Lush lists: lip balms & scrubs
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lushiesTime for another archive post! This one features different kinds of lip products. As ever, if you've used these or any other lip products from Lush, please comment and we'll be happy to add in your reviews.
Double Choc – brown-tinted hazelnut-chocolate-flavoured vegan lip balm. Tasty, smells great, quite firm so creates a good protective layer but beware, unless you have fairly dark lips you'll need to be careful not to look as if you've been secretly bingeing on Easter eggs, as this can cause a bit of a messy stain. Use a mirror if you're wearing it, or be restrained. 5.5/10.
Eggsnog – probably my favourite Lush lip balm ever. Light and almost colourless with a really gorgeous scent – the nut oils and myrrh combine to smell surprisingly like a boozy eggnog – this is gentle and soothing for everything except the sorest lips (use Ultrabalm for those) and is a good firm consistency, not too runny but not rock solid in cold weather. Limited edition Xmas 2010 retro, unfortunately, but hopefully it'll come back another winter; right now, you can still, just, buy this on the website, so get in there. It's slightly cheaper than the other balms too, so it's great value. 9/10.
Happy Talk – long-discontinued product from about 3 years ago, IIRC. I never bought any but I tried it a couple of times and I think it was vegan. A combination of nut oils and spice, this was supposed to have a coffee scent to it, and it did have hints of that, although it was mostly a sort of robust dark-brown smell, very wintry. It's been ages since I used it but I remember thinking it was quite pleasing, despite the fact that I obviously didn't buy it. I was much more cash-strapped then. If Lush brought it back, I'd get it, and I don't even like coffee much. 7/10.
Honey Trap – not vegan, obviously, although I can't quite figure out if the white chocolate it contains is milky or not, since some Lush 'white chocolate' is, and some isn't. Very strong smell of sweet honey with a sort of condensed milk undertone which is probably the chocolate. Pale yellow but quite firm. Feels pleasant on, works well enough, not world-beating. 6/10.
It Started With A Kiss – a scarlet-tinted red apple & cinnamon lipbalm which is annoyingly non-vegan (that white chocolate again), as it smells beautiful. The tint is not quite as red on the lips as it appears in the tin, don't worry. Moderately firm, as with the other tints you should be careful not to get it elsewhere (it can mark clothes) but it's enjoyable. Decently effective as a balm, although it's not brilliant. 6/10.
Let Them Eat Cake – discontinued and disappointing, this was a 2008 vegan lip balm which smelt lovely and spicy but just didn't quite work. It was on the soft side and prone to separation, while also having just a little too much olive oil to feel right on the lips. Result: if you want your mouth to feel as if you've just eaten a sausage...The Christmas cake smell of candied peel, spice and booze hints was pretty nice (although some found it a bit weird), so it gets points for that, but while it was OK for lips which were doing alright, it was no help when lips were troubled. Quite the opposite. 4.5/10.
Lip Squeak – spicy apple pie lip balm, now discontinued. Not vegan due to beeswax. This had an absolutely stunning scent and was reasonably effective, although it did get a little too hard in cold weather, which was annoying. Unfortunately, when my lips were extremely unhappy, this appeared to irritate them, although it might only have been that it failed to prevent their irritation. Shame. This could just have been me, though. 5.5/10.
Maple Taffy – horrible. OK but weak smell of maple syrup ruined by chemical undertones which are very obvious in the taste. A bit like licking a candle. Hugely disappointing. Works passably for its intended purpose, nothing special. Vegan, but that's barely a point in its favour. Thankfully, this was a 2010 Xmas release and is now gone; let's insist it never comes back. 2.5/10.
None Of Your Beeswax – brilliant all-rounder. Vegan, smells delicious (the vanilla & shea butter scents predominate, with the lemon & mandarin oils giving a perk rather than overpowering), very gentle even when lips are sore. Unless you're sworn off citrus, this is lovely for pretty much anyone. 9/10.
Snow Fairy – ALL THE PINK. You can smell and taste the icing sugar in this seasonal lip balm. Extremely bright, but actually not noticeably lip-staining when worn unless your lips are almost colourless, this is very sweet and does indeed smell like Snow Fairy, which is good if you like it. The taste is raspberry boiled sweets, so of course a teeny bit chemical too. A passable balm but not especially effective for unhappy lips, though it never caused me any trouble. Gone now, but may come back for future Christmases. 6/10.
katieastrophe - T-Tree Simplex was my favourite lip balm, so I was really sad when it was disconned in 2006 or so. It was a nice thin texture so didn't need to be kept warm, though that did have the side effect of making it runny if you did happen to leave it in your pocket by mistake. I don't recall it smelling much like tea-tree - a slightly woody vanilla was the overwhelming scent for me - but as tea tree oil is reknown for being a bit icky, this was good - the vanilla covered the taste nicely, too. Lip Service has served as an alright replacement for me, over the years, but suffers from being very solid and not smelling quite so lovely. I'd award T-Tree an 8/10.
Whipstick – chocolate-orange in fragrance and flavour, non-staining in colour (despite being brown), made with oat milk and almond oil for people who can't tolerate cocoa butter, it's a shame the beeswax was included as this would have been an unbeatable product if vegan. Otherwise, tastes very nice, pretty effective, softer than some of the other lip balms so easy to apply, although it's probably not the best choice in the hottest weather. Very likeable, but definitely not perfect. Now, a non-tinted vegan chocolate lipbalm without cocoa butter? There's a Lush goal for 2011... 7.5/10.
Bubblegum – one of 3 loose sugar lip scrubs which is bright pink and does indeed smell and taste like bubblegum, or Snow Fairy, depending on which comes to mind first. Not 'natural' in its aesthetics, it's nevertheless fairly fun and works fine as intended. Silly but not bad. 7/10.
Lip Dip – Xmas 2010 product currently discontinued but wildly popular, this sherbet-lemon lip scrub was, for my money, better than all the other lip scrubs because its sugar grains were smaller and in a cream rather than as loose, so it creates less mess (though still be careful) and was also softer on delicate lips. The perfect thing for dry and flaky mouths which are prone to chapping. Also amazingly delicious, this had the serious wallet-danger that you could just sit there and eat the whole damn pot. As I did. I and a lot of Lush shop staff are very much hoping this comes back, because it was phenomenal. Possibly the best product of the year. 9.5/10.
Mint Julips – another loose sugar lip scrub, this one peppermint with a little vanilla. Possibly a little bit too zippy for lips which are already tingling, this nevertheless smells glorious. Taste doesn't quite live up to the promise but it isn't bad either. Does its job pretty well too. 6.5/10.
Sweet Lips – used to be a B product, I think this cinnamon-chocolate sugar scrub was the first of the current lip scrubs to have been released (although I'm not positive) and I'm very glad Lush have kept it going. Lip scrubs are potentially quite a messy affair, and you have to be careful not to spill sugar everywhere, but they're and excellent solution to the problem of flaking lips, and combined with one of the balms, they help protect against further flaking too. Exceedingly tasty AND useful, now that's what I like. I just wish I didn't keep losing mine. 8/10.
Ultrabalm – not specifically a lip balm, but THE BOMB if your lips are too sore for anything else. This Vaseline substitute is ever so slightly grainy but warms to liquid at skin temperature, leaving a light protective coating without covering you in a thick layer of grease. No additional scent (just smells of its only 3 ingredients: jojoba oil, candelilla wax, rose wax), only a light natural pleasantness a bit like very faint wood polish, it's good everywhere but definitely merits a mention for lips. Helps retain moisture in the skin without sealing it airlessly. A product of genius. 9.5/10.
I also find some of the Lush moisturisers can work well as lip treatments when your lips are suffering. I've had particularly good results from Celestial, Skin Drink and Vanishing Cream. For a big pick-me-up for sad lips, rub in some moisturiser then cover with a layer of Ultrabalm, just before you sleep. What are your solutions to winter lip unhappiness?
Double Choc – brown-tinted hazelnut-chocolate-flavoured vegan lip balm. Tasty, smells great, quite firm so creates a good protective layer but beware, unless you have fairly dark lips you'll need to be careful not to look as if you've been secretly bingeing on Easter eggs, as this can cause a bit of a messy stain. Use a mirror if you're wearing it, or be restrained. 5.5/10.
Eggsnog – probably my favourite Lush lip balm ever. Light and almost colourless with a really gorgeous scent – the nut oils and myrrh combine to smell surprisingly like a boozy eggnog – this is gentle and soothing for everything except the sorest lips (use Ultrabalm for those) and is a good firm consistency, not too runny but not rock solid in cold weather. Limited edition Xmas 2010 retro, unfortunately, but hopefully it'll come back another winter; right now, you can still, just, buy this on the website, so get in there. It's slightly cheaper than the other balms too, so it's great value. 9/10.
Happy Talk – long-discontinued product from about 3 years ago, IIRC. I never bought any but I tried it a couple of times and I think it was vegan. A combination of nut oils and spice, this was supposed to have a coffee scent to it, and it did have hints of that, although it was mostly a sort of robust dark-brown smell, very wintry. It's been ages since I used it but I remember thinking it was quite pleasing, despite the fact that I obviously didn't buy it. I was much more cash-strapped then. If Lush brought it back, I'd get it, and I don't even like coffee much. 7/10.
Honey Trap – not vegan, obviously, although I can't quite figure out if the white chocolate it contains is milky or not, since some Lush 'white chocolate' is, and some isn't. Very strong smell of sweet honey with a sort of condensed milk undertone which is probably the chocolate. Pale yellow but quite firm. Feels pleasant on, works well enough, not world-beating. 6/10.
It Started With A Kiss – a scarlet-tinted red apple & cinnamon lipbalm which is annoyingly non-vegan (that white chocolate again), as it smells beautiful. The tint is not quite as red on the lips as it appears in the tin, don't worry. Moderately firm, as with the other tints you should be careful not to get it elsewhere (it can mark clothes) but it's enjoyable. Decently effective as a balm, although it's not brilliant. 6/10.
Let Them Eat Cake – discontinued and disappointing, this was a 2008 vegan lip balm which smelt lovely and spicy but just didn't quite work. It was on the soft side and prone to separation, while also having just a little too much olive oil to feel right on the lips. Result: if you want your mouth to feel as if you've just eaten a sausage...The Christmas cake smell of candied peel, spice and booze hints was pretty nice (although some found it a bit weird), so it gets points for that, but while it was OK for lips which were doing alright, it was no help when lips were troubled. Quite the opposite. 4.5/10.
Lip Squeak – spicy apple pie lip balm, now discontinued. Not vegan due to beeswax. This had an absolutely stunning scent and was reasonably effective, although it did get a little too hard in cold weather, which was annoying. Unfortunately, when my lips were extremely unhappy, this appeared to irritate them, although it might only have been that it failed to prevent their irritation. Shame. This could just have been me, though. 5.5/10.
Maple Taffy – horrible. OK but weak smell of maple syrup ruined by chemical undertones which are very obvious in the taste. A bit like licking a candle. Hugely disappointing. Works passably for its intended purpose, nothing special. Vegan, but that's barely a point in its favour. Thankfully, this was a 2010 Xmas release and is now gone; let's insist it never comes back. 2.5/10.
None Of Your Beeswax – brilliant all-rounder. Vegan, smells delicious (the vanilla & shea butter scents predominate, with the lemon & mandarin oils giving a perk rather than overpowering), very gentle even when lips are sore. Unless you're sworn off citrus, this is lovely for pretty much anyone. 9/10.
Snow Fairy – ALL THE PINK. You can smell and taste the icing sugar in this seasonal lip balm. Extremely bright, but actually not noticeably lip-staining when worn unless your lips are almost colourless, this is very sweet and does indeed smell like Snow Fairy, which is good if you like it. The taste is raspberry boiled sweets, so of course a teeny bit chemical too. A passable balm but not especially effective for unhappy lips, though it never caused me any trouble. Gone now, but may come back for future Christmases. 6/10.
katieastrophe - T-Tree Simplex was my favourite lip balm, so I was really sad when it was disconned in 2006 or so. It was a nice thin texture so didn't need to be kept warm, though that did have the side effect of making it runny if you did happen to leave it in your pocket by mistake. I don't recall it smelling much like tea-tree - a slightly woody vanilla was the overwhelming scent for me - but as tea tree oil is reknown for being a bit icky, this was good - the vanilla covered the taste nicely, too. Lip Service has served as an alright replacement for me, over the years, but suffers from being very solid and not smelling quite so lovely. I'd award T-Tree an 8/10.Whipstick – chocolate-orange in fragrance and flavour, non-staining in colour (despite being brown), made with oat milk and almond oil for people who can't tolerate cocoa butter, it's a shame the beeswax was included as this would have been an unbeatable product if vegan. Otherwise, tastes very nice, pretty effective, softer than some of the other lip balms so easy to apply, although it's probably not the best choice in the hottest weather. Very likeable, but definitely not perfect. Now, a non-tinted vegan chocolate lipbalm without cocoa butter? There's a Lush goal for 2011... 7.5/10.
Bubblegum – one of 3 loose sugar lip scrubs which is bright pink and does indeed smell and taste like bubblegum, or Snow Fairy, depending on which comes to mind first. Not 'natural' in its aesthetics, it's nevertheless fairly fun and works fine as intended. Silly but not bad. 7/10.
Lip Dip – Xmas 2010 product currently discontinued but wildly popular, this sherbet-lemon lip scrub was, for my money, better than all the other lip scrubs because its sugar grains were smaller and in a cream rather than as loose, so it creates less mess (though still be careful) and was also softer on delicate lips. The perfect thing for dry and flaky mouths which are prone to chapping. Also amazingly delicious, this had the serious wallet-danger that you could just sit there and eat the whole damn pot. As I did. I and a lot of Lush shop staff are very much hoping this comes back, because it was phenomenal. Possibly the best product of the year. 9.5/10.
Mint Julips – another loose sugar lip scrub, this one peppermint with a little vanilla. Possibly a little bit too zippy for lips which are already tingling, this nevertheless smells glorious. Taste doesn't quite live up to the promise but it isn't bad either. Does its job pretty well too. 6.5/10.
Sweet Lips – used to be a B product, I think this cinnamon-chocolate sugar scrub was the first of the current lip scrubs to have been released (although I'm not positive) and I'm very glad Lush have kept it going. Lip scrubs are potentially quite a messy affair, and you have to be careful not to spill sugar everywhere, but they're and excellent solution to the problem of flaking lips, and combined with one of the balms, they help protect against further flaking too. Exceedingly tasty AND useful, now that's what I like. I just wish I didn't keep losing mine. 8/10.
Ultrabalm – not specifically a lip balm, but THE BOMB if your lips are too sore for anything else. This Vaseline substitute is ever so slightly grainy but warms to liquid at skin temperature, leaving a light protective coating without covering you in a thick layer of grease. No additional scent (just smells of its only 3 ingredients: jojoba oil, candelilla wax, rose wax), only a light natural pleasantness a bit like very faint wood polish, it's good everywhere but definitely merits a mention for lips. Helps retain moisture in the skin without sealing it airlessly. A product of genius. 9.5/10.
I also find some of the Lush moisturisers can work well as lip treatments when your lips are suffering. I've had particularly good results from Celestial, Skin Drink and Vanishing Cream. For a big pick-me-up for sad lips, rub in some moisturiser then cover with a layer of Ultrabalm, just before you sleep. What are your solutions to winter lip unhappiness?
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Date: 2011-01-19 07:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-19 11:34 pm (UTC)One you've missed..
Date: 2011-01-19 08:28 pm (UTC)Re: One you've missed..
Date: 2011-01-19 11:34 pm (UTC)