Pavilion Reviews: A Lip Balm Review Blog

Brand/Company: My Lip Stuff & Other Stuff
Name: Limited Edition Holiday Balm in Mistletoe
Where was it purchased/price?: mylipstuff.com, $2.00.
Packaging: White MLS tube, with a special Mistletoe label. It's quite cute.
Color: Green in tube, goes on clear.
Scent: Sage. Lots of sage. I can't detect the vanilla just yet.
Taste: None.
Texture/glide: Typical MLS texture.
Repurchase? Yes.
Overall thoughts: This is a unique holiday balm. I rather like it, and having dabbled in Paganism for years, the scent of Sage is one that brings back memories. I wish I could smell the vanilla more. An average balm, with a special place in my heart.

Brand/Company: ChapStick
Name: Lucy 'Wild Apple' Chronicles of Narnia
Where was it purchased/price?: Wal-mart, I forget the price.
Packaging: White stick with green and brown label, with a horse logo and fancy black writing. it's quite fetching.
Color: Bright green, goes on clear.
Scent: HOLY CRAP! APPLES! I love the scent.
Taste: Mmm. A light apple taste. Quite pleasant.
Texture/glide: Ordinary ChapStick texture and glide. Maybe a bit smoother.
Repurchase? Maybe.
Overall thoughts: This is a good novelty balm, and the scent is amazing, however, my lips feel dry after I use it. The taste is pretty good too. However, other than the appearance and the smell/taste, nothing special about it.

Brand/Company: ChapStick
Name: All Natural
Where was it purchased/price?: CVS, $2.19.
Packaging: Very pale gold stick, black chapstick logo. Green lettering on "All Natural" with a moisture drop dangling from the l. Very pretty.
Color: Natural beeswax color.
Scent: Very faint natural beeswax.
Taste: None.
Texture/glide: Very smooth and moisturizing.
Repurchase? Yes!
Overall thoughts: ChapStick actually did a wonderful job on this balm. It's one of my all-time favorite simple balms. Nothing bad about it. It's uber-moisturizing, and smooth. It's so simple, but it works amazingly. I want a case of them.

Brand/Company: Blistex
Name: Gentle Sense Hypo-allergenic Lip Moisturizer
Where was it purchased/price?: CVS, $2.19.
Packaging: A beautiful, light blue stick with white script. It's quite pleasant and calming to look at. I really, really like it.
Color: None.
Scent: Very light beeswax/shea butter scent.
Taste: None.
Texture/glide: Surprisingly thick, especially for Blistex. It's creamy, but it kinda squishes when you apply it.
Repurchase? Eh, maybe.
Overall thoughts: Congratulations to Blistex for creating a very clean, lack-of-anything balm. If you just want moisture and no-bullshit, this is the balm for you. I adore the color of the tube. It doesn't moisturize very well, but it's okay. It's juat a very bland balm. However, when you buy it, proceeds go to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. That's mainly why I bought.

Brand/Company: Bath and Body Works/American Girl
Name: Talk to Me - Vanilla
Where was it purchased/price?: Bath and Body Works, $4.00.
Packaging: Dark red modified stick. It's more like a lip stick tube in the way the cap is half the stick, but it's still a thin cylinder. The labels are cute, but excessive.
Color: Peachish brown, goes on clear.
Scent: My boyfriend claims it smells like a Fluffernutter or Rice Krispie Treats. I think it smells like fake vanilla.
Taste: Nasty with a hint of vanilla.
Texture/glide: Slightly waxy, but somewhat smooth and creamy. Very in-between when it comes to texture. However, it does not moisturize at all.
Repurchase? No.
Overall thoughts: I really don't like this balm. It's just...bad. It wasn't worth the four dollars. Ugh. Just...no.

Brand/Company: The Mentholatum Co. Inc.
Name: Softlips Raspberry with Green Tea Extract
Where was it purchased/price?: Target, a 2-pack for $2.69 or something of that nature.
Packaging: A slim, white stick with attractive raspberry and green writing. Very simplistic and nice.
Color: None.
Scent: The scent reminds me of the Cool Grape candies that I get at Halloween. It's kind of weird.
Taste: A light fruity/raspberry taste with a thick petroleum taste.
Texture/glide: Incredibly smooth and light. However, I do not feel moisturized in the slightest.
Repurchase? No.
Overall thoughts: Softlips lip balms are not some of my favorites. I really don't like how it makes my lips feel dry and wrinkled, much like those horrible Spa Effects balms from Blistex. The smell of the stick is very pleasant, in a weird way, and I love the style of the stick itself, slim and compact. I'm going to try to find the Moisture Enriched or the Shea Butter Enriched version and see if those are more moisturizing.

Brand/Company: C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries
Name: Orange Cream Mentha Lip Shine
Where was it purchased/price?: Bath and Body Works, 3/$15. Usually $7.50.
Packaging: An orange barber-pole striped tube, with a black cap. A tiny bit of the text is green, and the color just POPS. It has the traditional writing and design of all the C.O. Bigelow tubes. This particular tube is my favorite.
Color: None.
Scent: Creamy orange, vanilla and a touch of mint.
Taste: Sweet and perfect orange cream.
Texture/glide: Very smooth, but glopy. Best applied with a finger, rather than directly from the tube.
Repurchase? YES.
Overall thoughts: This is one of my all-time favorite balms. I keep it in my purse at all times, now. I was excited to find that C.O. Bigelow released these, as I am a huge fan of soda. I just adore this balm in everyway. I'm going to buy more of this before it disappears.

Brand/Company: C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries
Name: Cinnamint Mentha Lip Shine.
Where was it purchased/price?: Bath and Body Works, 3/$15. Usually $7.50.
Packaging: A light red tube, with a black cap. It has the traditional writing and design of all the C.O. Bigelow tubes. Very classy.
Color: None.
Scent: Delicious cinnamon mint.
Taste: Spicy and minty, gorgeous. Cinnamon and mint infused for fresh breath!
Texture/glide: Very smooth, but glopy. Best applied with a finger, rather than directly from the tube.
Repurchase? Yes, actually.
Overall thoughts: This is actually a really amazing balm. It really smooths the lips, has great shine and it tingles after a few minutes. It's incredibly useful. The fresh breath factor is a bonus as well. I used to think that C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Balms were too goopy and just too overpriced for regular use but I found a keeper in this one. I recommend this one whole-heartedly. The price tag may be high for some, but I feel that it's worth it.

Brand/Company: My Lip Stuff
Name: Pumpkin Spice Latte
Where was it purchased/price?: mylipstuff.com, $2.00.
Packaging: White, regular sized tube with a homemade label.
Color: Whitish, pale tan.
Scent: Amazing. Smells just like a pumpkin spice latte, I absolutely love it. My boyfriend adores the smell as well. It smells exactly like the Pumpkin Spice coffee that my school's coffeehouse has.
Taste: Slightly spicy oil.
Texture/glide: Very oily. I really am not a fan of the texture of My Lip Stuff, however, the scents make up for it.
Repurchase? No, because I won't be able to finish this tube.
Overall thoughts: I love Brea, the woman who creates these, and the company. I am not a fan of the texture, never have been, but they heal the lips SO WELL. And not just the lips, mind you, everything. Including the soul. Brea's balms owned my soul. The smell is totally amazing and spot-on. My Lip Stuff rocks.

Brand/Company: W.S. Badger Company
Name: Badger Lip and Body Balm in Cinnamon Bay
Where was it purchased/price?: Nature's Garden Ltd.,
Packaging: White, regular-sized tube with a blue and purple label. It has the absolutely adorable Badger Company logo.
Color: Dark yellowish.
Scent: Like a combination of Old Bay and cinnamon.
Taste: Spicy cinnamon goodness.
Texture/glide: Thick, a little greasy, but a nice, smooth glide.
Repurchase? Not this scent.
Overall thoughts: It's a little too kitcheny for me, and I really don't like the way this feels on my lips. I love the company, so I'll try another scent, just in case this balm was a fluke. I don't have much else to say about it.