Natural Beauty Breakthrough

If there’s one thing most women can get behind, it is a good lip balm. If you’re like me, you probably have at least twenty-five of these sitting around in various locations at home, at work, and in your car. Whenever I do any organizing or cleaning, I always find them stashed in different places. It’s like an addiction! Lip balms are often my “gateway” product when I’m trying a new brand because they are always the most affordable item in the line. While this is true for some lines, for others a splurge is totally justifiable. Believe it or not, I live for Bonne Bell’s Lipsmackers in Dr Pepper. These are extremely emollient and give lips a soft tint of color. I have this in all varieties, but my favorite is the big chucky Lipsmacker. I’ve been known to use these on my cheeks when I need a bit of color and dewiness on my skin. At under $5 a pop, I can’t seem to stop picking these up. Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balms have all the great qualities of its infamous lip balm; they’re rich, softening and soothing, plus now there are six shades to choose from to care for your lips while giving them some sheer color with natural ingredients. Personally, when it comes to lips, I think Burt’s Bees can do no wrong. Who agrees with me? At the mid-range level, I have Dior’s Creme de Rose Smoothing Plumping Lip Balm with SPF 10 and Eve Lom’s Kiss Mix in my arsenal. I am a sucker for anything rose, so this Dior lip balm is right up my alley. It soothes my lips and pampers them in its luscious scent. I don’t notice any lip-plumping action on my lips, but I am perfectly happy without that. Plus it has SPF; so many lip balms do not! As for Eve Lom, I turn to this lip balm when I need a little more TLC. It is rich and super-hydrating when my lips are at their worst. There’s also menthol in it, which give a bit of a tingle. While it is rich and hydrating, it doesn’t have a thick texture, so it’s great to use under lip color as well. There have been times when I’ve paid more than $40 for a lip balm—shocking but true. These La Mer and By Terry lip balms are splurges for me, ones my family don’t know about so they won’t tell me I’m crazy! La Mer’s The Lip Balm is the lip balm I try to put on every night before bed. The thick texture is perfect for overnight wear; it is long-lasting and has a healing formula that will transform lips overnight. I may not be able to afford La Mer any other way, so I love to indulge with this lip balm. Plus the chocolate mint scent will have you hooked. By Terry’s Baume de Rose was a product I read about and just HAD to try given my rose-scented product obsession. It comes in a pot and in a tube, which I prefer because the formula feels and looks like a gloss without any of the stickiness. It’s a sad day when I realize I can’t get any more lip balm out of my tube! It also has SPF in it. Given the delicate skin we have on our lips, it makes me wonder why more brands do not add SPF. Are you addicted to lip balm, too? What steps are you taking toward recovery?

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