We often discuss "niche perfumery," but what about niche toiletries? Lip balm, for example. Who doesn't own a lip balm of some kind? It might just be a basic ChapStick or Blistex picked up at the drugstore. On the other hand, it might be a lip-care item with a carefully honed image (and a matching scent), designed to appeal to a very specific user group. Here's a selection of quirky lip balms that have caught my attention over the past few months.
For the traditionalist-with-a-twist: Burt's Bees Revitalizing Lip Balm with Blueberry and Dark Chocolate. This new iteration has the same ideal consistency as the original Beeswax formula, with natural flavoring from extracts of antioxidant-rich (and tasty) blueberries and dark powdered cocoa. (about $3.50 at drugstores)
For the bohemian: For Strange Women Absinthe Lips (not shown). This natural perfumery also offers a few lip treats, including this decadent little tin of medium-weight balm flavored with anise essential oil. If you like black licorice, you'll like this. ($6 at For Strange Women; also offered in a traditional tube for $4.50)
For the home-brewer: Atlantic Farms Double IPA Lip Balm. This waxy balm is infused with essential oils from organic hops flowers and sweetened with stevia. It really does smell like hops: a little grassy, a little banana-like, with something floral-herbal in the mix. Other flavors are also available. ($6.50 at Atlantic Farms)
For the ayurveda enthusiast: Hurraw! Vata, Pita, and Kapha Balms. Once you're figured out your dosha, you'll know which of these vegan balms to choose. I'm a Kapha, so my blend is warm and spicy, with plenty of aromatic ginger and hints of citrus and eucalyptus. ($4.29 at Hurraw!)
For the sun-and-surf type: Sun Bum SPF30 Balm. Sun protection plus fun, fruity scents---a day at the beach. I've sampled Pink Guava, which packs a real punch of pulpy, citrusy-sweet flavor. Also available in Mango, Banana, Coconut... ($3.99 at Sun Bum)
For the classic movie fan: Skull & Sparkle Hollywood Balmshells (not shown). These glittery, decorated tins have a handmade feel, which adds to their charm. (I chose the Clara Bow "Starlet" design.) The balm inside has a light texture and a lemon-sugar "champagne" flavoring. ($5 at Skull & Sparkle)
For the nature-lover: Noya Vanilla Lip Balm. Simple and sweet, this balm is kosher and all-natural, with a smooth texture and a creamy vanilla taste and scent. ($3.99 at Noya; additional flavors also available)
Have you recently come across any unusual lip balms? Feel free to share in the comments!
My daughter is 12, and apparently lip balm is THE must-have status symbol “it” thing. Nothing niche, though! It’s all Maybelline Baby Lips and EOS here, and the idea is to collect all the variations. They do also like Burt’s Bees — I think I’ll get her the blueberry one for her stocking!
Hilariously, one of her friends went to a drugstore and asked if they had Baby Lips, and the cashier was horrified — “It is the lips of babies!?”
I remember my very first lip balm: Grape Chapstick, when I was in first grade. I was so proud of it!
I’ll never look at Baby Lips the same way again!!
Same when I was 12! Except it was Bonne Bell Lipsmackers. I still remember the odd taste of the Dr Pepper balm.
When I was 12, my favorite was something called Kissing Potion — not that I was kissing anyone at that point — which was really more of a gloss, I suppose!
Oh jeez, I remember those! Sticky sticky super gloss in a rollerball bottle. It made your lips look shellacked. I also had Lipsmackers, back in the good ol’ days when they were huge. I had Dr.Pepper and Bubblegum. As soon as the class bell rang every girl would whip those out of their pockets and apply. LOL My mom was okay with the Lipsmackers, she was less happy with the Kissing Potion (sort of trampy).
Ick, I can still remember how sticky Kissing Potion was and how too much would ooze out of the rollerball and stuff in your purse would stick to it after you put the lid back on. The big Dr Pepper lipsmacker was much more useable and it had a little color, like lipstick on training wheels
When i was 12 the Body Shop was not yet in South Africa. The kids who either went to the UK or America – or who had family going there – would bring back to school those fruity scented glosses in those little pots. They were instant celebrities and able to form snarky little coteries, lol!
I love lip balms. I buy more than would seem justified, no more than I actually use them. I really like Burt’s Bees, so I’ll be on the lookout for that blueberry and chocolate one. I’m intrigued by the For Strange Women and Atlantic Farms ones too. Right now I have two from Tokyo Milk: Absinthe and Salted Caramel. Both smell and taste really good.
Tokyo Milk is such a fun brand. I haven’t tried their balms, but I love any salted caramel dessert!
Are the Tokyo Milk balms in a tin can? I much prefer the twist up type.
Tokyo Milk makes two lines of balms, both awesome. The regular collection is in little clear-glass pots with brushed-aluminum lids; the best ones are Rosewater (sugared rose) and Let Them Eat Cake (coconut frosting). The Dark collection is in HUGE flat black-lacquered tins (two thirds of an ounce): I have Coco Noir (chocolate cherry), Salted Caramel, and Clove Cigarette. The Dark collection is super waxy; the others are softer. YES I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH LIP BALM ADDICTION.
I’m using the original Chapstick now, which I haven’t in awhile. I must have used it as a teenager, because it isn’t fragranced heavily but does smell somehow familiar.
Thinking of getting Nuxe’s Reve de Miel. Has anyone tried that one?
It’s lovely, but it goes off very quickly. I’ve bought it twice in the past and twice I’ve had to throw it away long before I’d finished using the jar.
The Reve de Miel lip moisturizing stick is very moisturizing and seems to last. Have not tried the one in the jar, though.
Hi, Dominika — I’ve owned the Nuxe balm (in the little glass tub) before, and I really, really liked it as a bedtime treatment. Here’s a link to my review of it, ages ago:
https://nstperfume.com/2007/12/01/scented-lip-balms-a-round-up-for-winter-2007/
Excellent. I think I’ll go for it… Nuxe is available for slightly less here in Cairo than it sells for in the US, so that’s another incentive. Egyptian pharmacies are funny places. It’s either local products, which are mostly heavily-fragranced oriental style with lots of vanilla or musk, which I don’t mind, or French pharmacy brands like La Roche-Posay and the like that seem overpriced … until you convert the pounds into dollars and they turn out to be bargains, after all.
It is great stuff. Mine hasn’t gone off (yet). I have been using for 6 months.
I am completely addicted to Smith & Chang General Goods Citrus Blossom natural lip balm. I picked it up at Elements and have been using it ever since. It feels like a lip treament (similar to Cherry Balm) and has the best scent.
I’ve tried a few of their body products, and keep meaning to write a review. Thanks for the reminder, Ron!
Must have product on my lips at all times! Will have to look into the For Strange Women–I like licorice, and it does indeed sound strange. When I got the mailer from L’Occitane about the jasmine, rose & violet body creams, it also mentioned corresponding lip balms, which sound like odd flavors.
Current fave balm is Lipstick Queen’s Medieval, which looks blood red in the tube, but goes on very sheer (I like about 10 coats!)
Lipstick Queen Medieval! The original glamourous tinted balm. So good.
I haven’t had much luck with L’Occitane’s lip balms, but I do love their hand creams and body lotions!
Every time I read a review of lip balms, I end up buying one or more, especially if it is a brand/line I have never heard of. Case in point…the Hurraw brand — when I found them by chance at American Apparel, I ended up with 4 different flavors. Do I need four? Why yes I do…one for my purse, one to keep in the bathroom, one to keep next to my desk and one for back-up. The winner for today’s round up is the Burts Bees…hopefully Target has the specific blueberry dark chocolate one…I’m salivating as I am typing this.
I always have a few balms in my possession…one in my bag, one in my nightstand drawer, one on my desk…!
I haven’t tried any of the brands mentioned (many of which are not available where I live) but I have found most lip balms I have tried to be pretty useless at what they are supposed to do – i.e. keep my lips from becoming dry and chapped.
I do like the idea of having curious and fun sticks around to whip out and apply, but when they are not actually working the novelty fades long before the product is finished.
In any case, I was excited last winter to find something that is actually effective – hallelujah! The badger Cocoa Butter Balm. I got it in Cool Mint which has a lovely cooling but also chocolate tinged scent. Aside from the nice scent and adorable tube the stuff WORKS. It’s soft, rather than waxy and feels really nice on the lips.
I’ve liked everything I’ve tried from Badger — it’s such a trusty little company.
Badger also has a balm with a barrier (non-chemical) sunscreen, the only good one I’ve found. I hate this trend of taking the sunscreen out of everything.
Haven’t tried that one!
I am a definite Badger fan though – their cuticle balm is fantastic too:)
i’ve been loving and using Ganache for Lips for years now. they’re yum
http://www.ganacheforlips.com/
Those are great, I agree! Very tasty and effective.
In Australia there is a natural Paw Paw balm in a cute retro red packaging – and it’s a balm that exceeds all others! Anyone who tries it is a life long devotee and Aussie girls living abroad always ask friends to bring some over and stock up their supply. I understand that celebrity make up artists know of it and use it in the US. If you’re a balm addict like myself you will want to try it. I bought a pile of EOS while in LA recently as we don’t have it here as yet. It’s funny that young girls alway love balm – Bonne Belle was the status symbol when I was in junior high. I love the Baby Lips and I could tell young girls would covet it now in the same way. As a side note the minty rose scent of Rosebud co balm drives me wild. For some reason it reminds me of Prada’s Infusion d’Iris.
I’ve seen Paw Paw balm in magazines but haven’t had the chance to try it! I’ve heard EOS is good, too — of course, I can easily get that one at most US drugstores.
Oh I have to add that I somehow find Chanel’s plain lip balm, which comes in their iconic black lipstick case, so luxurious! I love the idea of something so simple from a luxury brand.
I agree!
Here is the Paw Paw balm, made by a small company for generations: http://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/product.asp?id=41820
Before I gave myself permission to splurge on my first full bottle of perfume, I had to learn to splurge elsewhere, and one of the biggies was buying enough “chapstick” so that I ALWAYS have one! Why, oh why, did I try to keep track of that little tube when I could have one in every purse, every jacket, in my car and in nearly every room of my house?! I felt very content to spend that $15 or whatever and distribute them throughout my space!
One of the balms I enjoy is Badger Balms lipbalm. They have a minty one (can’t recall the name precisely), but it’s soothing rather than zingy.
So true — why not just own a couple, and keep them in different places? It took me a while to figure that out, too!
I own loads of lip balms, but very different brands to the ones you mentioned, small wonder as I live in Europe.
My favourites include the Nuxe lip balm, and another great lipbalm by Bioderma. I keep trying new ones all the time. I was very pleased to see a review of one of my most used beauty products.
Whenever I travel, which isn’t often, I love to browse in local drugstores! Even the most basic products end up looking intriguing and different.
Most of my lip balms are the complimentary give-away kind, like when you go to job fairs or conferences; schools and businesses give away chapsticks with their name on them. Most of them are pretty nice, and I actually save a few dollars that way. (I know that sound cheap but whatever works!). The one nice one I have is a plain Burt’s Bees.
I had one freebie recently, from a local healthcare facility — it did the job just fine!
I’m late to the party but here are my favourites:
L’Occitane’s spedial edition lipbalms in Rose Petals and Mango Flower in convenient squeeze tubes
The Body Shop Rose 100% Natural Lip Roll On
Burt’s Bees Honey Lip balm
Rosebud Perfume Co. Smith’s Minted Rose Lip Balm & Strawberry Lip Balms
Body America New York Cheesecake Vanilla Strawberry Organic Lip Butter, paraben free.
I need to know more about that Body Shop rose balm! I’ll have to make a visit to a BS this week. Thanks!
I will enjoy reading about others’ lip balm ideas! but doubt I will take advantage of them. I prefer natural, if possible organic ingredients on my lips, and beeswax I find very drying. I tend to go to Etsy, search for vegan lip balms (which don’t include beeswax, they usually use candelilla wax instead), and try to find ones with avocado oil (a natural sunscreen).
I try various lip balms when the weather cools, but I somehow always wind up back at mint ChapStick. It’s cheap, does the job, and smells nice. I used to be all about Carmex, but the smell is seriously potent and I got sick of dealing with the tin. But then, I try not to rely on lip balms too much; over-use leads to dependency, which leads to an episode of Intervention. (It’s the same reason I don’t use nasal sprays. Google “nasal spray addiction” and read the horror stories, lol.)
I found this post SO late, but… my favorite lip balms are limited by my allergy to lanolin, which is included as an ingredient in many of them. My favorites are the Caudalie Lip Conditioner (expensive) and Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula with vitamin E. They both come in stick format. Coming in a distant third is the Toyko Milk Salted Caramel, which comes in pot form. For exfoliation I like Tarte’s Maracuja lip exfoliant, which is a sugar scrub. After massaging it in, you will need to splash your lips with warm water to melt the sugar off. Do not try to wipe with tissue or you will end up with pieces of it all over your lips.
I like that Caudalie one too!