Super Quick Lip Balm Reviews

Here is a short review and score out of 10 of every inexpensive lip balm I have tried. FYI, I sually uneed to reapply lipbalms super frequently so you may not have the same experiences as me.

Nuxe Reve de Miel stick, £5.50

Smells like sunflower seeds. Matte finish, but not as matte as the potted version. Shaped like a lipstick - a con for me, but could be a pro for you. I reapplied this every 3 or 4 hours.

8.5/10

Nuxe Reve de Miel pot, £9.50

Smells like sunflower seeds and honey. Matte finish, good lipstick base. Personally I find potted balms annoying. I found I needed to apply much more each time than when I used the stick version. I reapplied this around every 3 hours.

7/10

Caudalie Lip Conditioner, £5.50

Faint vanilla scent, not too sweet. Invisible finish. Shaped like a lipstick - again, I count that as a con. Felt a bit grainy in warm weather. For a little while, lips feel like they'll never need lip balm again. I reapplied this around every 4 hours.

9.5/10

Maybelline Baby Lips Repair (yellow), £2.99

Sherbet almond scent? Slightly glossy finish. SPF 20. I reapplied this every 3 or 4 hours.

7/10

Maybelline Baby Lips Hydrate (blue), £2.99

Slightly powdery scent? Finish slightly glossier/more wet-look than Repair. SPF 20. I reapplied this every 3 or 4 hours.

7.5/10

Nivea Lip Care Essential (dark blue), from £1.10

Slightly powdery scent. Slightly glossy finish. Very thick. I reapplied this every 3 or 4 hours.

7/10

Nivea Hydro Care (pale blue), £1.58

Slightly powdery scent. Subtle finish, feels very light. Lips feel intensely moisturised. I reapplied this around every 4 hours.

9.25/10

Malin & Goetz Mojito Lip Balm, £10

Yummy but subtle scent, not too sweet. Slightly sticky. Very moisturising but not that long lasting; I reapplied this around every 2 hours.

7/10

Dr Lipp Nipple Balm, £11.50

Can't remember any specific or strong scent. Very thick. Matte finish. Fantastically repairing, a little sticky. I reapplied this around every 6 hours.

9.5/10

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Intensive Lip Repair, from £16.80

Repulsive, slightly bitter smell. Not particularly moisturising. Expensive. I chose to forego lipbalm once I needed to reapply after around an hour.

2/10

Boots Essentials Spearmint Lip Salve, £1

Spearmint scent (duh). Dragged a little on application. Needed to reapply after around an hour.

3/10

Vaseline Paint The Town Red, £3.49

Rosy scent. Very faint red tint. Annoying pot meant I had to choose somewhere to wipe the greasy excess off my finger when I applied it. Needed to reapply around every 2 hours. If you like Vaseline, though, you may well like this.

5/10

Burts Bees Pink Grapefruit Balm, £3.69

Nice citrus scent. Dragged a little on application. No real moisturising feeling. Needed to reapply after around 2 hours.

4.5/10

Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector, £17

Can't remember a particular smell. Very sticky. Expensive. If your dryness is caused by you licking your lips, these will aggravate the situation resulting in a -1/10 rating. If not, more like a 5.5/10

Bonne Bell Dr Pepper, £?

Sweet smell. Slightly sticky finish. Fairly moisturising as long as you don't lick your lips too often. Needed to reply around every 2 hours.

6/10

Blistex Liquid Splash (roll on), £?

Cooling sensation. Wet but not sticky. Moisturising at first but then seemed to dry lips out very quickly once it wore off. Needed to reapply around every 2.5 hours.

5/10

I still want to try EOS, Lanolips, Neutrogena Norwegian Formula, Carmex, the rest of the Blistex range and Nivea's SOS Lip Relief. But for now, I will keep buying Nivea Hydro Care (Caudalie and Dr Lipp on special occasions...)

Initial thoughts: Good Things Five Minute Facial Mask

This is an inexpensive clay style mask with the benefits of avocado, goji berry, green clay, kaolin and willow bark. It claims to make skin "clearer, brighter and smoother, all at the same time". It can be bought from Boots for £5.99 - it's currently on 3 for 2 with loads of other skincare, body products, vitamins and more so now's the time to snap it up if you want to try it for yourself. I completed the 3 for 2 deal with Effaclar Duo by La Roche-Posay and Witch Blemish Stick. I actually bought two blemish sticks by mistake, so I hope they work out for me.

It's a pretty good size tube (100ml, I imagine this will last about 10-12 uses) and a sweet and slightly fruity scent that is familiar but I can't quite place. Thick and opaque, obviously, being a clay mask. It says to apply in a thin layer, but I ended up putting on quite a lot as it was difficult to smooth out evenly without any skin showing through. I left it on for 5 minutes as per the instructions but was aware of a slight stinging after about 3-4. The mask does harden, but not so much that you can't move your face or anything, as I hear some clay masks do. Funnily enough, I decided against posting a photo of the mask in action.

When I began to wash it off the skin underneath was bright pink - my first thought obviously was that I was having a horrendous reaction to the mask, which would be a first to me, as despite my dry cheeks/oily T zone and tendency to get very dehydrated, I've never discovered any ingredient sensitivities. However, the redness quickly went away. Since spotting a little slight sunburn on my chest, I've chalked the redness and stinging up to my sunbathing earlier*.

I wouldn't say my skin was noticeably brighter, but it didn't feel tight or dehydrated and I do think it reduced some of the blackheads on my nose and chin. Just to be sure, I reapplied the mask to those two areas - where I am worst affected by blocked pores - and noticed no improvement on the blackhead front, but my nose did look a little smoother and glowier.

It's recommended to use this mask weekly "or whenever your skin needs a quick, brightening boost". I suspect I'll need to use this after this weekend which I am spending in Berlin with some girls from university. I'll post my final thoughts when I finish the tube, and if I enjoy the mask there are plenty more products in the Good Things range for me to try out. Read more about the company here.

*note to self - SPF 25 in morning moisturiser appears to be insufficient. Oh dear.