little white truths

I received this lip balm ages ago via one of the Facebook Beauty Swap Groups, and I'll admit, I wanted it for the cute tin and didn't care too much about the contents.

Turns out this was lucky, because if I had wanted it for the contents, I would have been disappointed: it's not a great product and, after a week of testing, it's been sent to the foot balm section because I don't want to use this on my lips (it's drying, but more on all that below).

I do love Glamourflage packaging and I think it treads the fine line between tacky and cute really well, in the same way that products from theBalm do.

This happily means that a tin like this won't go to waste: once I've finished the product, I'll use it to store things like paper-clips and keep it on my dresser. So despite how I feel about the lip balm itself, all is not lost!

As mentioned above, I like the packaging of this product but I don't like the balm itself.

It's a hard balm to the touch and a small amount comes away when you dip your finger in and apply it. It's thin in consistency and it doesn't stay on the lips for long because it's quite slippery. It smells like chocolate (in an Allens Chicos kind of way) and the scent is pleasant and also lingers for a while.

My issue with this product - aside from the fact that it's slippery and doesn't stay put for long - is that it's quite drying on my lips and I usually need to apply something over it because my lips are crying out for decent hydration not long after I've used it.  

Do note that the second ingredient listed on the back is mineral oil, so I'm wondering if that has something to do with the drying issue.

For those who don't know, mineral oil is a colourless and odourless oil that's made from petroleum: it's a by-product of the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline. You'll see a lot of people avoiding mineral oil as an ingredient for reasons including that it can clog pores, may be contaminated with toxins, and it doesn't actually serve any beneficial purpose for your skin. So if you steer clear of mineral oils in your cosmetics, I'd avoid this product.