Okay, we all know that I’m a lipstick ‘ho a sucker for lip products. But even so, I’m kind of picky about the products that I hoard collect. Two products that I love to have are a good lip exfoliator/scrub and a lip balm – but as I said, I’m very picky.
For lip exfoliation, I really don’t like anything that comes in a jar. I don’t want to have to dig it out with my finger or a scoop. It’s just messy. That’s one reason why I love Tarte’s Lip Facial Lip Scrub
. It’s in pencil form, and you just twist it to dispense the product. My one complaint is that it’s very soft and your body heat causes it to melt easily. Then it’s easy to squish all over the tube, so you have to be careful. It’s a little pricey at $16 for 0.10 oz, but it’s fantastic for exfoliating.
For lip balms, I prefer something that is more like a gloss – with a lot of slip. I don’t like the feel of anything like Chapstick. I usually only wear balms at night or when I’m home and not planning to go anywhere, so I’m looking for something that is going to give my lips a lot of moisture. In the past, every time I would find one that I loved, it would be discontinued. I do love Benefit’s Hydrating Tinted Lip Balms
, but when I’m just wearing them at night or when I’m home alone, I hate to pay $16.
When I saw a few weeks ago that Sephora had their own line of lip balms, including a scrub in tube form, I had to try them – especially priced at just $6! They’re packaged in colorful paper tubes, which I love, and each one has a specific ingredient to target a specific skincare need. (Updated August 2018 – there are now ten choices!)
- Coconut – nourishing and soothing
- Rose – nourishing and shining
- Goji – nourishing and protecting
- Tangerine – nourishing and toning
- Almond – nourishing and moisturizing
- Honey – exfoliating and smoothing
- Macadamia – nourishing and comforting
- Watermelon – nourishing and moisturizing
- Banana – nourishing and softening
- Kiwi – exfoliating and shine
A note about the Honey scrub – with the first use, you will need to rub it over your lips several times before the product “melts” away enough to reveal the exfoliating beads – or at least that’s the way it was on mine. It’s a gentle exfoliation, unlike sugar, which gives a heavier exfoliation. It has a wonderful moisturizing base that leaves your lips so soft and smooth. I exfoliate my lips regularly, so there isn’t a lot to exfoliate, and this is perfect. If you have a lot of dry skin to exfoliate, you might need to use sugar to exfoliate first, or maybe use this one a few times in order to remove all of the dry skin.
I can’t speak to the qualities of the other balms, but I’m guessing they are all very similar. I don’t know if you will actually see a difference in the effects each one provides. I will mainly be using them for moisture (which I suppose would be the “nourishing” aspect), so honestly, I’m not too concerned with whether or not (for example) the tangerine version tones my lips. If it does, great – if not, I’ll still consider it $6 well spent.
I love the ones I do have so much, I will definitely continue to purchase these. Now that they have added a few more (originally, there were six, now there are ten), I’d like to try the Watermelon. I think they would also make great little items to give for Valentine’s Day or to pop into Easter baskets – and of course, Christmas stockings, if you like to start buying early.
If you haven’t tried them yet, and love a shiny moisturizing lip balm, I think you would really like them! Just don’t buy all of the Honey scrub until I can get some more, ‘kay?