Ahhhhh pretty lip balms, how I will never get bored of you or have too many!
Yes, I am a total lipbalm-o-holic. From high-end to novelty balms, I love them all. For novelty lip balms my top brand without a doubt has to be Lip Smacker.
Back in March I did a review of the Lip Smacker Coca Cola Trio (which you can read here) and I totally loved them. But now they have a whole new range out that is so very cute and with some amazing flavours such as Carrot Cake!
As you can see the new collection is by Paul Frank and consists of 8 different scents/flavours which can be bought in trios and cute little gift sets from Amazon start at £5 (see the range - here).
Bunny Girl's Carrot Cake - Firstly how cute or should I say, how kawaii is the packaging and flavour?! I'm just in love. Like all Lip Smacker lip balms this is an easy to apply balm with an amazing scent - and yes, it does actually smell like freshly baked carrot cake. I should point out that Lip Smacker lip balm are known for their amazingly strong scented flavours that actually smell like the scent they are supposed to be. However on the lips the scent/flavour isn't as strong, just more of a sweet taste... but it is definitely very more-ish.
Spicoli's Spumoni - Now the name of this lip balm just threw me. But after a quick Google I discovered Spicoli is the cute little hamster which you can see above and Spumoni is actually a molded domed Italian ice-cream that consists of 3 different flavours! Sounds quite yummy and also tastes quite yummy. So what are the three ice-creams I can pick out of this scent?... hmmm, definitely cherry, maybe vanilla and also bubblegum. Very tasty indeed! Again like the other lip balms this applies so smoothly, giving a little gloss to the lips and smooths out any rough bits of skin. Though for chapped, sore or very dry lips I would recommend something like Blistex or my secret weapon - Bepanthen nappy cream.
The other flavours include - Julius's Red Raspberry, Julius's Coconut and Cream, Clancy's Cotton Candy, Mika's Sweet Cream, Julius's Strawberry Banana and Chachi's Fried Ice Cream.
As for the sets from Amazon my favourite would have to be the Paul Frank Lip Balm Trio Cane with Bunny Girl Key Ring (£6 free p&p - here) as it contains the wonderful Bunny Girls Carrot Cake lip balm and also Julius' Coconut Cream and Clancy's Cotton Candy... plus a very cute Bunny Girl keyring that fits onto the top of any of the lip balms so that you can have one attached to your keys! (I would actually do this).
Also whilst looking I found a bit of a bargain - a Coca Cola Trio (Coca Cola, Sprite and Tango) with keyring topper for only £3.38 - here. So I may have possibly bought it....
Fee xo.
Another day and another product reviews... and one that is a real bargain if you purchase the lip balms individually - I'm talking £1 including p&p!
Now again this was a Christmas present so I have been using all three Lip Smacker lip balms since then and have been really liking them so I thought it was about time for a review.
I know the Lip Smacker set was purchased from Topshop and cost around the £8 mark - slightly pricey if you ask me. However as I couldn't find the product on the Topshop site I decided to see if anywhere else stocked the set or just the lip balms individually. To my surprise I found two of the Coca Cola lip balms on Zalando for a lot cheaper than what they work out as in the set!
You can purchase the Lip Smacker Coca Cola Vanilla Lip Balm - here for an amazing £1.00 with free p&p at Zalando! Or the Coca Cola Cherry Lip Balm - here for £2.00 also with free p&p.
Now if I am being honest there is definitely no need for this to be a set - yes it's nice and it is a nice little gift but the three lip balms are all very similar to each other with only the cherry flavour having a slight tint to it (very subtle). So it is all down to flavour and even though I can tell them apart I would say it would be much more savvy going for the scent you like the sound of most.
Lip Smacker Coca Cola - I am so tempted to say this actually tastes like fizzy Coca Cola as when you apply it you do instantly recognise the flavour. But sadly is just isn't quite there. Though if you smell the lip balm from the tube it is nearly identical to the smell of coca cola. Though I do love that all of them taste so good and are pretty close to the flavours they are supposed to be. When you lick your lips or rub them together it does taste quite sugary (also synthetic mind). Also this does apply really smoothly and easier and does actually make the lips nice and soft.
Lip Smacker Cherry - This one is even more sugary to taste than the original coca cola one so if you like something sweet tasting then this is the one to go for. As I mentioned above this is slightly tinted though it is very sheer and subtle.. so it just gives the lips a look of being slightly more pink/red than normal. Again this applies really nice and feels smooth of the lips - nothing sticky.
Lip Smacker Vanilla - Now this is the one that I am totally in love with. On the sweet scale it is in between the original coca cola one and the cherry one and the scent is just lovely (hard to explain what the vanilla scent smells of). I also feel for some reason this feels the nicest on the lips even though they are all very smooth and great quality. I am tempted for £1 (from Zalando - here) to buy another one for in my handbag as this normally sits on my dressing table and I usually apply it before I apply my makeup to soften my lips. I mean really what is £1 after all!
I know from purchasing novelty lip balms in the past that some can be really rubbish... I remember buying a mixed set of retro sweet flavoured lip balms from Debenhams and they were pretty rubbish - just too hard and the scents weren't very strong at all.
However these are what a novelty lip balm should be like and for the price they are pretty damn great!
I am slowly but surely getting addicted to lip balms again... and now have my eyes on the Sprite Lip Smacker's lip balm!
I need help?!
Fee x
Desperate times call for drastic measures as the saying goes! And for one self confessed lip balm addict this is one drastic measure in the hope to find the answer to my dry lips.
It literally seems like I've had dry lips all my life but if I think about it all my problems started when I found flavoured lip balms back in 1999! I would say crazy hey... but I'm sure you all know about how lip balms can stop/block the signaling mechanism that tells the cells in the lips to produce more fresh skin. Basically the lip balm confuses the natural process and you are left with continuously dry lips... so you apply more lip balm which just carries on the cycle. So then like me you think well if I need them I may as well try all different types and slowly but surely you become hooked on lip balms. I tell you it's like a crack addiction... nah only joking! It's not THAT bad but I do need to break the cycle.
Hence the 7 Day Lip balm ban!
Like a true addict I know which 'last supper' lip balm I will chose - Let Them Eat Cake Bon Bon Lip Balm by Tokyo Milk which actually is like cake... just perfectly sugary. However it would of been Mrs Fields Chewy Fudge Lip Balm if it hadn't died a low death when I put my bag next to a radiator.
Joking aside, I actually don't know how the seven days will go... which in reality sounds crazy, even to me. But I do literally carry around at least 4 lip balms at all times and apply one every 2 hours or so! It's the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do at night. Though I'm hoping my nature reflex of reaching into my bag will stop after a few days and I'll see some difference in the dryness of my bottom lip.
It literally seems like I've had dry lips all my life but if I think about it all my problems started when I found flavoured lip balms back in 1999! I would say crazy hey... but I'm sure you all know about how lip balms can stop/block the signaling mechanism that tells the cells in the lips to produce more fresh skin. Basically the lip balm confuses the natural process and you are left with continuously dry lips... so you apply more lip balm which just carries on the cycle. So then like me you think well if I need them I may as well try all different types and slowly but surely you become hooked on lip balms. I tell you it's like a crack addiction... nah only joking! It's not THAT bad but I do need to break the cycle.
Hence the 7 Day Lip balm ban!
Like a true addict I know which 'last supper' lip balm I will chose - Let Them Eat Cake Bon Bon Lip Balm by Tokyo Milk which actually is like cake... just perfectly sugary. However it would of been Mrs Fields Chewy Fudge Lip Balm if it hadn't died a low death when I put my bag next to a radiator.
Joking aside, I actually don't know how the seven days will go... which in reality sounds crazy, even to me. But I do literally carry around at least 4 lip balms at all times and apply one every 2 hours or so! It's the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do at night. Though I'm hoping my nature reflex of reaching into my bag will stop after a few days and I'll see some difference in the dryness of my bottom lip.
...the ones I will miss the most!
But of course there are afew lip balms out of the 30 or so I own that I will really miss! Firstly there is the Neom Multi Balm (a lovely organic slightly zesty oil based balm) which sits next to my bed so I can apply it when I wake up and just before bed as I massage my cuticles.
Next is what I call my pre-makeup prep lip treatments - If my lips are feeling really dry or I want to wear a lip stain or even lipstick I apply the Blistex Relief Cream while I put on my primer and foundation then I take a cotton bud and twirl it along my lips to remove all the dead skin. But for normal days I opt for the Original Carmex which I just apply and leave on while applying my makeup.
As for the two that are with me at all times it has to be the Tokyo Milk balm just because it hydrates my lips without them feeling coated in product and it also stops them 4pm sugar cravings! The other lip balm is a tinted one by Hurraw in Black Cherry which is so easy to apply but is so needed on days that my lips are too dry for lipstick but I want some colour on them.
Just writing this has made me realize how hard it is actually going to be. But I've promised myself I'm going to stick to it and see if after 7 days it has made a difference.
Of course I will post about it next week to tell you all how I got on and show the results of going cold turkey!
Wish me luck?!
But of course there are afew lip balms out of the 30 or so I own that I will really miss! Firstly there is the Neom Multi Balm (a lovely organic slightly zesty oil based balm) which sits next to my bed so I can apply it when I wake up and just before bed as I massage my cuticles.
Next is what I call my pre-makeup prep lip treatments - If my lips are feeling really dry or I want to wear a lip stain or even lipstick I apply the Blistex Relief Cream while I put on my primer and foundation then I take a cotton bud and twirl it along my lips to remove all the dead skin. But for normal days I opt for the Original Carmex which I just apply and leave on while applying my makeup.
As for the two that are with me at all times it has to be the Tokyo Milk balm just because it hydrates my lips without them feeling coated in product and it also stops them 4pm sugar cravings! The other lip balm is a tinted one by Hurraw in Black Cherry which is so easy to apply but is so needed on days that my lips are too dry for lipstick but I want some colour on them.
Just writing this has made me realize how hard it is actually going to be. But I've promised myself I'm going to stick to it and see if after 7 days it has made a difference.
Of course I will post about it next week to tell you all how I got on and show the results of going cold turkey!
Wish me luck?!
Images - Taken by myself(£8.00 - 12ml from LookFantastic.com)
In general before buying a product I will use Google images and find beauty blogs that have reviewed it. However nothing came up for this product just two reviews on a price comparison site, which said the lip balm was quite good. So probably the best thing would be to stay away from it as after all I didn't need it, but instead my brain read the words 'natural' and 'rose' and also noticed the pretty packaging so I popped it in my online basket.
Now don't expect this to be review on if it cures dry lips or not. As I really wouldn't know. The reason why I hear you ask...is because I really cannot stand to keep this product on my lips long enough to know if it works or not. I'm sorry, I really don't like calling products but this is like nothing I have experienced before.
My first gripe is the consistency...
(hmmm...)As you can see, it's umm rather runny. Now the tube does state it has essential oils in it.. but if you can imagine mixing a normal balm from a tube with some essential oils, you would get this strange oily,greasy, runny consistency. So when this is rubbed into the lips there is zero thickness, it's just like rubbing a body oil in. It also seems to soak in within seconds, literally as if you haven't applied it..leaving your lips as if you need to lick them, if that makes sense.
Which leads me onto the taste/smell of this product. The tube states the natural lip balm contains essential oils of linden blossom, rose geranium and ylang ylang. Which makes this lip balm heavily fragranced - for me the smell is comparable to a cheap strong smelling soap.
The taste and smell isn't pleasant and as it dries on your lips so fast you kind of breath in this strong essential oil fragrant.
Overall I have to sadly admit I cannot find anything to like about this product other than the nice illustration on the packaging.
To be honest I really didn't think it was possible to dislike a lip balm so much.
Sorry Cowshed - I like your Cow Pat Hand Cream though!
Which leads me onto the taste/smell of this product. The tube states the natural lip balm contains essential oils of linden blossom, rose geranium and ylang ylang. Which makes this lip balm heavily fragranced - for me the smell is comparable to a cheap strong smelling soap.
The taste and smell isn't pleasant and as it dries on your lips so fast you kind of breath in this strong essential oil fragrant.
Overall I have to sadly admit I cannot find anything to like about this product other than the nice illustration on the packaging.
To be honest I really didn't think it was possible to dislike a lip balm so much.
Sorry Cowshed - I like your Cow Pat Hand Cream though!
Image - Will Whipple I cannot tell you how many products I have tried this winter due to my endlessly dry lips. I have applied them in abundance, I would even go as far as saying religiously. My purse is now a few pounds lighter and my lips are still annoyingly dry. So I have decided to go back to basics and give my lips a hopefully a new lease of life.
Tah-Dah, here it is, my new miracle dry lip cure. Well fingers crossed. I achieved this strange green concoction using sugar granules and Sensodyne Toothpaste.
Tah-Dah, here it is, my new miracle dry lip cure. Well fingers crossed. I achieved this strange green concoction using sugar granules and Sensodyne Toothpaste.
The Product - If you are wondering, the small plastic container use to contain a free sample from Benefit that I have long since used up, so I thought I would recycle it as it was the perfect size.
To be honest the sugar and toothpaste mixture didn't seem all that great when I was mixing it up with a mini paint brush. However after about 3 minutes, the mixture seemed to stiffen and had a more 'Lip Exfoliator' consistency.
The Taste - As for the taste - I went all out and dipped my finger in it and had a taste - If I didn't like the taste I wasn't going to be applying it morning, noon and night. To tell you the truth, I was surprised... I didn't know toothpaste and sugar could taste so good! ha. No, really it pretty much tasted like a shop bought product.
Overall - So far so good. I have used it twice so far, and have really rubbed it into my lips as it isn't as harsh as you would expect. It does leave them slightly red and a bit plump but I have noticed it is removing the dry skin on the inside of my bottom lip.
Once I have used up all of the exfoliator I shall review this again I think.
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