quick review: lip balms

 

Happy New Year!

I'm currently filling the first day of this year eating chocolate coated pretzels and watching Man Vs Food- ah bliss!
Anyway, I am one of *those* girls who carries enough lip balm in her bag to moisturise the pouts of a small army, and the ones shown in the pictures above are the ones currently gracing my bag-stash.


Vaseline Pink Champagne - £3.49 (limited edition- avaliable here):
I love the smell of this Vaseline. Having used last year's limited edition vaseline for a long while, I thought no variety of this classic lip balm could beat the Creme Brulee tin. Pulling this tin out of my bag makes me feel uber sophisticated, and a smells little like pink lemonade crossed with the normal / natural smell of Vaseline. This also imparts a pretty, pale rosy pink sheen onto the lips, which works well over natural / nude colours. Really moisturising, and even bought back-up tins, and gifted some to friends in need of some added lip-balm related glamour.


Nivea Milk & Honey -  £1.99 (avaliable here):
There are few things in the world that I truly detest (this lip balm is not one of them- hear me out), and one of those things is honey. I hate the smell, the taste, the unnecessary stickiness, pretty much everything! So, keeping that in mind, I was on bad footing with this lip balm from the second I bought it. Ingrid (MissGlamurazzi) raves about this, so I thought I'd give it a try. The honey scent is tolerable, because the milky vanilla scent kind of intervenes. This has the same moisturising properties as the Nivea Essential Care, but seems a little thinner / harder. Overall, I like it, but don't reach for it much.


*Garnier Ambre Solaire SPF 20 lip care - £2.89 (avaliable here):
I. Love. This. Lipbalm. It's stiffer than typical lip balm with a scent that is difficult to place, but nice nonetheless. It's moisturising, and lightens dark lips significantly, because of the SPF. This may seem a wierd thing to say, but on mornings I don't want to wear lipstick, this is what I grab. On my natural lip colour, it looks a lot like Mac's Snob (a pale, milky blue-toned pink), only in a satin finish. One thing I would definitely keep in mind, is that you need to have smooth lips to begin with, as it shows most notable imperfections on the lips. It seems to completely undermine the point of a lip balm, to have to prep your lips to wear it- but for me, at least, it's so worth it.


Bourjois Dr Glamour Lipstick in Blouse Blanche - £2.75 (avaliable here):
This is packaged and sold as a lip stick, but this shade in particular is more of a lip balm. It's moisturising and adds no colour to the lips, just gives an insane frosty shimmer. If you have a matte lipstick that you find super drying, I'd try adding this on top, to add some shimmer and moisture back into your lips. Frosty is quite a dated lipstick finish, but I can feel a comeback in my boneeeeees *queue weird spiritual dance*. This smells quite like the Garnier SPF lip care, but smells a little more fake, and the scent doesn't really completely disappear whilst on the lips.


Nivea Essential Care - £1.50 (avaliable here):
I like to slick this on my lips before I go to bed, or when my lips need some serious TLC. Lasts for ages, has a light vanilla/coca-esque scent, and glides on without feeling oily or leaving unpleasant residue on the lips. One thing I would mention is that it doesn't really soak into the lips, as much as sits on top of them and forms a barrier of moisture.


Korres Guava Lip Butter - typically £7.00 (avaliable here - currently for £4.80):
This is one of the priciest lip balms that I own, and is admittedly my favourite. It smells light and fruity (completely natural, and not at all synthetic- which is a huge plus), and literally melts onto the lips. It also has a super buttery texture, so in Summer, you'd need to store it somewhere cool, to avoid it melting. Potential problem aside, I love this! I'd rather have a stick version of this, because it's way less messy / more hygeinic, but doing so would probably cost the gorgeous buttery texture- a girl can dream eh?

 *Since I bought mine years ago, the packaging has changed (it's now navy blue and rather swish)

I purchased all of these with my own money or was bought them as presents by friends or family members.