Must-Have: Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream

Okay, you need this in your life. This isn’t so much a recommendation as it is a mandate, really. Go get yourself a tube of Eight Hour cream. Like, now.
Not swayed by my bullying? Good. Haha! I’ll tell you why you need this in your life, then.

The Eight Hour Cream was formulated in 1930 by Elizabeth Arden herself.  It’s essentially a potent moisturizer that calms, protects, and hydrates the skin for up to eight hours. And it works. It really does. Its main active ingredients are petrolatum and vitamin E, but it has other things like lanolin and salicylic acid in there too. I use it mainly as a lip balm, but it can be used as a moisturizer on any dry patches you may have on your body. 
There are many ways to use the Eight Hour cream, actually. The official website lists eight:

1. SKIN SAVER – Protect skin from drying wind, central heating and air conditioning. This skincare multi-tasker soothes, restores, calms and helps relieve minor skin irritations, including roughness, redness, chapped, cracked or dry skin.

2. SHINE FACTOR – Found in top makeup artists’ kits worldwide, this all-in-one beauty tool adds shine to eyelids, cheeks, lips and legs.

3. EYE OPENER – All it takes is a dab to smooth eyebrows and create a perfectly defined arch that will stay in place all day.

4. CUTICLE CONDITIONER – Soften rough, dry cuticles to keep them smooth, supple and beautifully manicured.

5. TREAT FOR FEET – Smooth rough heels and soften soles for barefoot beauty in every season.

6. AFTER-SUN SOOTHER – With its legendary soothing and moisturizing benefits, it’s the ideal after-sun treatment to relieve minor sunburn and calm dry, irritated sun-exposed skin.

7. FLIGHT TOOL – Flying can leave skin looking and feeling dry and uncomfortable. Pack this intensive hydrator to boost skin’s in-flight moisture level wherever you go.

8. LEG WEAR – Great for an après shave or après wax treatment. This classic cream calms irritation, reduces redness and leaves legs super-smooth and silky-soft.

Except for number 3, I’ve used the cream in all such situations. It’s a life-saver when I’m travelling to cold countries. When I’m just at home, it has a permanent place on my bedside table so I can use it before I go to sleep. I had this in stick form (looks like a normal lipbalm) and that’s what I carried around in my handbag until I ran out of it. I will be getting that next time I’m at an airport for sure!
I bought my tube in Sasa (HK) some time last year because they sell value sets in Sasa. The set I got included the Original Eight Hour Cream, a small Eight Hour Cream Intensive Moisturizing Body Treatment, and an Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick (SPF 15) which I already used up completely. It was a really great deal and most Duty Free shops ar airports offer similar packages, so look out for those if you can. The Eight Hour cream alone sells for 1,450.00 Php locally. At Duty Free you can score a tube for approximately 900.00 Php and in value sets for the same amount, more or less.

The cream itself is very thick and is a funny, deep orange colour. You only need the smallest amount of this to use as a lip balm. What I have on my finger in that photo is enough for use on both of my elbows already. It’s not quickly absorbed because it is so thick, so if you do use it on your body, use it only at night. As a lip balm, you will want to let it sit overnight or if you’re using it before lipstick, allow the cream to settle for ten minutes to get the best absorption. It is honestly the best lip balm there is out there and you get so much of it (50mL!) that it will take you a very long time to finish a tube if you only use it as a lip balm.

Those who don’t like the Eight Hour cream usually don’t like it because of the way it smells. It has a strong artificial fragrance that I admit I’m not partial to either but I’ve gotten used to it. It smells a bit like a medicated cream. However (and most people don’t know this) there is a fragrance free version of the Eight Hour Cream that sells for the exact same price and in the exact same size but without the medicated odour. You could get that instead. :)

Recently the local blogger world was enamored by the Lucas Papaw ointment. I tried it and it made my lips bleed. Yup, my lips were bleeding. Needless to say, I was mortified. I guess I’m allergic to something in there and only the EA Eight Hour Cream saved me from those painful blisters I got from trying out the Papaw ointment. If you had the same kind of reaction to Lucas Papaw, you might have better luck with this wonder cream! I know I love it!