Wrangler's Monthly Wrap Up: July 2012

Hi all!

I thought I may implement another new feature I'd like to include in the blog, a monthly wrap up of my favorite balms that I reviewed. I just thought this would be another small feature to give something more to this blog. Let me know what you think!

My favorites this month are:

DressGreen's Peach Lime

(review can be found here)

Burt's Bees' Rejuvenating Lip Balm with Acai Berry

(review can be found here)

Fresh & Natural Co.'s Coconut Lemongrass Lip Scrub

(review can be found here)

What have your favorites of the month been? Have you tried any of these before?

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

D and R Apothecary is Having A Sale!

Hey all!

I have one last sale to tell you about that I somehow missed this whole month (oops!). D & R Apothecary is having a Christmas in July sale right now (there's still today and tomorrow left!). Their soaps are half off and their lip balms are $2 right now! Flat rate shipping for the lip balms are $2.50! To take advantage of this sale visit their shop here. Act quickly! I bought their balms in the winter when they were closing their shop for a little while and managed to get them for $1.60 a piece. They're pretty nice balms! If you've ever wanted to try these balms before, now's the time!


Happy Shopping!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Balms of the Week 7.29.12

This week my go-to balms have been:

Burt's Bees' Refreshing Lip Balm with Grapefruit

(review can be found here)

DressGreen's Peach Lime

(review can be found here)

Blamtastic's Lemon-licious

(review can be found here)

What balms have you been using this week? Have you tried any new ones this week?

Have a great week!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Where has Lemon Citrus gone?

Hi all!

I know I've been posting way too much lately and I promise I'll try to stop but I've been so curious the last couple of weeks as to where Lemon Citrus has gone. Does anyone know what happened to that shop? I loved her lip balms and had quite a few waiting in my shopping cart that I still wanted to try. I stayed away from Etsy for a month or so, because obviously if you go on Etsy you're bound to buy something or other, but when I went to visit again I saw that the shop was no longer in existence. I also saw that Hilda was no longer listed in my "circle" and wasn't a user on Etsy.com anymore.

I would really love any information anyone has on what happened to the shop.

Thanks for all your help!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Country Blossom is Having a Sale!

Hey all!

I was just informed that Country Blossom on Etsy is having a Christmas in July sale. I know this is a little last minute seeing as the month is just about over but if you're interested in purchasing from there I'd do it quick! You can save 15% off your order using the coupon code CIJ15 at check out. I haven't purchased from this shop yet but I do plan to as there are a couple balms that are lookin' mighty scrumptious and worth trying. You can find her shop here. I'm tempted to try the Sangria, Pineapple Tangerine, and Coconut Peach; they all sound so lovely!

I'd love to know what you decide to purchase, if you decide to give these balms a shot!

Happy shopping!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

DressGreen

After so many recommendations to try DressGreen and so many months of placing balms into my cart and out of my cart, I finally did it! And I'm so glad I did! There's really no introduction necessary here, let's get to it.

Look at how cute this packaging is, I absolutely love the extra
care that was put into this package. I really love these little details.

Company: DressGreen


Flavors: Coconut Vanilla, Orange Blossom, and Peach Lime. I've never had a Coconut Vanilla balm before but I know I love both flavors separately, so I must like them together right? I don't know why, but I didn't really like the combination of the two. I have no idea why, maybe because it's been about 100 degrees out every day and these are two scents I connect with trying to warm up since they're both scents I'd put on the warmer side of things (if that makes sense?). You can sense both scents perfectly in this balm, it's a perfect combination but for me it just didn't work. I think it'd be perfect for winter, just not this crazy heat we've been experiencing. I didn't know what to expect of the Orange Blossom since it's supposed to be like an Orange Creamsicle but with Rosemary thrown in. I'm not a huge fan of Rosemary so I was a little scared, but I was recommended this balm and I love creamsicles so I took the plunge. Boy, was this a shock! I love this balm! The hint of rosemary is so refreshing and I don't know how she did it, but the orange and vanilla part is the absolute BEST creamsicle balm I've ever had. And last but certainly not least, the Peach Lime. I absolutely LOVE this balm! It's such an interesting combination of sweet peaches and tart lime. Something I've definitely never had, but it's great! If I inhale through my mouth it reminds me of peach iced tea, yum!


Wear: The smoothest, creamiest, the most melts-right-on-your-lips balms I've ever had. I almost push way too hard on these and they go all over my lips, you definitely do NOT need to apply pressure to get these balms to budge.  These go on SO beautifully. Definitely the smoothest balms I own. These balms also last two hours at least which is just icing on the cake.

Packaging: These balms come in clear tubes with colored labels that match the flavor of the balm. These labels are very simple, yet attractive, I just love them. These are so well done and just really put together well.


Price: $9 for 3, which is a fabulous price!! An individual tube is $3.50 which is definitely not bad for a natural balm.


Overall:
Pros: Flavor, Wear, Price, Packaging, uh...everything?
Cons: I wish there were even more flavors! I'd buy them all!

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists. There's absolutely nothing wrong with these balms, they are just FABULOUS. If you haven't tried these yet, don't be like me and wait forever to experience these balms. They are just awesome! You can't go wrong here.

Ingredients: 
Peach Lime Lip Balm: Shea butter, cocoa butter, soy wax, olive oil, candelilla wax, sweet almond oil, organic virgin coconut oil, organic jojoba oil, avocado oil, flavor oil, lime essential oil, vitamin E


Orange Blossom Lip Balm: Shea butter, cocoa butter, soy wax, olive oil, candelilla wax, sweet almond oil, organic virgin coconut oil, organic jojoba oil, avocado oil, vitamin E, orange, lemon & rosemary essential oils, vanilla oil


Coconut Vanilla Lip Balm: Shea butter, cocoa butter, soy wax, oilive oil, candelilla wax, sweet almond oil, organic virgin coconut oil, organic jojoba oil, avocado oil, vanilla oil, vitamin E, flavor oil

Have you tried these balms before? Which flavors are your favorite?

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment

Hey Guys!

My name is Laura or “L” as I’m sometimes referred to by the Lip Balm Wrangler. I’m so excited to do a guest post on the blog and review some of my favorite lip balms! Anyways today I’ll be reviewing Fresh’s Sugar Lip Treatments, which is an expensive brand that I’ve been hooked on for a year or two now. Fresh has the standard Sugar Lip Treatment, which is clear and comes in the brown tube pictured, but they also expanded the line into the “tinted” balms, as well as the Advanced lip therapy, which comes in a white tube. The balms are all SPF 15 (except the Advanced Treatment) and all of them taste like brown sugar with a faint hint of lemon. Fresh claims on their website: “Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 is scientifically proven to keep lips moisturized for up to 6 hours after initial application” I guess I would agree with this, but I usually only wear it for 2 hours or so at a time. 

Company: Fresh

Flavors/Colors: SUGAR LIP TREATMENT SPF 15, SUGAR LIP TREATMENT ADVANCED THERAPY, SUGAR CORAL TINTED LIP TREATMENT SPF15, SUGAR HONEY TINTED LIP TREATMENT SPF 15, SUGAR PASSION TINTED LIP TREATMENT SPF15, SUGAR PLUM TINTED LIP TREATMENT SPF 15, SUGAR ROSE TINTED LIP TREATMENT SPF 15. I have the standard clear version, as well as the Rose tinted balm and the Advanced Therapy balm. I absolutely love the standard one and I believe the Advanced therapy balm is the same quality as the standard version even though Fresh advertises it as a better version that will plump your lips as well as fight off aging. I would suggest only buying the normal version as I’ve found the Advanced treatment really doesn’t do anything special to my lips! My favorite lip balm however is the Rose tinted version, the color is light and natural and so silky smooth! I wear it all the time and I don’t like lipstick or tinted lip balms. There are 4 other colors of the tinted balm: Coral, Honey, Passion and Plum. Fresh seems to be making different colors to accommodate everyone’s natural lip color. I haven’t tried the other 4 colors but I have seen them in the store. If you have darker skin I would recommend trying the Plum or Coral version, as they would pop more against your skin tone. Overall I love this brand and the only downside is the price!

Wear: Smooth application, almost butter-like, the scent lasts for around an hour or two, but if you lick your lips like I do maybe shorter!

Packaging: Brushed metal tube, twist off top, usually brown or light pastel shades for the tinted balms and white for the Advanced Therapy balm.

Price: $22.50 for the tinted and normal lip treatment, $25.00 for the Advanced Therapy treatment

Overall

Pros: Great lemon sugar flavor, buttery consistency, SPF 15, natural but lovely tints, extremely moisturizing

Cons: PRICE!!!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 twists for everything except the price!

Ingredients (Standard lip treatment): ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: OCTINOXATE (ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE): 7.49%, OXYBENZONE (BENZOPHENONE-3): 2.00%


OTHER INGREDIENTS: BEESWAX (CERA ALBA), RICINUS COMMUNIS (CASTOR) SEED OIL, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS (JOJOBA) SEED OIL, HYDROGENATED OLIVE OIL DECYL ESTERS, VITIS VINIFERA (GRAPE) SEED OIL, FRAGRANCE (PARFUM), COPERNICIA CERIFERA (CARNAUBA) WAX, TRITICUM VULGARE (WHEAT) GERM OIL, LIMNANTHES ALBA (MEADOWFOAM) SEED OIL, PERSEA GRATISSIMA (AVOCADO) OIL, LIMONENE, CITRAL, SUCROSE TETRASTEARATE TRIACETATE, BENZYL BENZOATE, LINALOOL, PRUNUS ARMENIACA (APRICOT) KERNEL OIL, BENZYL ALCOHOL, BHT, RETINYL PALMITATE, ASCORBYL TETRAISOPALMITATE, TOCOPHEROL, RIBES NIGRUM (BLACK CURRANT) SEED OIL, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, GERANIOL, CITRONELLOL, ASCORBYL PALMITATE <05039/A> 

Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you guys think of these balms if you’ve tried them!

------------------------------------

Thank you so much, L, for writing such a great review!

------------------------------------

If you'd like to guest review, you can send your review to lipbalmwrangler@gmail.com. If I like it, I'll post it! Easy as that.

Huge Haul of Balm Take 2

Hey all!

I know last week I posted about the huge haul of balm I ended up with and somehow this week I ended up with the same kind of deal! July has definitely been a crazy ton of lip balm buying for me and I definitely need to reign in my lip balm buying in the next couple of months (unless there's a big sale, of course). I thought you guys would like to take a peek at what I came home with this week.

The boyfriend and I went up to Wisconsin this past weekend to attend the Bristol Renaissance Fair. Since we had never been there before I asked him if he thought I'd be able to find some new lip balms there (I am The Lip Balm Wrangler after all, I can find lip balm anywhere!). He told me he doubted it...we all know who was right in this scenario. I came home with three new ones from the Renaissance Fair and found one at Mars' Cheese Castle (I told you, anywhere. I'm also a huge cheese addict.) When we were driving from the Ren Fair to Mars' Cheese Castle I saw this grocery store I'd never seen before called Woodman's. I was intrigued because I LOVE going to grocery stores I haven't been to before in hopes that they carry lip balms I don't already have (are there still any I don't have, haha). That's how this big pile came about:

These three are from the Ren Fair:

Can you guess where I got this one from?:

I also received my order from Hurraw! Balm:

And my order from Orange Thyme:

 And an order from For Goodness Grape:

There's a lot coming up these next couple of weeks so definitely stay tuned! 

Have you received anything new lately? Or tried any of these brands above?

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Balms I've got my eye on 7.24.12

This week the balms that are tempting me are:

Love & Toast's Blood Orange

(taken from here)

Seriously, just look at how adorable that packaging is! Plus I love love love blood orange balms!

Firebird Bath & Body's Cherry Limeade

(taken from here)

I have wanted to try this balm for SO long, I'm hoping there's a sale or something soon otherwise I'm just going to cave in! 

Jadewick's Thai Coconut

(taken from here)

This is definitely going to be in my next order of balm from Jadewicks!

What balms are tempting you this week? Have you tried any of these balms or companies before? I'd love any flavor recommendations you may have!

LipLove is Having a Sale!

Hey all!

LipLove has hit 300 sales and because of this she's having a sale on her lip balms! Using the coupon code LIPLOVE you can save 10% off your order from now until July 31st!

To try her products, visit her Etsy shop here. And make sure to follow LipLove Natural Lip Balm on Facebook to stay up to date with all her sales!

I'd love to know what you decide to try!

Happy shopping!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

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--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Balms of the Week 7.22.12

My lovely balms of the week this week are:

Burt's Bee's Rejuvenating Balm with Acai Berry

(review can be found here)

Long Winter Farm Soap Co.'s Raspberry Lime

(review can be found here)

These two have been my go-to balms all week! They're both phenomenal! Usually I use between 3 and 4 lip balms but these two have been more than enough for me.

What balms have you been using a ton this week? Have you picked up any new ones?

Have a great week!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Hurraw! Balm is Having a Sale!

Hey all!

Last week I posted about how I really wanted to try Hurraw! Balm but just haven't gotten around to doing so.  Well today I definitely got the sign to do so because right now you can get their balms for $3 through the weekend using the coupon code: SUMMER. Make sure to follow Hurraw! Balm's Facebook page to stay up to date with all their coupon codes and specials! I have already placed an order for their Lemon balm, Green Tea balm, Moon balm, and Black Cherry tinted balm. Yay!

Photo courtesy of Hurraw! Balm.

Let me know if you decide to try Hurraw! Balms!

Happy shopping!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

New Long Winter Farm Soap Co. Balms!

Ever since I fell in love with my Long Winter Farm Soap Co. balms months ago (review can be found here), I've been eyeing more of them. I always happened to just miss purchasing some flavor or another and kind of gave up hope for a while. That was until Etsy allowed shop owners to increase the quantity of product to what they had in stock. Thanks to this I was finally able to snatch up some new balms! I'm eyeing even more right now and I know I shouldn't! Anyone who has fallen under the curse of loving Long Winter Farm Co. balms knows how I feel.

Company: Long Winter Farm Soap Co.

Flavors: Coconut Limeade, Raspberry Lime, and Loganberry. Keep in mind that each of these balms has an underlying cocoa scent/flavor because of the cocoa butter that goes into them. The Coconut Limeade is so very limey! I LOVE it! It's not TOO limey. There's a light touch of coconut but you have to take a big whiff to get it. A very nice and refreshing balm for summer. I think the Raspberry Lime is my absolute favorite out of the three. It is a PERFECT mix of tart raspberry and sour lime. I had waited forever for this one to come back in stock, it was totally worth the wait! Another perfect pick for summer. I didn't know what to expect of the Loganberry as I've never had one before. It's supposed to be a mix of raspberry and blackberry I think. You can definitely smell the berry but it is a bit on the perfume-y side of things. It also has the most cocoa-y scent of the three. I think this would be better for fall than summer, it seems warmer of the three if that makes any sense?


Wear: These go on so incredibly smooth. No other balm ever goes on like one of these balms. Until you've tried one of these balms, you haven't had a smooth balm (unless it's Orange Thyme, but that's another story). These melt right on your lips and feel just so creamy. They go on with precision and cover beautifully. There is absolutely no fight in this balm, glides on easy as pie (does that make sense here?).


Packaging: Wonderful oval tubes which contour to your lips perfectly. The labels on these balms have such a homey feel to them (if that makes sense?). The flavor name is large and in the center of the label and each label has four colored bands on each end (two of each color) that matches the color scheme of the flavor.


Price: $4 per tube. This is just a tad higher than I'd like to pay for a balm, but for these balms it's totally worth it. It's the only reason I don't buy them monthly, but every once in a while I let myself splurge and buy a couple of her balms.


Overall:
Pros: Flavors, Wear, Packaging, Natural
Cons: Price?


Rating: 4.5 out of 5 twists, I will always love these balms. They are just the smoothest and perfect for dry, chapped lips.

Ingredients: Natural Beeswax, Sweet Almond Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Jojoba Oil, Cocoa Butter, Unrefined Shea Butter, Vitamin E, Flavor Oil.


Have you tried Long Winter Farm Soap Co.? What are your favorite flavors?

More Epically Epic Soap Co. Balms!

As I said a little over a week ago, Epically Epic had a one day sale on lip balm! Of course I took advantage of this and tried to limit what I bought so I didn't go overboard (I then went on to order like 30 sticks of lip balm from different companies, oops. I'll be sure to post my haul when it all arrives.). I hope you all were able to take advantage of the sale!

(from left to right)
Sleepy Time, Vanilla Coke, Blueberry Lemonade.

Company: Epically Epic Soap Co.


Flavors: Blueberry Lemonade, Vanilla Coke, and Sleepy Time. The Blueberry Lemonade is a nice blend of sweet blueberries and fresh lemonade. The blueberry portion seems more natural blueberry than the sweetened blueberry I tend to find in balms. The lemon portion isn't as strong as I'd like (because I am a complete lemon fanatic and can never get a balm that is too lemony for me), but if you aren't completely crazy about lemon, this may be the balm for you! The Vanilla Coke is dead on Vanilla Coke! I usually don't try balms that aren't fruity because I typically don't like them, but after a reader told me how much she loved her Vanilla Coke balm, I had to try it! It's just the right amount of vanilla and cola, if you like the soft drink this is definitely one for you to try. I've been super, super stressed lately and my boyfriend's been trying to find anything for me to calm down, especially at night. I thought the Sleepy Time balm would be a great way to get me to calm down at night (yes, I'm an addict and will use any excuse to buy a new balm, sorry honey!). This is a perfect lightly scented spearmint balm, I can never sense chamomile in a balm but I do feel a little more at ease when I use this balm. I tend to use it right before bed to get ready for sleep! If you like balms that aren't super, super minty, this balm may be worth trying.


Wear: These glide on sooo smooth! They go on nice and thick and with such ease! Two swipes and you're done, perfection! These balms also last about two hours which is fabulous! My lips truly feel nourished when I use these.


Packaging: Clear tubes with very unique labels on them. The labels are mainly colored to match the flavor of the balm with side panels that are black and white floral print. Also the company name and lip balm flavor are right on the front of the balm so you're never guessing as to which balm you're using!


Price: $3.50 a piece which is not bad at all!


Overall:
Pros: Vegan, natural balm, price, packaging, wear, flavors, duration
Cons: Nothing!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 twists, these balms are great! If you haven't tried them yet, you really should make this company one of the next ones you try! You won't be disappointed.

Ingredients: Pistachio Butter, Candelilla Wax, Jojoba Seed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Castor Oil, Vitamin E, Flavor, Natural Sweetener, Mineral Colorant. 


Did you take advantage of the Epically Epic sale? What balms did you choose?

Huge Haul of Balm!

Hi all!

I know today is not a day I usually post, but I really wanted to share pictures of my HUGE haul of lip balm this week! I usually don't go this crazy when ordering lip balm but for some reason, last week was the big week for me to order some new lip balms! I actually got a heck of a deal (to me at least, even though I still spent a lot), on my order from Drugstore.com I spent about $27 for 17 tubes of lip balm! Usually for $27 you can get about 9 tubes of balm or so, so I feel pretty happy I was able to almost double that for the same price. Here are some pictures of the boat load of balms I picked up this week (the reviews will be coming up the next couple of weeks so stay tuned!).

This is my huge haul from Drugstore.com, I was so excited when this arrived!

I also received my order from Whispering Willow.

Right now everything is 25% off in their shop!

My order from Candle Lynn.

I finally placed an order from Dress Green!

These next couple weeks will be filled with these new balms as well as some special reviews.

What new balms have you received this week?

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Candle Lynn Has a Couple of Specials Going on Right Now

Hey all,

I stumbled over this company months ago but had never had a huge inclination to buy from them until recently. As I was doing research on which companies were having "Christmas in July" sales, I happened upon this company once again. Candle Lynn has a few specials going on right now such as: $5 for 3 lip balms, $16 for 7 lip balms tubes in a gift tin, and free US shipping on their 5 pack of balm (which retails at about $12). I thought that $5 for 3 balms was a crazy good deal so I hopped right on it and just received the package a few days ago. This isn't a full review (it'll come up in the next couple of weeks), but I didn't want anyone to miss out on these balms! They smell DEAD on and are pretty good balms. If you're looking to experiment with a new company, DEFINITELY check out Candle Lynn.

I don't know how long this promotion is going to run, but if you have any inkling to try these balms you should act sooner rather than later!

Happy shopping!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Balms I've got my eye on 7.17.12

Here's what's tempting me this week:

 For Goodness Grape's Mango

(taken from here)

I've always wanted to try these balms but they're $4 a piece which is a little out of my price range, but they do have a TON of flavors. She has a sale going on right now, you can save 10-15% in her Etsy shop until the 22nd! There's no coupon needed!

Fable Naturals's Lemon Coconut

(taken from here)

I love lemon and coconut and would LOVE to try this balm but it's $6 a tube and $6 shipping since it's coming from Canada to the US. $12 for a tube of lip balm just won't cut it for me, unfortunately. I am really interested in these squeeze tubes!

Dress Green's New Flavor: Peach Lime

(taken from here)

Yet another Dress Green balm that is tempting me, I'm thinking I really need to purchase from here soon!

Epically Epic Soap Co.'s Bullfrog Cherry-Peach

(taken from here)

I love Epically Epic balms and I love that she flavors her lip tints as well. This one just sounds so crazy delicious, I'm mad I haven't purchased it before!

Have you tried any of these balms before? Or companies? I'd love to know what you think about them!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Balms of the Week 7.15.12

The balms I've kept in hand this week are:

Firebird Bath & Body's Blood Orange

(review can be found here)

Burt's Bees' Rejuvenating with Acai Berry

(review can be found here)

 Crazy Rumors' Lemonade

(review can be found here)

Hope you enjoy these photos! I was able to use my sister's awesome camera this weekend which is why these photos look SO much better than usual.

What balms have you been using this week? Have you acquired any new ones?

Have a great week!

For Goodness Grape is Having a Big Sale!

Hey all!

Last week I posted about For Goodness Grape having a Christmas in July sale, well this week is a continuation of that sale! This week you can save 10-15% store wide! There is no coupon needed! This sale is from July 12th to July 22nd. To shop their Etsy shop just click here.

Also, if you're a fan of For Goodness Grape on Facebook, you can save 15% off your purchase TODAY and TOMORROW only! You can do this by using the code: MAKEMESMILE15. Make sure you follow them on their Facebook page which can be found here.

There are tons of flavors and products to choose from! Let me know what you decide to buy or what your favorite products are!

Happy shopping!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Fresh and Natural Co. is Having a Sale!!

Hi all!

I hope you're not too bothered by how much I'm posting about sales, I just want to make sure you know all about all of them! I just found out Fresh & Natural Co. is having a SIZZLING SUMMER SALE this Saturday and Sunday! You can save 35% on everything in the whole store using the code SIZZLINGSUMMER. You can find their shop at www.freshnaturalco.com.

I hope to take advantage of this sale since I just LOVE Fresh and Natural Co. so so so much!

In case you've missed my previous reviews of these balms, you can find them here (when it was called Lush Lip Candy) and here. You can also find my review of her FABULOUS lip scrubs here.

Happy shopping everyone!

Please let me know if you try any products during this sale, I always love to know what you're all using!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Orange Thyme is Having a Sale!!!

Hey all!

It's that time of year (season?) again! Orange Thyme is having a sale!!! The entire shop is 30% off! There is no code required! Visit her Etsy shop here. And stay up to date with all things Orange Thyme by following her on Facebook.

Grab what you want quickly because she's not restocking until August! I'm a little late posting about this sale (thank you for the reminder, Denise!).

I'd love to know what you pick out! I know I'm taking advantage of this sale! In case you missed it in the past, I've reviewed Orange Thyme balms here and here. These balms are truly some of my absolute favorites!

Happy shopping!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

More Burt's Bees!

Last week after I had posted my Burt's Bees review, I had a lot of recommendations flowing in as to which other Burt's Bees balms I should try. Of course I consider all recommendations given to me by my readers and choose which ones to act on when it is appropriate. I decided that I would give the other Burt's Bees balms a shot, perhaps they could sway me and think that not all Burt's Bees balms are like their Nourishing balm with Mango Butter and that maybe their balms could be all like the Refreshing with Grapefruit. I had my fingers crossed when I took off the first cap, just praying it would be fabulous. Let's just see how that turned out shall we?

Company: Burt's Bees

Flavors: Rejuvenating with Acai Berry and Replenishing with Pomegranate Oil. Everyone was completely right, the Acai Berry balm is fabulous! It reminds me of a wild berry lip balm of sorts. If you like berries, you'll definitely like this balm. I usually am not the biggest fan of Acai flavored balms (or beverages) but ever since I bought this balm, I can't stop using it! I received very mixed reviews on the Pomegranate balm and I didn't know what quite to expect. In the past, I have always expected pomegranate balms to be absolutely amazing since I love the fruit so much, but usually they are bitter or tart or just not very pleasing at all. I was hesitant to try this one especially with my sister saying it's not what you expect the entire time I was deciding if I'd buy it or not. It smells slightly of pomegranate but also kind of like baby powder to me. It's got a slightly tangy scent I think but it's hard to really pinpoint what this scent is. I don't hate it though. It's an odd balm but I actually kind of like it. I can't really say what it smells like exactly unfortunately.

Wear: True to Burt's Bees balms, these ones go on so smooth. Like butter on hot toast, it just melts onto your lips. I love putting on my Burt's Bees! They also last about two hours which is just fabulous. I don't know what else to say but these go on beautifully.


Packaging: The tubes are a golden color with a cap colored to match the flavor. Burt's Bees is in caps and right below it is a band that either says "Replenishing" or "Rejuvenating" or whatever else the balm is supposed to be (i.e. Refreshing from last week).

Price: About $3 for a tube. Not too shabby for a natural balm that goes on smooooothhh.


Overall:
Pros: Flavors, wear, long lasting, price, packaging
Cons: Nothing this time around


Rating: 4.5 out of 5 twists. These balms are just wonderful, I'm kind of mad I waited so long to try them! If you like sweeter scented balms perhaps try the the Refreshing Grapefruit one or the Acai Berry one. You really can't go wrong with either balm!

Ingredients: 

Burt's Bees Rejuvenating Lip Balm with Acai Berry: helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, cera alba (beeswax, cire d’abeille), aroma (flavor)*, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, lanolin, euterpe oleracea fruit oil**, ammonium glycyrrhizinate, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, tocopherol, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil (huile de colza), anise alcohol, benzyl benzoate, benzyl cinnamate, citral, farnesol, limonene, linalool. *natural flavor **açaí berry

Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil: helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, cera alba (beeswax, cire d’abeille), cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, lanolin, aroma (flavor)*, punica granatum (pomegranate) seed oil, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil (huile de colza), carmine, benzyl salicylate, cinnamal, citral, eugenol, geraniol, hydroxycitronellal, limonene, linalool. *natural flavor

Have you tried either of these flavors before? Which one is your favorite?

H&M Blood Orange

Since I've posted about the other H&M lip balms I picked up about a month ago (the review can be found here), I've seen tons of Google searches for H&M's Blood Orange lip balm. It seems pretty popular since it's searched almost every day. I absolutely LOVE blood orange balms and was surprised I hadn't run across the blood orange one when I first purchased the other two lip balms. This past weekend before L's sister's wedding, I made a run to H&M and picked up the blood orange balm. Here's the low down:

Company: H&M

Flavor: Blood Orange. I was really hoping that this balm would be a real blood orange scent like I'm used to in other balms. I feel like this is more like pink lemonade mixed with a little bit of orange juice. I actually really like it. It's an interesting scent and even boyfriend approved! (My boyfriend does not like lip balm or the way it feels but this one he actually let me put on him willingly).

Wear: Even though this balm is in a pot, it actually covers pretty well. I feel that it goes on thicker than the other H&M pots;  I didn't have to repeatedly reach into the pot to apply it. It also comes out easier than the other H&M pots which makes it easier to apply. It lasts about an hour with repeated licking of the lips which isn't too bad, but I do like my balms to last a little bit longer. It sat in the car for a little while and was a little melted and came out way too easy but it solidified right back up.

The big dip in it was from when it sat in the car for about 45
minutes; I was going to apply it like usual pot balms but this
one was much easier to take out and apply.

Packaging: The balm is in a little pot that is pink on the outside with a black label on the top. The label has a tiger on it and it makes it really distinct within my collection. It's cute and little but with an edgy side to it.


Price: $3 which isn't so bad since the weight of it is 0.3oz/8 grams which is twice the weight of a normal tube of lip balm.


Overall:
Pros: Flavor, wear, packaging, price
Cons: Not natural or organic (but that's more a personal preference)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 twists, for a potted balm this is probably my favorite one. It covers great, is easy to apply, and has a very pleasant scent. Next time you're in H&M you may want to try this one out!

Ingredients: Polybutene, ethyl hexyl palmitate, mineral oil, petrolatum, ceresin, synthetic wax, fragrance, phenoxyethanol, limonene, benzyl benzoate, linalool, citral, titanium dioxide, red 6, red 7, iron oxide. 

Have you tried any of the H&M balms yet? What did you think?

Balms I've got my eye on 7.10.12

Here are the balms that are tempting me this week:

Hurraw! 

(taken from here)

I have been eyeing this company for at least two months now. I want to buy almost every flavor!

DressGreen

(taken from here)

I've been recommended this company so many times, it's almost time to cave in!

Orange Thyme

(taken from here)

What weeks do I not crave a new Orange Thyme balm? Let's be honest here, haha.

Veve's Handmade

(taken from here)

I wanted to try these balms back in December but never did, maybe it's about time I do?

Have any of you tried these balms or companies before? If you have, please let me know what you thought about them!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Whispering Willow is Having a Sale!

It seems like everyone is having a sale in July, perhaps everyone got the same idea to do a Christmas in July kind of sale? I found another company who has a sale going on today: Whispering Willow.

All of Whispering Willow's products are 25% off right now, no code necessary, everything has just been reduced. I've been dying to try their balms and this may very well be the opportunity I was waiting for to try them out. Their Etsy page can be found here. I'm not sure when the sale ends so if you're planning to buy you should do so quickly! To stay up to date with everything going on with Whispering Willow, you should follow them on Facebook here.

I'm thinking about purchasing the 4 pack and get the Lemon, Mint, Vanilla, and Orange. It's usually $10 for the 4, but with the sale its $7.50.

Will you be taking advantage of this sale? What are some of your favorite products from Whispering Willow if you've tried them before? I'd love any advice or recommendations on this company!

Balms of the Week 7.8.12

This week my go-to balms are:

Crazy Rumors' Lemonade

(review can be found here)

I've been drinking tons of lemonade lately and when I'm not drinking it, this is the next best thing. It is the absolute best lemonade lip balm I've ever had.

H&M's Blood Orange

(review can be found here)
I don't want to give anything away about this balm until I review it, but I have been using it almost every night.

Burt's Bee's Refreshing

(review can be found here)
This is a great and truly refreshing balm.

What balms are you into this week? Have you found a new favorite?

Olimax Soap is Having a Sale!

Hi all!

Just found out today that Olimax Soap is having a MONTH LONG sale! To save 30% on your entire order for the month of July just enter the code julyjuly12 at check out but only at Etsy.com. You can find their Etsy page here. I've reviewed Olimax Soap before, in case you missed it you can find the review right here. I'm not the BIGGEST fan of Olimax, but their balms are pretty decent and if they're your kind of thing then this may be a good time to stock up! I may even try a couple of new flavors I was eyeing the other day like Coconut Pineapple and Ginger! Remember, Olimax Soap has 3 lip balms for $7.50 which is a heck of a deal! At 30% off that puts it at about $5.25! Awesome!

If you decide to buy let me know what flavors you try!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Switching to Lip Balm Wrangler Today!

Today is the day! I hate to leave the name "Chapstick Wrangler" behind and move onto "Lip Balm Wrangler" because it just doesn't roll off the tongue like "Chapstick Wrangler" does, but there are so many bigger and better things I want to do with this blog.

The banner will change to show the new name and hopefully no one will think they're on the wrong blog when it all switches!

I've got tons of new ideas whizzing in my mind lately and have been running them past my boyfriend and L and they are both backing me on the new things I want to bring to this blog. One of these new ideas is offering advertising on the blog! If you're interested, just click on the "Sponsors" tab at the top of the page or email me at lipbalmwrangler@gmail.com.

I hope you'll all continue to read and follow along with Lip Balm Wrangler! The new URL will be www.lipbalmwrangler.blogspot.com or www.lipbalmwrangler.com, but if you forget and type in www.chapstickwrangler.blogspot.com it should redirect you to the right place.

I hope you will like the new things that are still to come!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Burt's Bees

I had always wanted to try Burt's Bees balms but when I first tried them, I did not like them one bit. I felt they smelled like baby powder and just weren't that great. But everyone was using them like crazy and almost everywhere sells them now. A while ago a reader told me to write a review on Burt's Bee's and I was skeptical about doing it because I had only used one balm by them a couple years ago and I really didn't like it and I didn't want to write a review about how bad Burt's Bees was based on one tube of lip balm. After giving it some thought, I considered purchasing another type of Burt's Bees lip balm. I don't know why it's taken me so long to write about it but I'm finally getting around to it. Here we go!

Company: Burt's Bees

Flavors: Burt's Bees Nourishing Lip Balm with Mango Butter and Burt's Bees Refreshing lip balm. When I first purchased the mango butter one, I thought I'd love it. It was the first balm I had come across that had mango in it. Boy was I disappointed. It had little to no scent and the scent it did have wasn't pleasant at all! It actually kind of grossed me out. I used it once, thought about how much a disappointment and a waste it was, and never looked back. Fast forward 3 years to about a month and a half ago. I was doing my usual lip balm safari, checkin' out the cold and flu aisle. I was looking at Burt's Bees and I just love how the packaging is. I saw the Refreshing flavor and decided I'd give it a shot. Boy, am I glad I did! I LOVED the refreshing balm. It said it was supposed to be grapefruit and I was extremely weary because I've tried so many grapefruit balms in the past and none of them were ever really grapefruit; most of the time the scent was too light to detect anything. This is understandable since grapefruits are such delicately scented fruits, but man oh man did Burt's Bees get it right! It is distinctly grapefruit and it just blows my mind, it's SO wonderful. If you like grapefruit or citrus fruits, do not pass this one up!

Wear: These balms go on SO smooth! They also last at least two hours, fabulous! It goes on evenly and covers easily. I don't know what else to say about these balms but there are no complaints in this department.

Packaging: Everyone has probably seen a Burt's Bees tube. I think they're all gold/yellow tubes with different colored caps meant to match the flavor of the balm. The packaging always looks so neat and pleasing to the eye. Nothing too fancy in this department, but like I always say, you don't need a flashy package to make a great product.

Price: Around $3 a tube which is not bad at all. These balms are also natural so they're definitely worth it for the price.

Overall:

Pros: Grapefruit flavor, wear, packaging, price, natural

Cons: Mango butter

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 twists for the grapefruit flavor and a 2 out of 5 for the mango flavor. I know the balm isn't really supposed to be mango, just that it was made out of mango butter but it was just not pleasing at all to me. Maybe it was an older formula or something, but it just was not my cup of tea. The grapefruit one though, just amazing!

Ingredients: 
For Burt's Bees Refreshing Lip Balm: helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, cera alba (beeswax, cire d’abeille), aroma (flavor)*, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, lanolin, citrus paradisi (grapefruit) seed oil, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, tocopherol, ammonium glycyrrhizate, canola oil (huile de colza), glycine soja (soybean) oil, limonene. *natural flavor

For Burt's Bees Nourishing Lip Balm with Mango Butter: helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, cera alba (beeswax, cire d'abeille), aroma (flavor)*, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, mangifera indica (mango) seed butter, llanolin, ammonium glycyrrhizinate, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil (huile de colza), limonene, linalool. *natural flavor

Have you tried either of these flavors? What did you think? What other flavors of Burt's Bees would you recommend?