Product Review: Jones Road Beauty Miracle Balm

Famed makeup artist, book author, and beauty entrepreneur Bobbi Brown shocked the beauty world when she stepped down from her self-created eponymous brand in 2016. But as of 2022, Ms. Brown is back making her mark in makeup with her new Green Beauty line called Jones Road. The line, like Bobbi's former creation is much focused on classic, effortless, simple makeup looks that show off, as Bobbi once said, "the woman behind the makeup"." But Jones Road captures the essence of this aesthetic signature while emphasizing the importance of realizing what ingredients are best for our skin and which might be harmful and getting those ingredients as close to nature as much as possible. I notice in this line (while predominantly being a color cosmetic range) there are quite a few skincare- makeup hybrid products featured as well as a little bit of dedicated skincare. But here, the cornerstone seems to be the intersection of these two worlds coming together, and nowhere is there more of a crossover between Green Beauty skincare and natural-based, quality makeup in Jones Road Beauty than in their Miracle Balm.

The quintessence of "skincare meets makeup", Miracle Balm for me is one part added moisture layer and gentle glow giver. Initially, I thought this product might serve as a moisturizer with a glowy finish, taking on the role of a face balm like Earthwise Beauty's Yasuni, for example, or even Jones Road Beauty's own, Hippie stick, which are much more like purely solidified skincare oils that when spread on the skin are a super skin-supporting and barrier protective occlusive moisturizer. However, with continued use, I've come to realize that Miracle Balm is, at least for my purposes, much more of a makeup product with a variety of great skincare ingredients. Key ingredients here include occlusive coconut-derived extracts, unctuous castor seed oil giving it a rich texture and antimicrobial and oil balancing jojoba seed oil and antioxidant and deeply moisturizing sea buckthorn oil to name a few. There is also a small herbal component to this formula of rosemary and sweet orange oil that also gives it a subtle interesting herbal smell, and though I am not usually into my makeup having much of a smell (naturally-derived or otherwise) this is not strong and has come to be something I enjoy. This quality and its definitely massage-worthy texture and moisturizing impact are the things that make me think of skincare and have me feeling like I am putting something beneficial for my skin on my face.

But these things are secondary to the beautiful, gentle glow it gives. It is not sparkly or overly "Tin Man" shiny in the slightest, but truly gives the appearance of healthy, well-hydrated, and balanced skin, but without looking greasy, even though the formula itself is on the thicker side, and because of that, a little will go a long way, especially if you are prone to getting extra oiliness throughout the day. But what's most impressive to me about Mracle Balm's wear (both for me and the color I have and other people I've seen wearing the other shades in the promo photos or reviews on YouTube is how all the colors seem to have compatibility with such an array of skin tones and even the more distinctively colorful ones (per the wearer's skin tone) seamlessly meld with the skin, looking like a natural glow or the prettiest of born-from-with in watercolor flushes, shadowy contours, or subtle sun-hit bronzing (depending on the shade used and how) that all seems to be just one with the skin.

There are eight shades currently available in the Miracle Balm, and with its natural dewiness and skin compatible blend, all of the colors are apt to work well for any skintone. However, how each color will read and best function will depend largely on both your skintone and undertone. I have the lightest shade, au naturel, which is a beigey light mauve shade and works perfectly for me for a barely their almost skintone-matching gloss. On someone with any deeper of a skintone or possibly of a warmer undertone than mine, the color will either serve as much more pronounced highlight or perhaps a cooler more pastel blush shade. The other shades include Dusty Rose, which is a pinkier and darker version of au naturel, making more of a true blushier shade that can be layered to adjust to one's skintone, Flushed (a coral pink that will likely read as a blush rather than a highlight on almost anyone, especially with layering, for a very warmed sun-flushed look) Golden Hour (a peachy bright yellow gold copper that really can alternate between blush, bronzer, and highlight depending on your skintone and where and how much you apply). Magic Hour (a more neutral true glowy light bronze that offers the same versatility probably as Golden Hour), Bronze (a browner bronze that appears to be slightly more matte than a lot of the other shades that also seems quite neutral in undertone), Tawny (a deep rosewood that would be a great cherry flush on light, medium, or deep skins or a great contour for those with redder undertones and deeper skin), and Sunkissed (a deep chocolate kiss with copper glimmer that would as well as a blush as it does highlighter or bronzer depending on your coloration). As you can hopefully see from my descriptions, these colors are very well-thought-out and seem very versatile as to not only who they can work for but how each individual can play with them to get different effects. And the lovely, spreadable formula is a dream to tap on and play around with on the skin. For application and blending, both, though, I do think fingers are best here. A brush doesn't seem to suit the thickness of this formula in getting it to spread, and though I haven't tried it with a sponge, a sponge might hold on to too much of the formula and interfere with the evenness of application.

I have really grown to love and appreciate the mystery that is the Miracle Balm. Is it as much of a skincare product as I originally thought? No. But it has become a well-used and loved and respected piece of makeup in my collection that can do a lot to perk up my skin in the most natural-seeming of ways. I would be interested in trying some of what would be more blush shades for my skin (such as Flushed) and expand on my liking of these from there. But I definitely think picking up one to try for any makeup lover would be a real treat! A full-size Miracle Balm costs $38, and that will get you a huge 1.76 oz tub. This is huge for most cream makeup items out there, and since the smallest dab will do for most applications, it will likely last you a long time. You can find it to purchase, as with all Jones Road Beauty items on their site, JonesRoadBeauty.com.