The Bloomeffects Royal Tulip Nectar: An honest assessment

This blog post was originally written and curated by The Beauty Gypsy. All imagery, artwork and words belong to The Beauty Gypsy. The original post can be found here! 

Though there are currently four products in the range, for me the most intriguing has been the Bloomeffects Royal Tulip Nectar. It’s a honey-like salve that is described as a "healing ointment-to-serum, quench-it-all hydrator that soothes, nourishes and helps repair the skin’s barrier."

And so I ordered a jar.

To be honest, it wasn’t love at first sight. The pale blue glass jar turned out to be beautiful but the product itself looked like gooey orange marmalade. And with skin that clogs at the mere sight of anything heavy or sticky, this didn’t feel like a good idea.

It sat on my table for close to a week before my curiosity and absolute love for tulips (I spent a major part of my childhood in Amsterdam) overcame the hesitation.

It was as gooey and ointment-like as I had suspected but transformed into a smooth, silky texture when it met my skin. And it sort of heated up as I massaged it in – in a nice, comforting kind of way.

Several reviewers say that it converts into a serum on contact with skin but I found it far too heavy for that nomenclature. It’s more like glycerin mixed into an oil (glycerin is actually the first ingredient listed on the label).

The first time I treated it like a normal moisturiser and came away with a pillow streaked with goo. This is not a product that absorbs quickly into skin. It took me a few tries to perfect the amount (a pea-sized blob) but even with the bare minimum, it takes a good couple of hours to sink in completely. And yes, it feels greasy.

Which is actually a good thing according to the research I am reading, as this helps it create a moisture barrier across the skin to help seal in all the antioxidants, humectants, natural enzymes amino acids and Vitamin C.

The Bloomeffects Royal Tulip Nectar: The bottomline

I would definitely not use the Royal Tulip Nectar as a moisturiser – it’s far too heavy for that. I also wish it sank into skin faster. And I wouldn’t recommend it for someone with super-oily skin.

BUT it works beautifully as a sleeping mask, which is how I use it about twice a week now – adding on days when my skin feels super-dry or needs some extra cocooning (like after using an acid-based mask or peel). And the next morning, my skin feels smoother, plumper and has a glow that defeats all the nights of junk food and lack of sleep that the Holiday season brings in its wake.

It’s a great product to calm down sun damaged, wind chapped, sensitised (terrific to layer over retinol) or stressed skin. Informed beauty blogger friends tell me that it works really well for their eczema.

And I love that it’s free of any fragrance (tulips don’t have much of a scent and the Royal Tulip Nectar smells a bit like two-day-old flower pulp), parabens, sulphates, phthalates and synthetic dyes.

It’s also got great environmental cred. Firstly, it helps put all those discarded tulip flowers to good use. Additionally, everything is plastic-free (products come in fully recyclable glass jars), and packed in 100% recycled cardboard and FSA-certified paper, with soy-based inks for printing. I like a brand that goes into the smallest details where sustainability is concerned.

So, in short, would I buy it again? YES. It’s totally worth the $65 price tag.