Three of A Kind: Potted Lip Balms
I realise this is one of the duller categories when it comes to beauty, but lip balms really are a necessary bore when it comes to skincare and makeup. Repetitive, lacklustre and literally invisible, you could be forgiven for thinking they are all much of a muchness.
Lip balm is an incredibly personal choice. Some people like a tube, others like a pot; some like thick and tacky, others thin and slippery. Personally, in true product-junkie fashion, I think they all have their place. But my petite pots of solid balm live on my bedside waiting for my pre-sleep slathering ritual. When you find a holy-grail, little pot of lip balm heaven it makes the difference between a great and an average balm unmistakeable, so whether you are a year-round dry lips sufferer or if all this mask wearing has dried out your normally perfect pout, here is a comparison of three potted, overnight lip balms.
Nuxe Reve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm: (My Holy Grail)
Designed for dry and damaged lips, this beeswax based lip balm contains honey and botanical oils to soothe and repair chapped and dehydrated lips, not just to hydrate the surface. The texture is thick in the pot but warms upon contact and melts softly into the skin. There is a slight honey and citrus scent but it’s perfectly pleasant and it doesn’t stick around for long.
To apply I gently roll the pad of my finger through the product and tap off the excess, picking up very little (you don’t need much, I will lose this pot long before I use it up) and gently pat on to my lips for a few seconds. I always wake up with perfectly hydrated, plump, and smooth lips, making it the perfect preparation for a day of long-wear lipstick. It leaves my lips feeling full and moisturised for the whole next day which means I don’t feel like I need to be constantly applying lip balm, which I prefer not to if I can avoid it.
One of these babies is sold somewhere in the world every 28 seconds and I can definitely see why.
Kiehls Buttermask For Lips: (My Next Best)
This one is quite a thin formula, although it’s perfectly solid in the pot the warmth of my finger turns it instantly to a smooth oil so I find I have to dive in a few times to get enough to get a good covering on my lips. Mine came with a small air bubble on the surface if you’re wondering what the gauge is from. This has a coconut oil (rich in fatty acids) base to help restore the skin barrier of dehydrated lips and added Mango Butter to smooth and soften. The scent is reflective of this, slightly coconutty and tropical, although personally, I’m not a huge fan of it.
This is definitely a moisturising option but it doesn’t feel quite as deeply hydrating as the Nuxe, however, if thick formulas aren’t your thing, this could be a perfect alternative for a lighter more oil-based option among the overnight lip balms. This will probably also be a better option when the Summer heat arrives, I don’t particularly enjoy sleeping in thick lip balm when the temperature barely dips below 30’C overnight.
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask: (My Wooden Spoon)
I’ve used the Laneige three times over the last couple of years and each and every time it’s triggered a cold sore. I gave it the benefit of the doubt at first and thought it was bad timing and gave it another go (wanting to see what all the rave reviews were fussing about) but needless to say, it’s a firm no from me… But let’s take a closer look at this little pink pot for anyone not cursed with ultra-sensitive, cold-sore yielding lips because it has become something of an Instagram staple on all the prettiest vanities across the land, but what is actually inside this pint-size, blushing jar?
The texture is definitely on the thinner side but it still has a slight stickiness to it. And I do mean sticky, it’s not gently tacky, it’s sticky. Unlike the other lip balms mentioned, it doesn’t need any warming up and gives quite a bit of shine. The scent hits you before noticing any of that though, it reminds me of an old-school Lip Smacker, you know that overly artificial, synthesized sweet fragrance, the smell of generic ‘sugary fruit’? Although it does now come in lots of other options too, not just the original pink tub (Mint Choco, Vanilla, Grapefruit, Apple Lime – and the Berry that started it all).
Details:
Nuxe Reve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm: $19.99 for 15g
Kiehls Buttermask For Lips: $35 for 10g
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask: $28 for 20g
So for me, it’s an easy choice, for overnight use I want a thick and luxurious, pot-set salve that I’m still going to still feel the remnants of when I wake up, so the lip balm I’m reaching for is almost always the Nuxe, maybe the Kiehls if I’m feeling something lighter and quicker to absorb in, but the Laneige I’m sorry to say is getting the boot.
What are your favourite lip balms? Any overnight, miracle workers I should know about?