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...)

Skincare update + Clear Improvement Mask review

While I was away my skin started acting a little confused, so I'm pretty much over my tinted moisturiser phase. It got spotty and yet drier than usual. I washed my face with Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser twice per day and ended up using Bobbi Brown Eye Cream on my cheeks and occasionally on my face as my normal moisturiser (Clinique Superdefense) started to go funny about three days after I left home. I also used Clarins Wrinkle Control Sun Cream SPF30 if I was spending more than a few hours in the sun. My sister, who is very sensitive when it comes to body sun creams, got on really well with the Clarins cream. Although my body is fine with sun cream, my face tends to get greasy whatever SPF I put on it (I used Lancome Genifique Face SPF30 while on holiday earlier this summer and didn't really get along with that) even though I didn't really sweat a great deal while in Europe.

I wished I'd brought my Good Things Five Minute Facial Mask with me for a bit of grease relief. On my previous holiday I used it a couple of times to even out my skin's texture as it had started to go slightly bumpy.

When I came home I went to my local Origins counter - while it's going to be a challenge to break up with chemical-laden makeup, I am making a vague attempt to go more natural with my skin and hair care - to get me a new moisturiser and something to sort out my problem patches. I came away with (as I said in my previous quick post) the super-lightweight Balanced Diet Moisturiser, £24, and much praised Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask, £22. 

I used the mask last night on my problem areas and saw some improvement immediately after I removed it. I had about 6 spots each on my forehead and chin and a couple on my nose, along with the classic redness. After the mask the redness had almost completely gone, and this morning half the spots have completely dried up. Fantastic stuff. The Origins lady recommended using it twice per week, which I'll probably do until my skin calms down, when I'll start to use it once a week. So far, so good with Balanced Diet as well. Considering trying an Origins cleanser when my beloved Ultra Facial runs out, but I'm not sure I can bear to part ways with Kiehls.