Wrangler's Monthly Wrap Up: August 2012

This month has flown by so quickly! So much has happened in this quick last month of summer; I ended summer school, settled into my new apartment in San Francisco, returned to Chicago to start my last semester of undergrad, and just flew back to San Francisco (2 days after being gone) for Labor Day weekend. My life basically consists of lip balm, flying, and school. As another month winds down, I like to reflect back on my reviews and pick the ones that really stuck out to me. This month my favorites have been:

Candle Lynn 

(review can be found here)

These balms were so surprisingly awesome. They were cheap, moisturizing, creamy and dead on in scents. One of the absolute best coconut lip balms I've ever used!

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Lip Butters

(review can be found here)

These lip butters were just absolutely delicious! It was so exciting to finally find these two in store.

Orange Thyme

(review can be found here)

Orange Thyme balms are always a winner in my book! I can't stop raving about these balms, they're just wonderful! 

Softlips

(review can be found here)

These are glosses I actually use repeatedly, I normally don't use lip glosses but I really love the Coral one.

This month was also a big step for my blog, I got my first sponsor! For Goodness Grape sponsored the blog this month. To save 15% on your order at her shop, use code: LIPBALMWRANGLER

What balms have been your favorite this month? Have you tried any new shops this month that you absolutely loved?

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Kiehl's Lip Balm #1

So for our anniversary, my boyfriend and I had absolutely no plans. Usually every year we go see some big show and go to a fancy dinner, but this year because of the move we weren't able to do anything huge. We were disappointed a bit but were content enough to just be spending it together. We ended up just going to the mall to waste time before we went to Heaven's Dog for dinner (it was absolutely delicious and a fabulous anniversary dinner for us). I walked into Kiehl's because I've heard so many good things about their lip balm so I thought I'd check it out. I had no idea they actually had different flavors of their lip balm. I was really excited then because I spotted the Mango one almost immediately! I had to pick one other as a comparison as I always do and chose the Pear one.

Forgive me for the Instagram photo, I've been a bit obsessed
with Instagram lately because it's so much more convenient
to take a picture with my phone than to use my camera.

Company: Kiehl's

Flavors: Mango and Pear. The Mango is my absolute favorite out of these two. It's not exactly Mango but it does smell super sweet and fruity. It smells absolutely delicious, a nice tropical flavor. The Pear one smelled absolutely delicious in the store, but when I got mine home it didn't smell the same as the tester.  Mine smells almost like it's unscented. It's a very bland balm. There's a very, very, very subtle pear scent or something that is supposed to be pear but you have to try real hard to smell it. Pretty disappointed with the Pear one, I wish I had chosen the Cranberry one instead. 

Wear: Since these come in a squeeze tube you can decide how much to put on yourself.  They go on much thinner than my other squeeze tube lip balms but are still moisturizing. These balms also feel a little greasy compared to my other lip balms that come in squeeze tubes. They last about an hour or so, since they're thinner than my other balms they come off a lot easier during eating and drinking. It does have SPF though which I suppose is a plus.

Packaging: These balms come in white squeeze tubes with black writing and some writing that has the color of the labeled flavor. The backside of the tube has all of the "Drug Facts" in a color to match the indicated flavor. I hate these tubes for one reason only, there is no applicator tip. It's just the end of a squeeze tube similar to the end of a toothpaste tube. There's no slanted edge which makes applying a little annoying because I squeeze a little out on my lips and run the end of the tube over it and then have to rub my lips together and then run my fingers over to smooth in the excess; regardless, I always put on too much. I would put it right on my finger first but I really try to avoid that because germs freak me out and there's no way I can wash my hands before I apply lip balm every single time I need lip balm.

Price: $9 a tube, way out of my price range! But, it was our anniversary so my boyfriend bought them for me. Any other day I would have definitely passed these up.

Overall:

Pros: Flavors, SPF 4

Cons: Price, Applicator, Thin

Rating: 3 out of 5 Twists. The Mango one is pretty good, but I'm not a huge fan of squeeze tube lip balms and definitely not if they don't have the right kind of applicator. If these were maybe $5 a piece instead of $9 my rating would be higher and I'd be more likely to purchase from them again. But $9 is way too much for me to spend on a lip balm on an average day; that's like 3 regular lip balms from anywhere else! So I suppose if you've got the cash, consider giving these a shot.

Ingredients: Octinoxate, Petrolatum, Squalane, Lanolin, Triticum vulgare (wheat) germ oil, Tocopherol, Fragrance, Allantoin, Propylparaben, Benzyl benzoate, Butylparaben, Limonene, Anise alcohol, Linalool, Aloe barbadensis leaf extract

Dr. Hess Udder Stick

As you all may know by now, I went to Wisconsin a few weeks back and came home with TONS of new lip balms. When we stopped at Mars' Cheese Castle I wondered if I would be able to find a lip balm there (I often wonder if I will be able to find lip balm in the odd places I go to). I was losing hope until I got to the cashier and saw a bucket overflowing with lip balm! I was so excited, I had once again been able to find lip balm in such an obscure place!

Company: Dr. Hess Udder Ointment

Flavors: Original (Vanilla). When I saw that there was only original flavor I was hesitant thinking that it may be unflavored/unscented. To my surprise, when I opened it a rich scent filled my nose. It was such a wonderful vanilla scented balm. It's just fabulous! If you like vanilla balms, DEFINITELY try this one out. They also have Pomegranate, Mango, and Vanilla Mint. I'm so tempted to buy them all online. Especially the Mango one!

Wear: These go on so smooth! And thick! One swipe on top and bottom is more than enough to give you great coverage. It's very creamy and makes my lips feel very soft.

Packaging: It's so cute! It's a light yellow label on a white average sized lip balm tube. The label has "Udder Stick" in big letters as well as a picture of a cow! It definitely sticks out in my collection!

Price: $3 a tube which is definitely not bad. I just had to have it!

Overall:
Pros: Flavor, Wear, Packaging, Price
Cons: Not natural, lots of chemicals

Rating: 4 out of 5 twists, I love this lip balm! It's very ' cheesy'and totally fits in with my cheese and lip balm obsessions. I didn't expect much out of this balm but it definitely exceeded my expectations. I got a nice souvenir and a great balm, all in one!

Ingredients: Polybutene, Jojoba seed oil, EthylHexyl Methoxycinnamate, Beeswax, Parafin, Ethylene/Propylene/Styrene Copolymer, Butylene/Ethylene/Styrene Copolymer, Castor Seed Oil, Water, Shea Butter, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, Propylene Glycol Dibenzoate, Tribehenin, Benzophenone-3, Flavor, Jojoba Butter, Sorbitol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Chlorphenesin. 

Have you tried Dr. Hess's Udder Sticks before? What did you think of them?

Balms I've Got My Eye On 8.28.12

When Denise sent me my special lip balms, she also included a list of recommendations for me. As soon as I got over the deliciousness and amazement of my new balms, I immediately went through the list--every single shop! I picked out at least three from every shop that I wanted to try. Now to refrain from purchasing them all at once....

Here are the balms I'm restraining myself from buying this week:

Howard's Home's Orange Creamsicle Dreamsicle

(via)

I love, love, love citrus and vanilla combined!

Coquette Bath's Lemon Mint

(via)

I love Lemon and I love Mint, the two in one balm? Amazing!

Sweet Creek Herbal Care's Pineapple

(via)

It's been a while since I've used a really great plain pineapple lip balm, this may just be the one that I decide to try!

What balms have you been eyeing this week? Have you tried any of the companies above before? What did you think of them?

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Special Long Winter Farm Balms!

Hey all!

You know that envy you've been feeling since you saw that I had acquired a custom order flavor of Pistachio  Chip? Well now you can get it! It's for sale right now in Amanda's shop! Act quickly! There's a bunch of other flavors that aren't usually there also! I purchased a bunch this time! Her shop can be found here. Thank you, Denise, for letting me know!! You're awesome!!

Happy Shopping!!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Balms of the Week 8.26.12

I've had such an influx of balms the last couple weeks and I've been trying to shuffle between all of them to give each one an equal amount of use, but sometimes it's so hard to do when I find one that's just so amazing! The main ones I've been using this week are:

Orange Thyme's Ginger Peach

 (review)

Long Winter Farm's Pistachio Chip

(review)

Honey House Natural's Tangerine

(review)

While I was taking the photos above, my boyfriend and I realized there was one lone sea lion in the bay! How exciting! Luckily, I had my camera out already and was able to snap a few pictures before the little guy swam off.

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

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Sponsor Shout Out: ForGoodnessGrape

Hi all!

I'm sure you guys have noticed that I got my first sponsor this month (if you haven't, check out the ad on my right sidebar). I thought you would like to read and know more about my lovely sponsor, so I had Lisa, owner of ForGoodnessGrape, write up a little about herself and then we had a little Q&A so you could all get to know her and her shop a little better! Here goes!

"Hi, I’m Lisa, the owner/artisan of ForGoodnessGrape. I have always loved lip balm and perfume for as long as I can remember. Always been a crafter and entrepreneur at heart and have always loved handmade. I decided I wanted to make excellent products using premium ingredients, offer them at reasonable prices and share the thought that feeling beautiful should be fun. I think I’ve accomplished this.

I love the indie artisan way of life and the creativity it allows me. I am passionate about natural ingredients and found a way to utilize nature to bring beauty to others. Being absorbed in natural and handmade products really opens your eyes and you end up knowing that natural and handmade are what’s best for your body and for our world. As an indie business, ForGoodnessGrape is very earth friendly and I try to give back to my community and to share the rewards of this wonderful life.

I have been on Etsy exclusively since my opening in April 2010. To date, I’ve sold over 5,500 items thanks to all of my wonderful and loyal customers! I wanted to be able to share my passion with more people so in April 2012 (on my 2 year anniversary) I launched my own website - www.ForGoodnessGrape.com. No…I'm not going to leave Etsy. Who would have known I could have made so many friends through Etsy. It is a GRAPE place to shop.

Oh and you may wonder how ForGoodnessGrape got its name. Well…I’ll share that too. I was making a grape flavored lip balm one day. When it came time to name it, guess what popped into my head? You guessed it! ForGoodnessGrape. I know sometimes my names may seem a little silly but hey, like I said, you've just gotta have some fun! And there you have it.

My direct shop is located at:
www.ForGoodnessGrape.com

And of course my Etsy shop at:
www.ForGoodnessGrape.Etsy.com "

I created some questions that I thought you all may want to know the answers to, I hope you enjoy!

Lip Balm Wrangler: What got you into making handmade/homemade bath products?
Lisa: Well, I have always been a total lip balm addict for as long as I can remember and like you, and many of my customers, I've tried them all. Once I tried all natural and handmade bath and body products I was hooked and the idea of making them myself was very intriguing and seemed like a "natural" fit.

So I bought all the books I could get my hands on, searched the internet up and down and read even more. Asked other artisans and family for feedback. Lots of recipes and tons of practice later I opened my first Etsy shop called My Spa Secrets. I loved making pretty soaps but something was missing...my first love...Lip Balm.

Lip Balm Wrangler: What is your personal favorite bath & body product?
Lisa: I would have to say a cold processed soap made with lots of skin loving butters and oils. Once I tried one I was hooked.

Lip Balm Wrangler: What is your favorite lip balm flavor of the balms available in your shop?
Lisa: How did I know you'd ask that? Well I do have a couple of favorites that I can't live without. First is Earl Grey Tea. I keep this one in my kitchen in a very handy spot and use it numerous times throughout the day. Second is Vanilla Rose. I keep this one in my makeup cabinet and it's the first one I put on after brushing my teeth in the morning. A few that are in my purse now that I really love are Real Rose Lip Essentials, Orange Hibiscus, Huckleberry Honey Lip Candy Lip Balms.

Lip Balm Wrangler: Where do you get your biggest inspirations from for your lip balm flavors?
Lisa: Most of them just pop into my head. I keep a running list in a notepad app on my phone so that as I think of them I can jot them down. Also I'd say baked goods and drinks are my biggest sources of inspiration. I'm always thinking about lip balms.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and getting to know Lisa a little better. Also to save 15% on your purchase you can use the code LIPBALMWRANGLER.

Thank you again, Lisa, for sponsoring me!

--Christina

And The Winner Is....

Carrie Woods!!

Thank you SO much to everyone for entering the giveaway!! Using Random.org entry 10 was chosen as the winner. Congratulations, Carrie! I'll be e-mailing you shortly! I hope you enjoy your new Orange Cream Burst by Chapstick, Iced Pear by Simply Lip Balm, and Softlips Watermelon!

Stay tuned for the next giveaway!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Lip Balm Travels 8.24.12

I thought it might be neat to post where my lip balms go to with me and where I find them.  With Instagram it's been so easy to take and share my photos. I thought maybe once in a while I'd do a photo dump of pictures. Some lip balms are shown over and over because when I'm lovin' one of them I carry it everywhere I go!

Walking to the Farmers Market, I try to go every Saturday! Bay Bridge in the background.

Giant bow and arrow and some animal skull on the way to the Farmers Market.

Olive oil lip balms I found at a winery/olive oil tasting place.

Found these lovelies at a winery.

The special balms one of my readers sent me!

Taken at the practice for the America's Cup up near Golden Gate Park.

Hope you enjoyed a peak into where my lip balms have traveled!

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway here, it ends Saturday at 10AM PST**

For Goodness Grape is Having a Sale!

Hey all!

I know I've been posting way too much lately, but I've had a lot to share! Today I saw on For Goodness Grape's Facebook page that there is a coupon code to save 25% on your order if you're a fan on Facebook! Use the coupon code: FACEBOOK25 to save 25%! But make sure to also follow For Goodness Grape on Facebook. You can find the For Goodness Grape Etsy shop here. I'm not sure how long the promotion is running, so to ensure you take full advantage of the promotion I would purchase sooner rather than later!

Happy Shopping!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Even More Orange Thyme Balms!

As you should all know by now, I'm absolutely head over heels in love with Orange Thyme balms. Ever since I first reviewed them, I've been hooked. I reviewed them a second time because I just had to have more of those amazing balms! These balms are some of the absolute best balms I've ever used and I probably own almost every single flavor. I especially take advantage of every sale Orange Thyme has; every sale is an opportunity for me to try every flavor she has. If you haven't tried Orange Thyme balms yet, you better get on it and make it a point to do so!

It was very grey and rainy the day these arrived
and I really wanted to take a picture before I
ripped them open. I love the extra care taken
in packaging these lip balms.

Company: Orange Thyme

Flavors: Strawberry Banana, Rhubarb Soda, Clementine Soda, Cantaloupe, Pina Colada, and Pineapple Cherry. The Strawberry Banana is a perfect blend of sweet strawberries and ripe bananas. I'm not usually a fan of this combination, but in this lip balm it totally works for me. Like I've said before about Rhubarb, I've never tried it so I'm not exactly sure what it is supposed to be like, but the Rhubarb Soda is awesome! It's very sweet and "fizzy" believe it or not. It totally smells like fizzy soda. It's very sweet and makes me want to try rhubarb sometime! Obviously I love citrus everything and anything, especially in lip balms, and I had high expectations for Clementine Soda. My expectations were definitely met by this balm. It's citrusy, orange soda with all the bubbles. It's a lighter citrus scent, not exactly like orange soda i.e. Sunkist, which is fabulous. Just like the Rhubarb Soda, it is very sweet and bubbly. The Cantaloupe is a very light melon scent; I didn't know what to expect since I'm not a huge cantaloupe fan, but it was very pleasant. The Pina Colada is what I was really looking forward to, I absolutely love Pina Colada, pineapple, or coconut anything so this was the one I was mainly shopping for. The coconut is much stronger in this than pineapple, if you've tried the Toasted Coconut balm from Orange Thyme, it's very similar to that but just a teeny tiny bit less strong (the Toasted Coconut is a strong toasted coconut scent). But every now and then through the coconut scent you get a whiff of sweet, ripe pineapple. Yum! I was SUPER excited to see that I received a freebie in my order: Pineapple Cherry. I don't think this flavor is for sale on her site anywhere; I think it's an older flavor or a new one? Either way, I was really excited to receive it! You never really find Pineapple Cherry as a lip balm flavor and this one did not disappoint. The scent is very light but you can definitely tell there is a mix of pineapple and cherry within it. I think this one is a winner in my book. If you like pineapple and/or cherry, this may be a balm for you to check out.


Wear: These balms go on SO smooth! They are definitely in my top 3 smoothest balms. They go on thick enough that one or two swipes is all you really need. These balms moisturize your lips and provide coverage for two hours or more.

Packaging: These cute little balms come in your average sized lip balm tubes and each have a colored label that pertains to the flavor on the label. The color scheme matches the stated flavor and the flavor is written in a cute, curly-bordered (yeah I know that doesn't make much sense unless you see the label) section in a font that looks hand written.

Price: $3.25 a piece, absolutely perfect for these fabulous balms. When they're on sale you can get them for around $2 and some change which is fabulous.

Overall:
Pros: Flavors, Wear, Packaging, Price
Cons: Absolutely nothing

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists; these are some phenomenal balms. If you haven't tried them out yet, you're surely missing out!

Ingredients: Cocoa & Shea Butters, Candelilla Wax, Natural and Essential Oils, Avocado Oil.

Have you tried Orange Thyme Balms before? What flavors are your favorite?

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway here, it ends Saturday (8/25/12) at 10AM PST**

Softlips Lip Gloss

A while back, Softlips announced that they had made two lip glosses to accompany their laundry list of lip balm flavors. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit intrigued by this. One of my favorite lip balm companies making lip glosses? I had waited a long while before I purchased one. I had always seen the Pearl gloss around but I had never seen the Coral gloss, then one day I had stumbled upon it in a random section of the store and took it as a sign to try it! Here's the low down:

Company: Softlips

Flavors: Pearl Gloss and Coral Gloss. It's strange to do this category since these glosses don't really have flavors. The glosses have a mocha-y or vanilla scent, it's strange that it can be both but it has a very warm scent. It definitely doesn't smell bad, to me, my boyfriend, and my sister at least.

Wear: These glosses are applied with a wand with a felt/soft tip applicator. They go on very smooth and a little goes a long way. The coral is a nice reddish color and the pearl is a sheer gloss that doesn't really add any color. These glosses have SPF 10 and are moisturizing. I really like wearing these and I'm definitely not a gloss kind of person. They also last about two hours for a single application, if not longer, since I usually eat or drink after applying it.

Packaging: They come in a thin tube that is 0.15 fl oz. It's applicator, like stated above, is a wand with a slanted felt/soft tip applicator. You can see the color of the gloss directly through the tube which is great, so you know which one you are reaching for. The label is very simple; it is a clear label with Softlips in big letters with the type of gloss underneath it and SPF 10. The active ingredients and the company info is also included but what really sticks out is the company name which is nice. It gives the look of a very simply labeled package.


Price: $4 for one gloss, not too bad I suppose since it's a gloss and glosses are more expensive than lip balm. Also it's a moisturizing gloss that has SPF, which I haven't found anywhere else before, so the $4 price tag is totally worth it.

Overall:
Pros: Colors, wear, packaging, price
Cons:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 twists, these are pretty darn good glosses. I actually wear them pretty frequently which is very surprising since usually I buy a gloss, wear it once, and toss it into one of my drawers. I love the hint of color and shine to my lips.

Have you tried Softlips' glosses before? What did you think of them? 

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway here, it ends Saturday (8/25/12) at 10AM PST!**

Special Gift from a Reader!

I just wanted to share with you guys a wonderful little package I received in the mail on Monday. Denise is a wonderful lady who often recommends me new and different lip balm companies to try. She's certainly gotten me hooked on a few companies! She e-mailed me recently telling me she had some special lip balms she wanted me to try; they were custom flavors which got me really excited! I was counting down the days until they arrived! I ripped it open right when I got it out of the mail box and could instantly smell deliciousness, I had no idea what to expect!

Custom order Long Winter Farm Soap Co. balms! I was ecstatic at this point. That's why these pictures were a bit rushed, I wouldn't let myself open them and smell them until I had pictures of them in their packages. I apologize for that!

Girl Scout Cookie Lip Smackers!

The oh-my-goodness-so-delicious lip balm flavors. I think Pistachio Chip is my favorite right now!

A closer inspection of the Girl Scout lip balms; boy do these smell delicious!!!

Thank you SO much again, Denise! I absolutely adore these balms! 

I will write reviews on these balms in the near future, make sure to stay tuned!

Sponsor Call: September 2012

I know I just recently started offering sponsoring/advertising on my blog, but I thought this may be a good way to get the word out there to potential sponsors! The XL spot is booked until September 18th, but currently is open after then! The Large and Small spots are open now.

I know I'm a fairly new blog but my readership is growing every day! Not only is my readership growing, but I have a large group of frequent and returning readers (who I adore!). I have a lot in store for the upcoming months and always have a million new ideas to bring to the blog. In September I have tons of reviews scheduled, plus my weekly features and I have at least one giveaway planned; that presents tons of potential exposure for your blog/business! I am also very active on social media and announce when new sponsors are added, when new posts are put up, and other important announcements.

To book a spot please click on the 'Sponsor' tab at the top of the page and choose which size you would like to purchase. I'm using PassionfruitAds which makes it super simple to buy ad space! There are also discounts if you'd like to purchase a spot for more than one month.

If buying an ad is not what you're looking for, I am also more than happy to host a giveaway for you on my blog or review one of your products. Just e-mail me at lipbalmwrangler@gmail.com for more information.

Thank you for considering sponsoring Lip Balm Wrangler!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Balms I've Got My Eye On 8.21.12

I constantly take in other peoples' recommendations for lip balms and lip balm companies and often I stumble upon some on my own. This wish list of balms I want to try is never ending. Just when I think I've had enough, there's another five that catch my eye. Ugh. I'm not really complaining though.... This week I've been eyeing:

Puur Body's California Dreamin'

(via)

I can always use another citrus and vanilla blended lip balm, it's one of my favorite combinations!

Bella Fresca's Mango Orange

(via)

This sounds simply divine! I'm really, really tempted to try this one!

Whimsy Designs by Rossi's Juicy Mango

(via)

I think we all know by now how much I LOVE Mangoes and how I'm still on the hunt for the absolute perfect mango lip balm. I think this is a new company so I'm always iffy, but I really love the packaging on her balms!

Maeva Beauty's Strawberry Mint

(via)

Strawberry + mint? What?! That sounds crazy awesome! I've been meaning to try this company for a while now, they even have a mango lip balm! Perhaps this will move it higher up on my shopping list...

That's pretty much it for now! What's been catching your eye this week?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway to try some new balms!

Balms of the Week 8.19.12

The last week and a half has been so busy for us with running around and setting up furniture and just getting settled into our new apartment. It's so exciting and yet so exhausting! But through everything I experience throughout my days, I always have at least one lip balm by my side. The lip balms I've been hangin' on to this week are:

Kiehl's Mango

(review can be found here)

Orange Thyme's Ginger Peach

(review can be found here)

Simply Lip Balm's Pomegranate

(review still to come)

These balms have basically gone everywhere with me this week! What have you been using this week? Have you picked up anything new?

Have a great week! And don't forget to enter my giveaway to try some new lip balms!

End of Summer Giveaway!

Hey all!

I've been meaning to have a giveaway for quite some time now but have just had a hard time deciding how exactly I wanted to do it. I wanted to do it for a couple of milestones, when I hit 10,000 views and then when I hit 15,000 views. Every time I hit one milestone it was like I was quickly on my way to another! After hitting 16,000 views this past week I decided enough was enough, it's about time I had my first giveaway! This is my first ever giveaway so bear with me here.

What the Winner Will Receive: Summer may be winding down, but one lucky winner will continue to experience it for a little while longer with their brand new Orange Cream Burst by Chapstick! This lovely lip balm is the perfect model of the delicious summer treat. Not only will this lucky individual receive one (1) tube of this limited edition Chapstick, but he or she will also receive one (1) tube of Softlips' Watermelon and one (1) tube of Simply Lip Balm's Iced Pear!

How to Enter: Leave a comment below telling me which of these lip balms you're dying to have.
For Additional Entries (leave a separate comment for each):
+Follow @LipBalmWrangler on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway (something along the lines of "Check out the awesome giveaway by @lipbalmwrangler at www.lipbalmwrangler.com")
+Like Lip Balm Wrangler on Facebook and Share the page with your friends
+Follow Lip Balm Wrangler on GFC (Google Friend Connect, if you already follow me leave a comment saying so)
+Follow Lip Balm Wrangler on Bloglovin
+Include #lipbalmwrangler in your Instagram lip balm photo (leave your user name so I can check that you did it)

That's a total of 6 possible entries per person! Please make sure to leave a way to contact you (such as an e-mail address) if you win!

When It Ends: This giveaway will close on August 25th, 2012. So you've got 1 week to enter! I will use Random.org to select a winner.

*This giveaway is only available to readers in the United States, sorry!*

Good luck to every one who enters!

Reviews for Orange Cream Burst can be found here, for Watermelon Softlips here, and for Simply's Iced Pear here.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Lip Butters

A few weeks ago I showed you a sneak peak of my big haul from Woodman's when I spent the day in Wisconsin with my boyfriend to attend the Renaissance Fair and spend some time with our friends. Included in my haul from that day were two lip butters by Palmer's. A few months back I reviewed Palmer's Moisturizing Lip Balm (found here) and quickly noticed on their website that they had lip butters in a tube that I had never seen before. I was immediately intrigued and on the look out for them every where I went. I'm so glad we went to Woodman's because they were the first two things I noticed in their HUGE selection of lip balm. Let's see how these lip butters compare to their lip balm counterpart, shall we?

Sorry this picture is not of my usual quality, the boyfriend
wanted to take the pictures and be "artsy" so this is what I
ended up with when I checked the pictures over.

Company: Palmer's

Flavors: Dark Chocolate & Cherry and Dark Chocolate & Peppermint. These flavors are phenomenal! The Dark Chocolate & Cherry is exactly like a chocolate dipped cherry and is so rich and decadent. It definitely exceeded my expectations. The Dark Chocolate & Peppermint is an amazing mix of chocolate and mint. It's wonderful! I don't think there's anything else I can say about these flavors. They're just wonderful and even better than I expected.

Wear: Since these come in squeeze tubes they cover beautifully. You squeeze the amount of lip butter you need and apply. A little goes a long way since it's got the consistency of a gloss over a lip balm. What I love about this not being a gloss and actually having a moisturizing component is that when my lips are super chapped this applies flawlessly. I don't have to worry about it getting caught on the chapped parts of my lips. These really soften my lips and adds a nice shine to my lips. They also last about an hour and a half or more but I ate and drank while wearing them which obviously made them last a little less than usual.

Packaging: These lip butters come in white squeeze tubes that contain more product than your average sized lip balm. There's a lot of words on the front but it tells you everything you need to know.

Price: I paid $1.89 for a tube but online it retails for $3.30 from their website. This price isn't so bad for the amount of product you get, plus the flavors are phenomenal! I definitely think I got a great deal paying less than $2 per tube!

Overall:
Pros: Flavors, Wear, Price
Cons: Packaging label is a little cluttered, obviously not a deal breaker, not natural

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 twists (or should I say squeezes?). These are pretty great, if you like chocolate covered cherries or chocolate mixed with mint, you should definitely give these a try!

Ingredients: 
Dark Chocolate & Peppermint: Petrolatum, Cocoa Seed Butter, Tocopheryl Acetate, Peppermint Oil, Flavor.
Dark Chocolate & Cherry: Petrolatum, Cocoa Seed Butter, Tocopheryl Acetate, Flavor, Saccharin. 

Have you tried these lip butters before? What did you think of them?

Hurraw! Balm

As you all probably know, I've been eyeing Hurraw! Balms for a while now and when they finally had a coupon code up a couple of weeks back, I definitely didn't hesitate to act on it! In fact, I'll admit, I was doing my usual morning routine of "checking the news", i.e. reading my Facebook newsfeed, and as soon as I saw the coupon code I whipped out my laptop and placed an order within minutes of seeing the coupon code. Yes, I am an addict and I know it. What was so fabulous about ordering was that it shipped not even a half hour after I ordered it and I received it SO quickly! Gotta love that!

Company: Hurraw! Balm

Flavors: Lemon, Green Tea, Moon, and Black Cherry Lip Tint. The Lemon balm is a true lemon scent, smells like a fresh cut lemon but not as sweet and no added sugar. I prefer my lemon balms to be super lemony and a little sweet. There's just something a little off about this one. The Green Tea is dead on green tea. If you're a green tea drinker, you'll definitely like this one. It also smells a little like baby powder to me? The Moon balm is a fantastic vanilla balm. It's exactly as expected. The Black Cherry smells absolutely delicious! It kind of reminds me of Lip Smacker's Dr. Pepper lip balm that I used as a kid, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Since it is a lip tint it goes on as a very faint red and actually isn't even noticeable on my lips at all, which is great for me since I'm usually not a big fan of lip tints.

Wear: They go on so very smooth and quite evenly. They cover great despite feeling a little thin. The Moon balm goes on a bit thicker to me which is great as I use it at night right before I go to sleep.

Packaging: Oval tubes with very sharp looking labels on them. The moon balm has a shiny and reflective label on it and makes it just look so modern? It's very cool! The labels are also very soft and smooth to the touch, I don't know what it is about them but they feel great in my hands. They aren't waxy feeling at all.

Price: $3.79 to $4.29, this is slightly out of my price range which is why I was SO excited there was a coupon code to get the balms at about $3 a piece

Overall:
Pros: Flavor, Wear, Packaging, Natural, Vegan, Raw, Fast Shipping
Cons: Price is slightly higher than I'd like to pay

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 twists, I had a lot of hype and hope for this balm but it didn't really live up to all of my expectations. I thought these were going to be the best balms ever, but I definitely have others in my collection that pass these balms up. Not saying these balms are bad or anything, they're definitely worth checking out, but they aren't the creme de la creme.

Ingredients: 
Lemon Balm: Sweet almond oil, candelilla wax, coconut oil, jojoba oil, cocoa butter, castor oil, olive oil, lemon and lemongrass essential oils, vitamin E.

Green Tea: Green tea infused sweet almond oil, candelilla wax, hemp oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, cocoa butter, castor oil, olive oils, organic flavors, vitamin E. 

Moon Balm: Avocado and sweet almond oil, candelilla wax, cocoa butter, coconut oil, castor oil, argan oil, rosehip oil, meadow foam seed oil, vitamin E, vanilla bean, Peru balsam oil, blue chamomile flower extract.

Black Cherry Lip Tint: Alkanet infused sweet almond oil, candelilla wax, coconut oil, jojoba seed oil, cocoa seed butter, castor seed oil, olive fruit oil, organic flavors, vitamin E.

Have you tried Hurraw! Balms before? What did you think of them?

Balms I've Got My Eye On 8.14.12

Today is my five year anniversary with my boyfriend, hooray! Thank you, Robert, for always supporting me in my lip balm endeavors! You fuel my addiction and have supported me every step of the way with this blog. It wouldn't even exist today without you. <3.

And thank you for setting up my balms so beautifully behind my back every time we bought one this week. You are so cute and just the absolute best part of my life!

This is how he set up my lip balm in our bathroom. It was adorable to find.
P.S. If you guys have Instagram and you take pictures of your lip balm,
use #lipbalmwrangler so I can see! You can also see my photos that way.

Even though today's our anniversary, I'm still eyeing some balms. Perhaps as an anniversary present to myself? Here's what looks good to me this week:

Aubrey E. Apothecary's Blueberry Lemonade

(via)

I'm a sucker for anything Blueberry and Lemon pretty much.

Bathing In Luxury's Lemon Basil

(via)

The other lip balms actually come in cooler looking tubes than these plain white ones, not sure why this one looks different. I totally love the lemon basil in my garden and think this balm would be really interesting to try!

Bubbles with Lub's Mango Lime

(via)

This flavor combination sounds amazing! I really want to try this one and a couple others from this shop but since it's from Australia it would cost me an arm and a leg to purchase because of shipping. =( Bummer. Perhaps when I win the lottery? Har har.

What balms have you been eyeing this week? Have you acquired anything new? 

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Orange Thyme is Having a Flash Sale Tomorrow!

Hey all!

I know I've got some Orange Thyme junkies who read this blog and I wanted to let you guys know that she is having a sale starting tomorrow (8/14) through the 16th! I know I will definitely try to take advantage of this sale tomorrow, I hate missing out on them! You can find her shop here.

Also, make sure to follow Orange Thyme on Facebook so you can stay up-to-date with all her sales.

Happy Shopping!

--The Lip Balm Wrangler

Balms of the Week 8.12.12

Hi all!

I've been so crazy busy with moving and trying to get everything set up this last week so I really appreciate your patience with my replies in e-mails and comments. My phone isn't reliable and often doesn't let me comment back and writing e-mails on my phone is just a pain. We finally got Internet yesterday so I can connect with the outside world once again (yay!). This week I've been trying so many new balms because I've been finding so many as I venture through the city and at all the stores we stop into to buy groceries, furniture, etc. Even in the chaos that comes with moving, I'm still on the hunt for lip balm!

I decided to carry these balms with us when my boyfriend and I were walking to the farmers market yesterday, as there are many photo-ops on the walk over from our new apartment. I think these photos are fabulous and there will be many more to come! Also, a funny side note, when picking out some plants the woman we were talking to exclaimed, "Hold on! Hold on! This is an emergency!" I had no idea what was going on, until she whipped out her lip balm! Fabulous! I wish I had snapped a picture of her doing that because it was just too perfect.

Any-who, the main ones I've been switching between this week are:

Avalon Organics' Peppermint Green Tea

This one is like a mint candy almost, hard to describe. It's peppermint and then kind of sweet like candy, at least to me it seems that way.

Burt's Bees' Island

I had never even heard of this when I just randomly stumbled upon it! I love when that happens!

Simply's Pomegranate

Apparently Simply has really stepped up their game since the last time I reviewed them. I remember their website was pretty much non-functional and they only had four flavors (the four I reviewed here). Now they've got crazy amounts of flavors! I've picked up four since being here: Pomegranate, Lemongrass, Coconut, and Espresso.

Simply's Lemongrass

So there you have it, a glimpse into my new home and at the balms I've picked up and have been using the most this week. The boyfriend and I also thought it would be so cool and awesome if one of my readers were to see me taking pictures of balms out in public and say something. We always wonder what people think when they see me take out so many lip balms and then proceed to take pictures of them; I think some people just don't understand my need and love for lip balm.

What balms have you been using this week? Have you picked up anything new or tried any of the above this week?

Have a great week!