Battle Of The Balms Round 2

Battle Of The Balms: Tins And Pots

This is the second post in my Battle Of The Balms series, and I'll be focusing on balms in tins and pots. I have quite a few this time - five, which is up from the three I had last time. If you've read a lot of my blog posts n the past then you may already be able to guess which one is going to win!

Today I'll be comparing the Starry Honey Essence Rosehip Lip Balm ($1.00 from ShopMissA), the Nivea Lip Butter ($2.99 at Ulta), Lip Shit Lip Balm ($6.99 at Blue Q), the e.l.f. Conditioning Lip Balm ($3.00 from e.l.f.), and the e.l.f. Lip Balm Tint ($2.00 from e.l.f.).

First we have the Starry Honey Essence Rosehip Lip Balm.

Pros-

-Quite moisturizing

-Super cheap

-Thicker consistency means you can use it as an overnight treatment as well as a balm

Cons-

-Super heavy floral scent that even I find a bit overwhelming, and product scents don't usually bug me

-The lid comes off easily so you can't throw it in your bag

-Harder to find (possibly only sold online)

Second in line is the Nivea Lip Butter. I'm showing the Raspberry Rose Kiss scent/flavor but it comes in a few others, including a plain one.

Pros-

-Super moisturizing

-The scented ones (especially this one) smell absolutely lovely

-Thicker consistency means you can use it as an overnight treatment as well as a balm

-Rather inexpensive, especially for the amount of product you get

-Easy to find (sold at most drugstores as well as at Ulta)

Cons-

-Can leave a white cast on your lips if you use a lot of it at once

Next is the Lip Shit Lip Balm. Mine is in Cucumber Mint but it comes in quite a few other flavors.

Pros-

-Pretty moisturizing

-Cucumber Mint flavor has a slight cooling sensation (I find it pleasant)

-Smells good, and if you don't like this scent it comes in other ones as well

-Fun packaging

Cons-

-If you really don't like the cooling sensation then this specific one isn't for you

-Although the price isn't outrageous, it is the most expensive on the list

-The very hard consistency makes it difficult to get a good amount on your lips. I find I have to dig a small chunk out and spread it onto my lips

-Not the easiest to find

Second to last is the e.l.f. Conditioning Lip Balm.

Pros-

-Quite moisturizing

-Pretty easy to obtain (sold both online and in stores)

-Has a nice tint

-Smells pleasantly like coconut

-Inexpensive (you get a good amount for the price as well)

Cons-

-If you don't like tinted balms (I don't very much) then it doesn't have a colorless option for you

-If you dislike coconut then you probably won't like the scent

-The color can be somewhat uneven

Lastly is the e.l.f. Lip Balm Tint.

Pros-

-Cheap

-Pretty easy to obtain (sold both online and in stores)

-Comes in a good range of shades

-Pleasant but light sweet scent

Cons-

-Not actually all that moisturizing

-No colorless option

-No scentless option

-You don't get a whole lot of product

-Texture is a bit odd (waxy and very little color payoff)

And the winner is...my holy grail lip balm, the Nivea Lip Butter! It may not be everyone's absolute favorite because of the white cast it can leave on the lips, but if that's literally the only bad thing I can say about it, then I don't see how I could not love it because I don't really care about that. It's the most moisturizing of the bunch by far, and I've actually used up a whole tin in the past as part of a project use it up. That's how I ended up falling in love with it. Nothing keeps my lips feeling as soft and smooth as this does. Wear this as an overnight treatment and pair it with a decent daytime balm and your lips will be in great shape in no time.

Battle Of The Balms

Battle Of The Balms: Squeezy Tubes

I had the idea for a new short series of posts where I would compare lip balms that come in similar forms and tell you which one I like best. I decided to start with squeezy tube balms because I have three that I want to compare which seems like a good amount and I had tried them all out enough to know the pros and cons of each one.

The three balms I'll be comparing today are the Cath Kidston Rose Lip Balm (the closest I could find online was this for $10.00 USD, this exact lip balm was a gift that my aunt bought for me in Paris so it may only be available overseas), the Beauty Treats Lip Care Rosehip lip balm ($1.00 USD from ShopMissA), and the Pur-Lisse Daily Lip Nourisher ($16.00 USD from Pur-Lisse's website).

First up is the Cath Kidston Rose Lip Balm.

Pros-

-Very moisturizing

-If you like the smell of roses, you will like this a lot

-Small size makes it easy to fit in your purse, pocket, etc.

Cons-

-If you don't like the smell of roses, you will absolutely not like this

-Smaller size means you are paying more than you pay for, say, the Beauty Treat lip balm and getting less product

-Seems to be hard to get in the U.S.

Second is the Beauty Treats Rosehip lip balm.

Pros-

-Very moisturizing

-Light but not overpowering sweet scent

-The least expensive of the three, and you get the most product

-Easy to get in the U.S.

-Comes in other scents/flavors

Cons-

-Larger size makes it slightly less portable

-Some may not like the scent, although it is much lighter than the scent of the Cath Kidston balm.

Lastly is the Pur-Lisse lip balm.

Pros-

-Pretty moisturizing

-Scent is very light

-Small enough to still be quite conveniently portable

-Easy to get in the U.S.

Cons-

-Expensive

-I think it has a slight taste and I don't like it

-It's quite thin so while it is moisturizing, it doesn't stay moisturizing for long

Overall, I prefer the Beauty Treats Rosehip lip balm. It's not as easy to fit in a pocket or purse as the other two but I don't tend to use squeezy tube balms on the go anyways, so that's not a concern for me. It's just as moisturizing as the Cath Kidston balm, but without the rose scent that I personally find overpowering and $9.00 cheaper, plus way easier for me to get my hands on as I live in the United States. The Pur-Lisse balm is nice but I can't see myself spending $16.00 on something I don't like the texture of in the future (I got the one I have now in a Boxycharm). If you read the pros and cons of all three of these lip balms and think that one of the other ones would be better for you than the Beauty Treats one, then by all means - try that one instead. I just like this one more because of my personal preferences and needs.