natjtan If I was on a deserted island and had to choose a lifetime of beauty supplies, I couldn’t choose from 1 or 3 products. There’d be at least 12 products for sure. Multi purpose moisturiser would be one. At the top of the list would be lip balms. An SPF one and regular one.
Sadly I can no longer get my favourite lip balm brand Sierra Bees easily in Spain anymore. I used to order online, however with shipping it’s not worth it. Most lip balms I find in Spain have paraffin or another petroleum derived ingredient which I avoid. My preferred SPF lip balm is no longer produced by Tone It Up. For the past year I’ve been trying out different brands and have yet to find one I like. I also want to cut down on plastic where I can so in the next few months I’ll be experimenting making my own lip balms, regular and natural SPF lip balms as I generally wear non spf lip balms inside, spf lip balms inside. I’ll for sure be sharing how they go!
As always I have a few requirements when it comes to beauty products. Cruelty free, clean ingredients, natural ingredients better, vegan even better. While I am a vegan I eat honey however if any product does contain honey depending on its source I might use it. If it’s organic honey I might be more persuaded as I know the bees have been looked after well. Generally the only honey or beeswax in a product I will use are lip balms.
I also to my best to avoid nasty ingredients such as SLS’s, parabens, phthalates, petrochemicals etc and their alias and derivatives. Some derivatives depending on how far down the chain they are or generation of petrochemical I might, but I prefer to avoid them. I also do my best to avoid palm oil, its alias and derivatives as I prefer oranguatans and tigers. Again if it’s from a sustainable plantation I might. Palm oil is also tricky as to how it’s labelled. Coconut oil is just as bad for the environment so I try to go again for sustainable plantations. With cosmetics I go for cruelty free and clean ingredients as with make up can be tricky. My skin types oily, sensitive, acne prone and now those wrinkles!
This was my go to SPF lip balm from iherb and YesStyle before shipping got tricky and the price was stupid for one.
I did like these lip balms being my go to when out. They hydrated great, aren’t too greasy but left a little gloss without white cast being a chemical sunscreern. I also didn’t have to keep reapplying. The scent’s not too over powering and doesn’t go off to some weird smell. Unfortunately they contain Avobenzone and octinxate two SPF chemical filters which can harm coral reefs so I won’t be repurchasing. I’m hoping I can find good SPF lip balms before spring next year (and a zinc oxide sunscreen that doesn’t dry out my skin). I know raspberry oil and carrot oil are natural spf sunscreens but I don’t know if I was to make lip balms with them in if they’d work.
Alaffia Coconut Pineapple Ethically Traded Lip Balm
I got this on holiday in the USA and quite liked. It has a yummy pineapple sweet/candy piña colada scent that doesn’t go yucky, contains just ‘4’ (not listed is what’s in the coconut pineapple flavour) ingredients and kept my lips hydrated but at times not always moisturised for long periods of time if that makes sense. The smell on migraine days was a bit too much but apart from that I liked it. The only con was how quickly I got through it. Would I repurchase? Yes and iherb ships it to Spain!
All Good Original Certified Organic Lip Balm
Another USA find which I really enjoyed using! It did a great job of hydrating and mostiuriding without being too greasy. I used most of the lip balms over the summer which does affect their abilities as they’re naturally warmer and easier to use due to the heat. This one has a peppermint scent which did get slightly medical towards the end. Again on migraine days I didn’t always want to use it. I was however a little sad when I finished the tube up. Would I repurchase? Yes.
Kora Organics Noni Lip Treatment
Never would I usually spend €24 on a lip balm. I had been however curious to try Kora Organics lip balm for when I make my own. You do get more lip balm than the tubes being a glass pot. The only plastic, the lid and seal tab. It’s a nice all round lip balm that did it’s job aside from any staying power. I had to reapply more frequently and I used it up in about 2 weeks. Usually lip balms last me about a month, although I do have various lip balms around the house, in pockets. in bags so many are in use at once with one used more than the others. With the price, how much I used it up so quickly, that it didn’t really work I don’t feel it’s good value for money and therefore I wouldn’t repurchase. I did like the glass pot and it’s texture. It took a while to warm up to apply smoothly however in warmer months this shouldn’t be a problem. Douglas.es
Skin & Tonic London Naked Lip Balm
I got this a few years ago (shhh) from the UK and never used it as I had stash of other lip balms to get through. Shopping last month online for new lip balms as my stash has run out and my first attempt at my own were a disaster EccoVerde now sell’s Skin & Tonic! As I liked this one so much I repeat purchased! This one works better when it’s warmed up. Either in the summer or in a pocket for body warmth. In cooler temperatures it does’t feel like it’s doing much. Once it’s warmed up it hydrates, moistures and leaves a little gloss. I like that it’s only 3 ingredients and the shape for the tube as it makes application easier. I’d prefer like most of the lip balms here if the packaging wasn’t plastic. However they are more hygienic than pots. Would I repeat purchase? Yes, already have along with the lemon one!
Sephora Collection Vanilla Lip Balm
Usually I don’t buy Sephora own brands. They’re labelled as cruelty free however they sell physically in stores in China so may have had to be 3rd party tested on animals in order to be sold in China.
Sephora own brand, Sephora Collection is getting on natural ingredient products which I like. What I like more is that for some products such as all beauty tool packaging and lip balms they’ve ditched as much plastic as they can for cardboard or paper. I was out of lip balms and still waiting to purchase plant wax for my own and Sephora own brand were the most cost friendly, petrochemical free and least plastic free I could find in stores. That’s me justifying purchasing them. With the lip balms the only plastic is the twisty applicator component and film covering the paper. To recycle them I soak the paper until it’s mushy enough to remove from the plastic insides and outside film.
Anyways, my idea of vanilla is not Sephora’s idea of vanilla. It doesn’t smell like vanilla! It smells foul! I tried to use and gave up as I couldn’t face the smell. Reviews for this post said it smells like crayons. It does and worse. It also doesn’t glide at all. At the time I couldn’t sniff test due to covid-19 initial no testers in store. Would I repurchase NO! Sephora USA. Sephora Espana
Sephora Collection Peach Lip Balm
Thankfully when testers were allowed back in the shops, I could sniff test out the rest of Sephora Collection lip balms. Some again smelt yucky or left a colour. I don’t like colour on my lips, preferring to stick to lip balms. Peach was only one to meet this criteria. The scent doesn’t smell like peaches or if it does super artificial peaches. It does leave a little colour but nothing major. It was also the only lip balm in the range to have 90% of ingredients of natural origin. These are my house ones until I find a better one or my own are a success.
They’re not long lasting and I have to reapply quite frequently but they do the job. Due to the cardboard holder and price point I would repurchase if I can’t find a better one. If they’re stop the 3rd party animal testing I wouldn’t feel so guilty using them. Sephora USA. Sephora Espana
Alkemilla Eco Bio Addolcilabbra Fragola & Panna Lip Balm
I had to go all the way to Mallorca to find a natural ingredient lip balm in Spain! This was a random find in a random organic shopping Palma de Mallorca. I’ve since found I can get them on EccoVerde which is great as I know what flavours I got. Yes, got. I had a little accident with them during their photoshoot on the balcony. Both fell 50 meters to the driveway. P kindly rescued them. The apple scent got run over, the other strawberry and cream only sustained a little damage. It was still usable! The bottom twisty bit took a little hit, the rest of the plastic was intact with the balm uncompromised by dirt or anything. It did fall apart some more after a few weeks fo use. Of course I cleaned the outside before using! Sadly it rolled under the sofa about 3/4 of use where it’s staying until the sofa’s moved to be vacuumed under. All have is the lid. When I was using it, I really liked it. It was the perfect strawberry and cream scent, nothing overpowering or sickly. Once it had warmed up it hydrated and moisturised well and lasted quite a long time before the sofa incident. I would repeat buy if my own lip balms are disaster but prefer if it had less plastic.
Fraga, Latin for strawberry is the rood works for fragrance as they’re so scented! I found ByBi’s strawberry oil in Sephora and after a little research strawberry oil’s a little miracle worker!
What one beauty product would have stranded on an island? I hope I wouldn’t be in the that position and always find these questions pointless!
[…] I buy again? Yes and have. I recently posted about Sephora Own collection lip balms and that I was happy using Sephora Collection Peach Lip balm until I […]