Lip Balms Review 2015

If you've read my previous post (or follow me on social media) about my ongoing search for the perfect lip balm that works for me, then you'll know how painstaking it is!

These are the lip balms I have purchased and tried over the last 2 years (2014 and 2015).

Just as a back story, my lips have always been prone to getting really dry, flaky and cracking, which always results in me biting and pulling the skin off my lips. Bad habit to that because I always make my lips sore and bloody, but I just can't stand the dry flakiness so I rip it off. Hence why I have been searching for an effective lip balm to help reduce all of this.

I'll start with the ones that didn't work for me.

From top to bottom: Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream, Carmex in strawberry, Burts Bees in pomegranate, and Salvatore Ferragamo lip balm.

Starting with the Elizabeth Arden 8 hour lip repair cream, I had heard from friends and other bloggers that it was an amazing product and that they loved it. So I then decided to try it out for myself. Unfortunately, it did not work well with me.

First off, I think I should have gotten the stick version rather than the pot, because I do find it difficult to get out onto my finger, due to having long nails all the time. I dislike dipping fingers in pots in general to be honest. The consistency of the product is quite hard, like the ones you get in stick form, and the smell is not bad either, not a strong smell.

Secondly, I applied it every night before I went to bed for 2 weeks. When I woke up, my lips were still dry, and cracked, and I still had to pull it off because it was annoying! Did not make a difference at all. For the price of this product, I was very disappointed that it did not work for me. I'll probably still try to use it though, since it is the most expensive lip balm I have purchased, would feel like such a waste to just not use it...

Next is the Carmex lip balm. I had also previously had the cherry flavour Carmex, which I didn't finish, there was still some left but I put the last remaining into a homemade lip scrub I made.

The Carmex I felt didn't work for me either. The purchase of the strawberry one was random because I just saw and thought, why not. Lips were still dry after using it and I didn't like the feel of it on my lips either. The smell is quite strong and very artificial smelling, the kind that I dislike. The cherry flavour was bearable, but the strawberry one is repulsive to me. The consistency of the product is slightly thick when you squeeze it out, once applied to the lips it just melts out.

The next product is Burts Bees in pomegranate. This also left my lips dry and peeling afterwards so it did not help my lips condition. The product smells okay though. This lip balm works for other friends of mine, but not for me.

And the last of them is the lip balm by Salvatore Ferragamo. The consistency of the product is a little watered down, and it makes my lips feel a little weird. It also has a smell that I am not a fan of.

I have to admit, that this lip balm is not the worst out of all of them, because it did actually help my lips a little, but due to the smell and the feel of it on my lips, I don't like using it.

Final verdict: Will not repurchase any of these products.

Top to bottom, left to right: Vaseline Aloe Vera, Vaseline Rose and Almond oil Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach kiss, Pink punch, and Cherry me, Clinque Chubby Stick 06 Whoppin' Watermelon.

So the Vaselines are the standard that everybody will have, the aloe vera one was the first one I got years ago, now it contains my homemade lip scrub that I made (reusing the tin). I moved onto the Rose and almond oil Vaseline because I wanted something a a little tint. Although I only use them at home anyway, any form of pot/tin that requires me to dip a finger in I will never take out with me to use on the go. Even at home I have to use a Q-tip to dip it in to get the product out, just because I have a cleanliness ocd ahaha. I used to apply the Vaseline before I go to bed, and by morning my lips felt great! Soft and smooth, no dryness. But then throughout the day if i don't reapply then my lips will slowly dry out again. I did recently purchase the stick form of Vaseline though! Just haven't used it yet because I still have so many lip balms to go through so I don't wanna open up another one.

Out of the Maybelline Baby Lips range, I think the 'Hydrate' one (the stick is blue) was the best. I finished that in no time, it smelt nice and felt okay on my lips. It is not pictured because I threw it out ages ago because I finished it. It was a great handbag lipbalm. Now the tinted ones pictured above are hardly used by me, just because they only look nice on my lips when there aren't any dry patches and flaking on my lips. Because these are coloured, it does highlight the dryness on my lips. They all smell very nice and the tints come off in nice colours, but just due to the fact that I'm trying to treat my lips at the moment, they are not used as often as I would like to use them.

The Clinque chubby stick is good, its a nice soft subtle tint to the lips and hydrating. I keep this in my handbag for when I want to add a little pink to my lips while I'm out.

Final Verdict: Will repurchase.

L'Occitane Baume Levres and DHC lip cream

Finally, onto the ones that have made a big difference to my lips, my holy grails!!

The L'Occitane baume levres is the first out of the two that I got my hands on, and oh my gosh I fell in love with the product! It really helped my lips stop drying out and flaking all together. No more biting and pulling at peeled skin on the lips! It's also great that its a stick form so I could carry it around with me as well. The smell is very faint but nice, and the feel on the lips is like you aren't wearing anything. There's no shine or tint so it's even suitable for men.

The DHC lip cream I had to get from abroad as it isn't available to purchase here in the UK. This one was from Hong Kong (Thanks Sophie <3). This is my current lip balm right now since I finished the L'Occitane one, I carry the DHC with me everywhere. It is hydrating, has a creamy feel when applied, there is a slight shine to lips, and there is also a slight scent but it isn't strong at all. The packaging is cute and dainty as it is a slim stick, pink and simple.

Thanks to both of these products, my lips have stopped peeling and I have no urge to bite and pull at my lips anymore! Hooray

Final Verdict: Will  definitely repurchase!!!

I'm more likely to repurchase the L'Occitane lip balm though, just because it is more accessible to me. The DHC will have to wait until I myself, or any friends/family goes to Asia and can pick me up another one!

Until next time~

NEW: Lipstick storage

One problem of just storing ANY makeup in just a makeup bag is that you'll have to always dig around to look for the product you want. This got very annoying for me especially when I was in a rush to get ready in the mornings!!

I have a dedicated makeup drawer,which actually isn't big enough to fit everything I want so I have a makeup bag as well. 

I've already organised a lot of my makeup and my next step was to organise my lip products.

I had a look around and found the best deal on eBay (yet again) around £2.72 for a 12 slot lipstick holder! What a bargain. In TK Maxx, they were selling a 6 slot for £4.99.... I thought  that was too little for that price and I was right.

It's sturdy and nice, and great value for money! Definitely recommend buying off eBay! 

I will buy more when my lipstick collection get bigger for sure!

New Lip Balms!

Today I went out to the high street to pick up some stuff to bring with me to uni in a few weeks.

Then I came across these new lip balms by Maybelline - BABY LIPS

 

I got these from Boots, as they were also on offer for 3 for 2, priced at £2.99.

I picked up all three as the Blue Hydrate one has SPF 20 and is a clear lip balm.

The Orange one is Cherry Me, and is a red colour, the scent is a gorgeous sweet cherry!

The Pink one is Pink Punch that looks like a florescent pink, and smells like strawberry bubble gum, not the overly strong scent! 

Here are swatches of Pink Punch (left) and Cherry Me (right)

As you can see, it gives a very light tint of colour, perfect for a more natural look.

 

I have applied the Blue Hydrate one to my lips, and I already feel that it is moisturizing. More than Carmex, which I feel dries my lips after a while. 

 

I actually really like these lip balms, and since I have three, they will last me quite a while before I need to repurchase them :)

 

Product rating:

★★★★★

Lip Balms

I've tried many various lip balms in my life time since I was young, and I realised that I have never actually finished one!

I remember my first one by The Body Shop, in a tangerine flavour, it's so old (when I was 5-6?) that they don't sell that product anymore. I still have it back at home and it's quite full. I stopped using it because it's in a small tub and it always got under my nails when I dip my finger in to use some so it got annoying.

Then I switched to a Superdrugs branded one in cherry, I chucked that away because I hated the taste of it and it melted in my pocket! I put it in my jeans pocket and the friction inside the pocket somehow managed to twist the chapstick up and it went everywhere inside :/

Then I stopped using any for a while after that because I couldn't be bothered and I was a child and it didn't bother me and felt like a chore lol.

When I got to college, that's when I started to wear a bit of makeup, and looked into lip balms again. Decided to go for Nivea Lip Care in Pearl & Shine ~ 

And guess what, it's still really full. I actually don't remember why I stopped using this one... maybe i'll give it another chance and I'll review it properly in a later post.

I purchased Vaseline Lip Therapy Aloe Vera ~

It's still full too. Hahaha. Again, it's a tub design, and I hate tubs!!!!

My friend Sabrina then introduced me to EOS Sphere lipbalms, as they were getting raved about so much.

We managed to bag them from Urban Outfitters in the UK, but they don't sell them anymore unfortunately. We both got it in Summer Fruits. I've used a quarter of mine. I find it leaves my lips dry still... the smell and taste of it is nice though! And I love the design and application of it, very cute packaging and easy to apply evenly to the lips.

From EOS, I jumped to Carmex in Cherry.

I'm not sure about this one though. The flavour is nice (though my boyfriend doesn't like the taste of it) I still find my lips dry, but maybe because I don't use it as often as I should? I need to get into the habit of using them all the time...

I was rummaging through my makeup bag and found my Lancome Sweet Balm in 02 Lait Fraise.

It's full. This is the one I am going to use now, so I will post a review of that later on as well!

Mission to find the perfect lip balm is now on!