Almay Liquid Lip Balm in Cantaloupe Cream: Review + Photos

Almay has released their new line, titled Color + Care. I don't know if they intend to add more products to this line, but so far the first one they have made is quite noteworthy just by the title. Liquid Lip Balm. This claims to have the finish, shine, and color of a lip gloss, but the comfort and moisture of a lip balm as well. I only heard about this checking what coupons I had on my coupons.com app in the Personal Care section. There was an offer to get $1 off this product, and I was willing to try this.

This comes in ten shades, ranging from light nudes to coral shades, pink shades, and red. I would say most people would find a shade that suited their skin tone or that they found appealing. I picked up a shade called Cantaloupe Cream, which is a slightly warm, mid-toned coral shade. It applies slightly lighter than from what you see directly through the transparent tube. The tube is kind of short and thick, with a gray matte cap.

The consistency of this is definitely on the thicker side, but it's not goopy. This has an interesting texture, it's very soft and plush, almost like a MAC Plushglass, except without the tackiness. I wouldn't classify this as a sheer product. I can clearly see that my lips have changed color even with one thin layer. Darker colors such as the red or dark pink they have in this line are probably even more pigmented. I don't find that this settles into lip lines.

This is not a high shine finish product, but the shine isn't subtle either. I would say that it's finish is just average, helping their claim that this has the finish of a gloss while still being a balm. The durability of this will last a very long time without eating/drinking, but like lip balm if you put your mouth to a cup or eat a meal, this is probably gonna slide off.

Overall I think Almay's new concept with the on-going trend of cosmetics that double as skincare or healing properties is very original. This is very comfortable to wear, and performs overall pretty well.

Swatch of Cantaloupe Cream (no flash)

EOS Lemon Drop and Summer Fruit Smooth Sphere Lip Balm: Review + Photos

These have gotten really popular because of their unique shape, word of mouth, and of course, the famous Kim Kardashian's follow-up of various instagram pictures of her showing that she uses them.

These come in a lot of flavors. The two I purchased were the Summer Fruit one, and the Lemon one with SPF 15 in it. Other flavors include raspberry pomegranate, mint, honeydew, strawberry sorbet, and medicated tangerine. I do notice that a regular one with no medication or SPF, such as the Summer Fruit one I have, has a completely different texture than a lip balm with an added ingredient in it such as the Lemon one that I have. The Lemon one with SPF 15 has a rougher, almost grainy or scruffy, texture. It glides just as easily and stays on just as long as a regular one, but it does have a really different feel to it. It's also differently colored. It seems to be sort of translucent and duller, while the Summer Fruit one is very opaquely cream-colored. The Summer Fruit one is also visibly smoother when you're looking at the actual sphere.

These do provide quite sufficient moisture, but if you need intense moisture these probably aren't going to cut it. I would label these lip balms more as constant maintenance, because they do a good job at keeping your lips healthy and moisturized if you're consistently applying it to slightly dry to normal skin.

The Lemon one smells like an actual lemon. It doesn't smell sweet, if anything, tangy. And the Summer Fruit one, according to EOS, is supposed to smell like blueberry, strawberry, and peach. I think the peach and blueberry are especially prominent.

Aside from the technical stuff I appreciate their unique design. They're easy to store in a bag, but not in your pocket because of their circular design. Each one of these are under $5, so these have great value and are pretty fun to collect.

Smith's Rosebud Salve Review

According to the packing, "Rosebud Salve may be used on all purpose skin preparation. Rosebud Salve may help to relieve chapped lips and skin, diaper rash, blemishes, detergent burns, and rough cuticles and may soften rough hands."

I can't vouch for a few of those specific claims, but I can definitely see a difference in the moisture in my hands, lips, and cuticles. This product is completely transparent, despite it's translucent pinkish-reddish color you might see in it's tin container. It smells like sugared roses, which might be bothersome to some people because the scent is a little pungent.

I'm really glad to say that this balm is emollient, but not thick/waxy. This has a very nice slip to it. Not like sliding right off, but this has a convenient thinness to it, also a very emollient feeling, but at the same time the oiliness in this product isn't overpowering, which can be sort of annoying as well. It doesn't last very long, about an hour before drying off, and it can be inconvenient to reapply since you have to use your fingers or a lip brush. The nice thing about this is that it's pretty wide, which making it easy for fingers to access.

This is moisturizing, but does not have long term effects for the lips, I've found. After it dries off on my hands or cuticles, the effect typically lasts for days, but on the lips, mine revert to their dry, chapped form a few hours later.

These go for $6, and you can easily find them at Sephora. It's a lovely product, but I'm not sure if I would repurchase this again.