Carmex // Vanilla Lip Balm Review

Carmex // Vanilla Lip Balm
RRP £3.49 for 4.25g

This is the full size tube that I bought for £2.49 from Superdrug.

First Impressions:
I love this lip balm. The smell, the texture, the Carmex tingle; it's just perfect.

Usage

A full tube tends to last me about 2/3 months. I do go through a lot of these tubes though. Sometimes it feels like it lasts me a month.

Would I buy it: I will continue buying this product until either a) I die or b) they stop making it.

Overall Impressions:

This is my holy grail of lip balms...nothing comes close to it. Some of merely just expensive imitators. This product has that perfect balm consistency that I love where it coats the lip but it's not greasy. I also love mixing this with lipstick and lip liners to create a light tinted lip balm. I have at least 5 of these tubes going at any one time. There is one in every bag, there is one on my desk, on the bedside table, one in the bathroom and in my car. I may try out other products but I always come back to this one.

Madara // Daily Defence Ultra Rich Balm Review

Madara // Daily Defence Ultra Rich Balm
RRP £16.50 for 60ml

This is a full size 60ml tube that I chose as part of my Latest In Beauty box in July 2019.

First Impressions:

It has a lovely sweet scent and a rich, almost buttery-like texture. It felt hydrating; like when you're really thirsty and you finally drink some water.

Usage
First use - October 2019
Last use - December 2019

Would I buy it: No.

Overall Impressions:

I initially thought this was going to be a great product but by the end of the tube I was disappointed. That initial hit of hydration that you feel doesn't last very long. I stopped using it on my lips because I noticed they were starting to feel more chapped throughout the day; the same happened with my hands. I would apply and then 30 minutes later my they felt like paper. It's a shame because it smells and feels wonderful as well as being an organic vegan product in packaging that's made more responsible than most products.

I tend to quite like Madara products but this one fell short for me. I used it at work where the air is always hot and dry and it just couldn't cope. It's really funny as on their website they state that to test the effectiveness; the Madara team went to Lappland and used this cream. They said it protected their skin, lips and hands from the cold winds...I doubt that they didn't use anything else other than this cream.

Trifle Cosmetics // Sugar Pear Sublime Lip Scrub Review

Trifle Cosmetics // Sugar Pear Sublime Lip Scrub
RRP $9 for 10ml

This is a full size 10ml tube that I received in a Glossybox way back in either 2014 or 2015. Yes, this is a vintage lip scrub...don't worry, I haven't been using it.

First Impressions:

I remember way back in the day, the first time I used this I loved how it tasted. I think that's why I've held onto it for so long. It had a really sweet, pear scent and taste and I could've just eaten the product.

Usage
First use - Sometime 2014/2015
Last use - Several years ago

Would I buy it: Yes? Maybe?

Overall Impressions:

I think out of all the lip scrubs I've ever used this has stood out as my favourite. I came across it when doing a clear out of my stash as I've realised that you really should stop using products after their expiry date. You can read about my experiences with the 6 months out of date eye cream and 1 year out of date eye cream. It just goes to show though how little I go through my stash. It's only since I started seriously panning products in September last year that I've been going through items systematically and finally getting rid of all the samples I've been hoarding for years. Being subbed to 6 beauty boxes didn't help either.

Back to the product though; from the few times I did use this, I did enjoy it. This past winter I could've really done with a lip scrub but there's no way I'm sticking this on my lips (especially with my tendency to eat some of it...). For $9 this is pretty good and I'd be willing to pay full price for it. It's a shame that shipping is a $25 flat rate to the UK (and that's not even tracked). Trifle Cosmetics is featured quite often in UK beauty boxes which is odd considering they don't sell anywhere else. I've seen a few things in TK Maxx over the years but nothing is there regularly. It's annoying because their Lip Parfait (in the blue tube) is my favourite lipstick of all time and I reluctantly threw it away because it was almost 6 years old. 

I'm pretty sure that there was over half a tube of this lip scrub left when I binned it which means if I were to buy another lip scrub it wouldn't be a necessity. I think I would use this once a year, or whenever I felt like "pampering" myself. I think if you're wearing matte lipsticks all the time then you need one but if you just like to stick some lip liner on and mix it with lip balm, it's a product to skip. 

Elemis // Ultra-Conditioning Lip Balm Review

Elemis // Ultra-Conditioning Lip Balm
RRP £21 for 10ml

This is a full size 10ml tube that I received in a Latest In Beauty Box sometime around summer 2019.

First Impressions

Quenching is the best word I can think of for this product. It's like a thick cream but my lips just feel instantly hydrated and tingly; it's a really nice sensation.

Usage

I started using it as soon as I got it and then took it to work with me and it became my work lip balm. It lasted til around December 2019.

Would I Buy It: Yes; if I had the money.

Overall Impressions

This was not what I was expecting. Usually, the only lip balms I can stand are Carmex Vanilla or Malibu Mint because they have that exact balm texture that I love; not greasy but the lips feel coated in something. It's hard to describe. This product doesn't leave that balm feeling as it absorbs so quickly but my lips were not dry afterwards; they stayed soft.

I'm not a big fan of squeezy tubes though as you can sometimes end up with too much or too little but this product isn't solid enough for a twist up and I can't stand balms in pots. It was a little difficult to get product out once it got to the end as well.

For £21 I think this is outside my price range...especially when I get angry when Carmex isn't on offer (It's usually £3.49 full price). If I was on 6 figures a year then yes I would purchase this but on my intern salary; no.

Carmex // Cherry Moisturising Lip Balm Review

Carmex // Cherry Moisturising Lip Balm
RRP £2.69 for 10g

I received this in a Latest In Beauty box in August 2019.

First Impressions

Absolutely vile. This lip balm has one of the most hideous tastes; it's like the products you can put on your nails to stop you from biting them. This should be used as a torture device it's that disgusting. The sickly, chemical, overly sweet cherry smell is also a strong deterrent. It also has this weird chemical banana undertone to it as well.

Usage

I tried using this to completion, I really did but every time I went to take a drink, or eat something I would just get that vile chemical cherry/banana taste in my mouth and it honestly made me retch. I also hate the tube design. It has a little hole right at the top where the product come out and you just can't get the squeeze right; too little comes out followed by too much. It really is an awful design. It's a little more on the solid side at first but then quickly melts on the lips. So you end up with what you thought was an ok amount but then it melts and your swimming in rancid artificial cherry tasting bananas. Oh god, just sniffing this stuff from the tube is already making me feel sick.

Would I Buy It: Hell no. Save yourself.

Overall Impressions

What a major disappointment from Carmex. I'm obsessed with their vanilla lip balm and when I was running low on lip balms, I decided to add this to my box because it's Carmex and you can't go wrong with Carmex right?...Right?? Turns out Carmex can produce some absolute turds. Avoid this lip balm at all costs. It doesn't even provide the trademark Carmex tingle sensation.

Sol De Janiero // Brazilian Kiss Capuacu Lip Butter Review

Sol De Janiero // Brazilian Kiss Capuacu Lip Butter
RRP £15 for 6.2g

I bought this from Sephora when on holiday in June 2018.

First Impressions

Alright, I'm putting it out there; best smelling lip balm ever. This lip butter is a heavenly cross between freshly cooked flapjacks and cookies. Every time I take it out of my bag to use it I get a whiff and it makes me so unbelievably hungry. The only problem is that as a lip balm, it's proper well naff.

The initial application is nice, and I love the huge stick but this disappears on the lips very quickly and you're just left re-applying constantly throughout the day. It also doesn't moisturise my lips as much as I'd like and breaks down upon contact with liquids in a way that my £2 Malibu and Carmex balms would laugh at. 

Usage

I finally got round to using it up around November 2019. At that point I was digging it out of the tube as it no longer swiveled up. There was so much product left as well; kind of a waste. They should've put this stuff in a jar if they're going to waste that much. Before taking it to work, I used it sporadically so that's why it took so long.

Would I Buy It: Not again. The smell is like heaven but it just doesn't do anything. For £15, it's not worth it.

Overall Impressions

It's a shame really because I love the Bum Bum cream (I just can't afford it on my current salary) but other products I've tried from this brand so far that incorporate that beautiful salted caramel pistachio scent just don't hold up in quality. I love the body spray from them but I'm now debating whether or not I should purchase the hand cream which has been sitting in my wish list for the past couple of months because I just don't want to be let down again. Especially when the disappointment costs so much.

The Bum Bum cream though I still wholeheartedly love and would buy in a heartbeat. This one on the other hand, not so much.