Few Of My Favourites: A Lip Balm Obsession

Too much of a good thing can never be bad na?A question I ask myself constantly to assuage my fears of this obsession.And I'm sure most of you must be assuming that my obsession lies in using lip balms but it actually extends to buying them too.Might sound loony to anyone who has not fallen for it, but trust me an obsession it is.How much is an obsession you may ask.Well I have 4 tubes of my absolute favourite one(Avon Naturals Strawberry Lip Balm) lest I should ever run out of it(before getting the chance to buy another one).

Ok so do i have your attention now? The obsession I suppose can stem anywhere from the cute packaging(Purse Those Lips), yummy smells(and at times taste), flavours and yeah obviously the fact that it keeps lips soft supple and shiny.But mind you I use the term obsession and not addiction cause there's no such thing as a lip balm addiction.However people do claim to be addicted with likely signs of reaching for the pot of gold every 5 minutes.I don't do that and I don't judge if you do because there is a perfectly valid reason for it.

Lip balms mainly consist of Petroleum Jelly apart from other ingredients and the petroleum jelly acts as a barrier between your lips and the environment.So it works by sealing in the lip's natural moisture thereby preventing it from drying out.So what's the problem right?Well most lip balms also contain Phenol(or Carbolic Acid) which acts as an anti-microbial(a good thing) but also draws moisture from the lips making them dry and you cringe for more.So if you want to kick the habit stop using lip balms with phenol in it or just stop altogether.Impossible.Yeah I know but don't worry this habit won't kill you because there are no proven adverse effects of using lip balms in the long term.Nada.And that's a scientific fact.Except if you have or develop an allergy to any ingredient.
I guess I've ranted enough about them and now it's time for me to to introduce my lovelies.

Avon Naturals Lip Balm

  
I love these to death.They are moisturizing and lip smacking.Strawberry and cherry also impart a pink tint making lipsticks redundant.Mint and grapefruit though is a pale pink which makes it perfect to go under or above any lipstick.And the best part these come in sticks which makes application a breeze.They are priced at Rs 79 each which is a bargain considering how good they are and usually they are on sale(which is how I ended up with 4 strawberries).A must have for any lip balm junkie.And lately I’ve found another great use for these as eye shadow primers.I just apply these on my eye lids and it actually makes the shadows stay longer because of the wax content in it.Another reason to indulge in these.

Body Shop Born Lippy



Another great addition to your collection but not as satisfying as the Avon one’s.I have these in Raspberry and Passion Fruit.The Raspberry one is similar to Strawberry in flavour but Passion Fruit smells really weird a little like crayon.However these are pretty moisturizing too and last a good amount of time.They cost Rs 199 which I find a bit expensive for lip balms and comes in a pot.I’ve already scraped the bottom of Passion Fruit but that’s cause I use it as a cuticle cream.I cannot bear the smell of it.Works really good as a cuticle cream.

Purse Those Lips


These come in such adorable containers that you can all but resist them.I found them while shopping at Asos and I knew I had to have them.Asos messed that order(the packaging was badly damaged) so they sent me the order again which means I have four of them now(BTW Asos has great customer service) which is great because they don’t have these any more.I was not expecting wonders from these but surprisingly these are damn good.The formula is really creamy and you need very little.And it stays put for a very long time.Union Jack leaves a nice pink tint while Leopard is sparkly transparent.I don’t exactly remember the price but it was under the 5 pounds or less category(I go to that one first).If only Asos would stock these up.

Oriflame



Oriflame markets both of these lip balms aggressively and they are mostly on a sale.The visions one comes in a tube and is similar to a transparent lip gloss in texture and application albeit with a thicker formula.But I find it too drying.You have to use loads of product to moisturize  your lips and when you use more it runs out faster(the tube is really tiny) and makes your lips extremely sticky.But when applied on top of lipstick it increases the life span of your lipstick and keeps it glossy.The other one is in lipstick form and works great as a base for lipstick.If used on it’s own it doesn't last and gets wiped off easily.Although both of them are great I wouldn't repurchase.Don’t remember the price.

Vaseline



I know you may think that the humble Vaseline has no place here with the biggies, but I beg to differ.This little tub was my constant companion all through my growing years and so I keep a small tub with me always.Although the texture is a little runny and it’s not awesome it moisturizes my dry lips in a jiffy and is damn cheap at 5 bucks.If your a newbie to the obsession this is where you should start.And you can easily jazz up the ordinary tub of Vaseline into a fancy  flavoured lip balm.Combine one sachet Rasna (or any instant powder drink), two capsules of Vitamin E and the smallest tub of Vaseline.The Rasna will give flavour and colour.

So that was my safe lip haven and I have for the time being stopped buying more.But if you have an obsession/addiction I would advice you to indulge it.Plus if you have no other use for them you can always substitute them for cuticle cream or an eye shadow primer.