take to treat my face and neck. If I do try this out as a topical beauty treatment, I will sure post about it! LOL

I think I've hit my limit for honey products. I've tried it all at this point. Well, I haven't tried the Manuka honey and probably won't be able to afford to for a while, so... Maybe I will check to see if I can find the Manuka sold in tiny quantities. Oh well.

Peace

-Free

Disclaimer: I am not, of course, a medical professional of any sort. You should communicate with your healthcare providers and practice common sense and safety when using natural products. 

**REVIEW** Joyal Beauty Timeless Skin Renewal Serum

Yes, yes, I know that I said something about taking time off from reviewing skin care products, but...

I checked out this Joyal Beauty Timeless Skin Renewal Serum (aka: Royal Jelly) because I've been wanting to try something with bee propolis for a while now. I had heard about its natural antibiotic and anti-fungal properties. What I wasn't sure about was how this serum would work on my skin.

It has a slightly slick-ish texture (not slimy), and no real odor that I could detect. Because of this texture, you don't have to apply much since the serum sort of glides over the skin. Of course, that means that this 1-oz bottle will last me for a good long while. Nice.

So that you can see how moisturizing this can be, I washed my hands and let them dry without applying lotion. Notice the result of applying just a dab of the Royal Jelly and rubbing it across the back of my hand?

Death to Ashy-ness!

This is just from a drop of the Jelly

That example of using my hand was to show you what I meant about the texture and the moisturizing effects. On your face, this works differently, depending on the climate you live in and how your skin reacts to the climate. I used it both here (dry, cold) and while visiting Arizona (currently hot and made me sweaty).

In the drier/colder climate, I tend to develop dry patches on my combo (dry/normal) type skin. When I used the Joyal Jelly, I used it underneath my regular moisturizer and foundation. After just a few days, I noticed most that my dry patches were evening out. I also noticed that my skin seemed more toned - but I don't remember if that happened in the first week or after week 2.

In AZ, which I never thought of as humid, I was sweating my makeup off like someone had sprayed water in my face. I ditched my moisturizer and just used the Royal Jelly under my foundation. Genius!

Like I said, I'm not sure at what point I noticed some firming and toning of my skin, but my family and friends (who I always recruit for help with reviews) did notice that my skin looked, as one of them put it, "more set". I didn't know what that meant until I asked  (not so nicely) for an explanation. Apparently, even without makeup, my skin looked as if I had used some of my Garnier Blur. I was told that I didn't look as "soft" around the cheeks and jawline. A compliment, I guess? Hah.

Anyway, I'm continuing to use this product to see what my results will be like after another couple of weeks. So far, I like this one. The only suggestion I have for anyone who is going to try this: depending on your climate, continue to moisturize with your usual product also until your skin evens out. There are some astringent ingredients in the product.

Speaking of ingredients, Joyal's Timeless Skin Renewal Serum contains the following:

• Organic Herbal Infusion (Excellent base to provide natural herbal protein and minerals); 
• Organic Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (Aloe Vera) (Moisturizer,Wound healing and anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant); 
• Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) (Control acne by reducing inflammation and decreasing oil; Tighten skin; Help de-puff or reduce under eye baggage; Tighten pores; Eliminate water loss; Treats sunburns; Helps ease symptoms of eczema and psoriasis); 
• Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)(Nutrient in superfood. Softening, Deeply hydrating and smoothing; Anti-inflammatory and skin-repairing effect, useful for inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema, acne and psoriasis); 
• Organic Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba Oil)( Natural moisturizer); 
• Mel (Honey) (Antibacterial,helps in fighting acne and pimples; skin cleanser; moisturizer; natural remedy to prevent wrinkles);
• Organic Resina Propoli (Propolis) (Natural antibiotic,Anti-inflammatory,Treat acne, eczema and skin disorders including shingles,Treat Skin cuts, burns, rashes, infections);
• Organic Centella Asiatica (Gotu Kola)(Antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties; Treatment for skin conditions such as psoriasis, dermatitis, and minor burns; collagen-boosting, Diminish the appearance of stretch marks and keloid scars;Toning and tightening;
•  Carbomer (Safe thickener); 
• (2s)-2-Amino-5-guanidinopentanoic Acid (L-arginine: Heal damaged skin,Reduce symptoms of burns and rashes; 
• Royal Jelly (Anti-inflammatory. Protection against skin damage due to sun exposure. Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and improves skin texture and firmness. Skin conditioning benefits, acting as a humectant to draw water to the surface of the skin from the environment to keep skin moist and conditioned);
• Melissa Officinalis (Herb antioxidant);
• Organic Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea)( Herb antioxidant);
• Ethylhexylglycerin (Skin-conditioning agent); 
• Phenoxyethanol (Safe preservative )

The label states that 72% of the ingredients are organic. If you check out the Amazon product page, you will also see the following:

Joyal Beauty Products are proudly manufactured in USA by our advanced FDA registered facility under strict GMP compliance. We are Natural Products Association alliance and only carefully choose vegan formulas, highest quality sustainable and biodegradable raw materials without animal testing. We adopt strict Quality Control Systems and every product passed the stability test. All of our products are paraben-free, alcohol-free, no artificial fragrance or dyes. Most of our products contain over 70% organic ingredients from certified source. Every Joyal Beauty product is guaranteed to meet or exceed the quality standards of similar product line of the leading national brands. If you are not completely satisfied, we will happily refund your money! 100% satisfaction guarantee!

I sort of highlighted the part about the guarantee... You can visit Joyal Beauty at their site.

Peace
--Free

DISCLOSURE:
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.