My latest “I’ve got plenty” post features a universal obsession…lip balms! They’re so addictive, most people can’t leave the house without a tube. Just writing this post makes me feel like I need to reapply some on my lips – do you feel the same?
I don’t think I have TOO many lip balms (although I do own doubles of the honey ones). Here are my thoughts on the ones I own:
1) The Body Shop Raspberry Born Lippy Lip Balm ($6)
This was a nostalgia-driven purchase – in my high school, this was THE gloss to use. The balm has a glossy texture and glides on easily, coating my lips with a rosy flush of color. Smells like raspberry candy – slightly oversweet for my non-teenaged taste. Doesn’t work well with my lips – dries it out. Within 2 hours my lips were majorly peeling and I had to apply another lip balm to soothe them. Will not repurchase.
2) EOS Balm in Sweet Mint ($3.29)
There was a lot of hype surrounding these balms when they first came out (due to their unique shape and adorable packaging) followed by backlash as many bloggers claimed they weren’t anything special. This spherical minty balm is fun to apply – you can get both lips in 1 swipe. It feels creamy and tingly but doesn’t leave any residue on your lips. I would say that these help keep your lips in good condition, but are not AMAZING – especially if your lips are severely chapped. On the plus side, these are 95% organic and paraben/petroleum/pthalate-free. Not a must-have.
3) Burts Bees Beeswax Lip Balm ($3.99)
The original Burts Bees lip balm comes in old-school tin packaging. It has a very solid consistency and requires a lot of effort to get the product on my lips – I usually end up with an exfoliating effect as I apply it (due to repeated rubbing). It leaves my lips feeling soft but sticky and waxy. The high peppermint oil content makes my lips feel tingly – but once the tingling wears off, my lips feel dry and I need to reapply the balm – which I don’t like. Will not repurchase.
4) Korres Wild Rose Lip Butter ($12)
I don’t know if I chose the wrong version, or I received a bad batch – but I’m surprised at how much love the Korres Lip Butters get (especially the Jasmine version) when my one is such a dud. It applies a beautiful glossy flush of color – but within 5 minutes my lips start peeling – it’s not pretty. I may try the Jasmine one some day – but will not repurchase this Wild Rose version – my lips just can’t take it!
5) Nivea Milk & Honey ($2.99)
This cheerful yellow balm glides on easily. It immediately hydrates my lips leaving them glossy and healthy-looking. The effects last a long time – my lips still feel moisturized up to 2 hours later (if not more), so I don’t feel the need to constantly reapply. It also immediately heals any dryness or peeling reaction from using other lip products. My favorite lip balm – if I could only own 1 balm, this would be it. Will ALWAYS repurchase!!!
6) Burts Bees Honey Lip Balm ($2.99)
My favorite balm before I discovered the Nivea honey balm. This is a good basic balm with a pleasant natural scent. It softens your lips and leaves them looking healthy and soft, but not overly glossy. It is MUCH better than the original Burts Bees balm in the tin. Although this is not as rich or moisturizing as the Nivea balm, I like this because the ingredients are more natural – this is the balm I use on my kids. Will ALWAYS repurchase!!!
7) Elizabeth Grant Moisturizing Stick ($12)
This watermelon-scented lip balm looks and feels like a lipstick. It goes on smoothly and immediately makes my lips feel softer, but the moisturizing effect doesn’t last too long (around 30 minutes to an hour). It’s non-glossy texture makes it a good lipstick base, but it’s not an essential product. Will not repurchase.
8) Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 ($7)
A cult-favorite, this balm softens lips and leaves them hydrated for a long time. However, while it’s good, it’s not too exciting: it looks and feels like a lighter version of Vaseline – I might as well just use Vaseline instead. Not a must-have..
NEXT ON MY SHOPPING LIST:
Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm($7.50) / Nuxe Reve de Miel($19.50) / Smith’s Rosebud Salve($6)
IN MY DREAMS (check out the price tag!!!)
LATE ENTRANT:
This year’s free Birthday gift for Sephora Beauty Insiders is the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Duo($22). Since this gift is so FANTASTIC, I was paranoid that Sephora would run out before my birthday month (in July). Lucky for me, I was recently sent a set by the gorgeous and kind Skylette – thanks sweetie! I’ve only used it for a couple of days so far – but it may be my new favorite balm. It glides on smoothly and is very hydrating. It has a beautiful natural scent and the rose version adds a lovely flush to my lips. This gift was a smart move from Sephora – I’m sure there are a lot of FRESH converts waiting to purchase the full-size once their minis are finished – including me and my sister!
Which lip balm works best for you?
DISCLAIMER: I purchased all these items myself except for the Elizabeth Grant Stick (came in my Glossybox) and the Fresh Sugar Duo (was a gift).
I have tried most of those lip balms they are great. I still can't believe I have not tried burts bees.Great post.
Can't go wrong with Burts Bees – I love the honey one, but I know the tinted/shimmer ones are very popular too!
i'm new to your blog and i LOVE this idea of "i've got plenty of…" posts. thanks for all the reviews on chapsticks/balms. i carry a ton of glosses w me but only burts bees and softlips are my chapsticks. they're my go-to and have repurchased them for years now. have you tried the softlips? the Mentholatum feels amazing.
Hi! Thanks for commenting – I've been loving your blog ever since Veronika linked to your curling tutorial (a WHILE back!) :-)I used softlips in high school – probably time to try it again!
**not new as in today, but newish and i've enjoyed reading 😀
I am a huge fan of LUSH lip care! I love the "honey trap" lip balm and I swear by it! It keeps my lips uber soft. I also like Burts Bees and Fresh lip care.
Ok…you had me at "honey"…I'm such a sucker for anything honey – will have to try the LUSH one now!
Love lip balms! You can never have enough!
I know…they're so easy to accumulate! Especially if you forget yours at home – perfect excuse to buy a new one 🙂
I love posts like this! Glad to know Nivea is amazing! Thanks for the great reviews.
Thanks Andi – they're fun to do…Especially if they help someone discover a product they can love too 🙂
Fresh is the best in my opinion! It's really the only balm that truly cures my cracked lips. I also own two of the products you have: The Korres in Jasmine and the Nivea Milk and Honey. I really love my jasmine! I apply it before bed and wake up with soft lips. I just recently got the Nivea balm and also love that one as well! It's very soothing, and I love that scent. Overall, I'm a lip balm junkie too Ella 🙂 I only wish I could be brave enough to buy the By Terry. I would feel so guilty!
I know – imagine if we got addicted to the By Terry balm – so pricey!!!Ok – will have to give the Korres another try – I bet the Jasmine smells beautiful too!
I have a slight addiction to lip balms too. I do love the Fresh Sugar too (just ran out of it). Some of my favs are Jouer lip conditioning treatment (love it!), Korres lip butter in Jasmine – mainly because of the color and the last one I purchased is Love & Toast lip balm in Cherry Lemonade (smells so yummy). Great post Ella!
I've never seen any Jouer brand products, although I've read a lot about them in magazines. The L&T Cherry Lemonade sounds SO good!
I'm so glad you love the Fresh balms- truly my favorite and I don't think I will want to try anything else! 😉 it's the only stuff I can wear under an over lipsticks and stains to avoid severe chapping!
I LOVE balms that you can apply over lipsticks…the Fresh balm has so many plus points…great formula, lovely scent, gorgeous packaging – I'm in love 🙂
So funny, I actually have almost all of the products you've listed. I don't really like the tin version of the original Burt's Bees but love the tube form. However, my faves are Chapstick with SPF and Smith's Rosebud Salve.xo, alison*elle
That is funny that we have a lot of the same lip products! For some reason, chapstick doesn't suit me – but I am eager to try the Smith's salve.
I like my EOS lipbalm, it's perfect for use at work in my dry office and I don't have to worry about my boys using it. I love your honesty, makes it easy to decide on the next one to try 🙂
Which color EOS do you have? My kids are SO obsessed with my EOS balm – they love the smell and the shape LOL – it looks like a toy to them!
Lip balm, lip gloss, lipstick I pretty obsessed with all of em' so much so that I carry about 15 different lip products in my bag. It's ridiculous! Right now I am in love with my Danielle & Company organic lip balm in pure lime. I bought it locally but you can check it out here: http://www.danielleandcompany.com/organiclipbalm.aspx
The pure lime balm sounds great…it's so wise to go organic – especially considering how often we reapply lip balm!
I actually won your giveaway last year when you gave away the Nieva lip balm along with other goodies. I've been repurchasing the lip balm ever since! I love the milk and honey one and use it every night befor I go to bed. I love how easily it goes on and how long it lasts. Thank you for getting me hooked!!! 😉
I'm so glad you love it too!!! I've noticed they've recently changed the packaging of the Nivea Honey balm – hope they didn't mess with the formula!
Great post – I'm a lip balm addict too! This is my first visit to your blog and I love it. It's so interesting to hear your thoughts on the EOS balms as they are hard to get here in Ireland and about twice the price that you paid so good to hear I'm not missing anything amazing. I still want one though!Emma xowww.fluffandfripperies.com
Glad you liked this post! I hope you're able to find the EOS balm on sale…as I mentioned, they're nothing ground-breaking – but they sure are fun to look at and use 🙂
Great post. I love the honey ones as well. Newest followermommysguiltypleasures.blogspot.com
Thanks for following! I find honey balms so irresistible – they seem so soothing and sweet.
Thank you for sharing!! My g/f uses the EOS one and loves it too! I usually stick to a tub from GNC called Lysine… it helps me avoid those dreaded cold sores. I recently tried the Maybelline BABY and it totally dried out my lips 🙁 I am going to try the EOS though.Thanks a bunch!!www.mythriftychic.com
Too bad the maybelline didn't work for you – I find a lot of the pigmented balms dry my lips out and make them peel too 🙁
I definitely agree about the EOS lip balm! The girls at my college were going crazy about it and when I finally got my hands on it, it actually did the opposite of what it was supposed to do! http://adoredlife.blogspot.com/
That's how I felt about the Korres balm – everyone loved it except for me LOL!
Yup! I love the fresh Lip Balm! I just wish it hadn't melted when we went to Bangladesh. It's re-solidified in a weird shape. I guess I'll just have to buy a new one!
That's too bad – what about the non-tinted one, is that ok still?