Lip Haul 4

I collected another pile of lip products throughout the last couple months and wanted to share my thoughts about them. This time around, I used each product for a few weeks before reviewing them, thinking that it would give me a better idea of how I really like them.

J.R. Watkins Lip Balm in Raspberry

I received this as a gift from my cousin who is a big fan of J.R. Watkins products. I had this for a few months, but finally opened it when I was looking to bring a basic lip balm with me on a day trip.

Price: $2.99 (found at Target)

Tube: The tube is a basic click stick.

Scent: My first reaction was that the raspberry smell was nice. I honestly don’t think I have really had a raspberry scented balm before, since I tend to primarily get cherry or strawberry, so it was nice to have a different berry scent.

Texture: This is a pretty standard balm, but I did find it quite stiff to begin with, and it takes quite a few swipes around the lips to get going. The formula is similar to how I feel about Burt’s Bees balms, in that it is just a bit too hard or waxy in texture on my lips. I like to have a bit of a silky texture from my balms, which usually results in a bit of a shine once on the lips.

Color: There is no color.

Overall: While this balm didn’t leave any shine, it was comfortable enough on the lips once I had it on. The balm overall just doesn’t offer anything special or good enough to become a favorite balm.

Carmex Orange Dream and Tropical Colada Daily Care Lip Balm

I’ve said before that Carmex is my #1 lip product, and I honestly use it every day of my life. I usually buy a three pack of the original tube, which is my favorite version of the balm. The stick style does tend to be a bit overly soft, making it harder to keep the formula nice in the container, but it is very moisturizing.

Price: 2 for $3 (purchased at Walgreens)

Tube: The tube is a basic click stick, and felt sturdy for wear and tear. You can actually hear the click as you turn the stick.

Scent: I was so excited for these new scents (they also had winter mint and honeydew melon). The scents I chose were both really pleasant, with the Orange Dream smelling like an orange creamsicle and the Tropical Colada smelling like a blend of pineapple and coconut. All the different scents Carmex has been coming out with is welcome, especially because the people I know who don’t really use Carmex tend to find the original scent off-putting.

Texture: The formula had the same feel and texture as the other Carmex sticks I have tried. It was very soft and creamy, feeling very comfortable on the lips.

Color: There is no color.

Overall: I noticed that both scents have sunscreen protection, but the Orange Dream points out that it is SPF 15, and the Tropical Colada highlights that it is water resistant for 80 minutes. I don’t know why they point out different things or if they both do the same. The balms lasted a long time on my lips though, really refreshing them with moisture, while also adding a slight bit of shine. These are great balms to keep in your purse so you always have something along when you go out. Similar to the other Carmex click stick versions I have had, the creamy softness of the formula does tend to make it harder to keep the balm nice and even in the tube as you apply.

Lip Freak Buzzing Balm in Atomic Cherry and Clockwerk Orange

This was a balm I noticed a while back at Ulta, and kept it in my mind that I wanted to try it sometime. I was so curious what the packaging meant by “buzzing," since I had never had anything like that. There were a lot of scents that were more sweet focused, and I tend to like fruity scents for lip products. Sweet scents tend to give me a headache, so I went with the fruitiest they had. I actually got a scent called Psycho Punch first (apparently an Ulta “exclusive” scent), which I instantly fell in love with. I used it each day for a couple weeks, until I accidentally left it in a pants pocket one eventing and it ended up in the wash the next day. Needless to say, it died after the dryer got its hand on it. So, I went back and bought the other two fruity scents, one for my mom and one for me. 

Price: $4.95 (purchased at Ulta, and used a 20% off coupon for one of the balms)

Tube: The tube is a basic click stick, which feels secure and not too cheap. The only thing I didn’t like, and it happened on each tube, was that some sticky residue was left after breaking the seal to open the product. 

Scent: The orange is more of a spiced orange, and the cherry (as well as the punch scent I had) have a pleasant fruit scent. Because of whatever is in the formula to make the balm buzz, the scents don’t seem to matter too much once on the lips as the buzzing takes over. 

Texture: The formula is soft and smooth, providing a nice shine.

Color: There is no color.

Overall: I really had no idea what to expect with these, but I ultimately really love this balm. The product takes about two minutes to start to really do anything in terms of buzzing. Once it starts though, it really is very noticeable. It feels like a small vibration or slight pulsing, and goes on for several minutes. Because of this, I don’t think this product would be for everyone, but I really enjoy the tingles it gives. I don’t think it plumps the lips, but the tingles make it feel like it is making your lips bigger (which honestly isn’t something I would be interested in). As a plus, I think the formula is also quite moisturizing. This, along with my Carmex, has become my go-to general balms each day. It is definitely the most fun balm I have and I get excited to use it each time.

Almay Butter Kiss in Nude-Light

I had a tube of this a few years ago in a brown color, which I used quite a bit. These were on clearance for a few dollars at Ulta, so I picked up a light nude color, because I figured it would be a good basic to have and go with everything.

Price: $2.99 (on clearance at Ulta)

Tube: The tube the product sits it matches the color it is, and has a clear cover to go on top. It looks sleek and seems sturdy.

Scent: There is no scent.

Texture: I really like the formula because it isn’t heavy and is easy to apply, meaning I don’t have to use a mirror to feel like I applied it well (which is the case for many lipsticks). Since it is a lip butter, it is more moisturizing and creamy than a lip stick.

Color: The color payoff isn’t huge, but I’m really fond of the nice soft nude color it gives off, and it doesn’t take many swipes to achieve. There is a bit of sparkle in it as well, and for me, it stays on well. Because it is buttery soft, I don’t really mind reapplying though. The color is a great basic to have when you want a small bit of color.

Overall: I’m not sure if these are being discontinued because they were on clerance, but I would repurchase another in the future. What I like most about this butter formula is that they are both soft and comfortable on the lips, but also provides a subtle color. I am really fond of the nude color and the slight sparkle it has.

Covergirl Oh Sugar! in Soda and Gumdrop

These have been out for a while, but I love the name and font style the packaging has. My mom purchased one earlier in the year, and when I tried it I liked the formula and scent. So, when I was looking to replace some lipsticks with colored balms, I bought a few for myself to enjoy.

Price: $7.99 (purchased at Ulta for buy one, get one 1/2 off, plus an additional coupon)

Tube: The tube is a square shape, with a pretty metallic cap. The white plastic that holds the formula seems a bit cheap, but so far the plastic has not cracked.

Scent: The scent is a lemon sugar combination. I think that some may think it leans toward a chemical cleaning scent, but every time I open the tube I like the sugary scent that comes out. As I said earlier, I tend to like fruity scents over sweet, and this scent provides both.

Texture: The texture is smooth and applies like a balm. When my lips are a little drier though, the color seems to stick on the dry parts more noticeably making it look a little less even.

Color: Both colors are pretty and provide a soft shine. They do take a little time to build up to a brighter color. A few swipes will create a light color, but the more you build, the prettier it looks. I especially like the red Soda color, because it feels more natural than a really bold red lip. They also don’t seem to last too long on the lips, but are easy to reapply. I love that all the names are sweet themed.

Overall: These are somewhat similar to the Revlon Kiss Balm that I tried during my last lip haul. I’ve really decided this year that I need to stick with color balms over lipsticks because I just find lipsticks too drying and hard to quickly reapply. I have used this product a lot because the colors go nicely with many outfits and are easy to swipe on. I would definitely repurchase or try another color.

Bonus:

Shea Moisture Shea Butter Lip Balm in African Water Mint and Ginger 

This lip balm was a pretty big fail, primarily because the lip product was so stiff! I could hardly squeeze it out of the tube. When I did squeeze, the pressure would actually push the applicator out. I would press it against my lips pretty hard to keep the applicator from shooting off. Soon after a few applications, a small hole formed on the seal near the bottom of the tube. So instead of using the applicator at all now, I just squeeze some from the bottom.

Price: $3.99 (purchased at Walmart)

Tube: The tube was a bit of a disaster because of what I mentioned above, but visually it was nice and should have worked well if the formula wasn’t so problematic.

Scent: The scent is not as noticeable as I had hoped. The mint and ginger combination sounded amazing, but it did not really deliver. I would say it was slightly minty, but I didn’t smell any ginger.

Texture: The texture is somewhat grainy, almost like a lip scrub. The stiffness was the biggest problem when applying, but one actually smoothed onto my lips, I liked the way it felt and also thought it lasted a long time. 

Color: There is no color.

Overall: As much of a pain this really was, I actually do like the product in the end. I have been keeping it on my bathroom counter (since I can’t bring it anywhere because of the hole in the tube). I wouldn’t repurchase this because of the struggle, but I do think I will use it up because I like how it feels on my lips (especially after a shower!)