Chapstick: Orange Cream Burst and Chocolate Rush

I apologize in advance for the long story!

While I was in Los Angeles last week, I did lots of lip balm searching and buying. I was conducting my usual lip balm safari in a CVS after we had gone grocery shopping at Sprouts and was losing hope that I'd find anything new. My boyfriend was also searching for balms that I hadn't had yet and I was getting discouraged that we wouldn't find anything at all. I usually never check any make up aisles for lip balm because everyone knows that the vast majority of lip balm is kept in the cold and flu section of most stores. But, since summer is quickly approaching I figured there may be some lip balm near the sunscreen. I found a couple CVS brand flavors that were different from usual store flavors so I picked those up and turned the corner to go down another make up aisle; sad that I, once again, hadn't found the limited edition Chapstick flavors. I was talking with my boyfriend and just blindly looking at all the make up when....I SPOTTED THE LIMITED EDITION CHAPSTICK FLAVORS! They were hanging right there, right in front of me on one of those hanging displays that are strewn randomly about all aisles. BOTH flavors were right there, and in abundance! I was so excited, I immediately grabbed them and jumped up and down. My boyfriend could see how excited I was and we were just high fiving and celebrating (yes, we are that lame). I quickly ran to the check out line, eager to try these babies out! While standing in line there was a woman in front of me. She turned around to look at me, then turned forward again and proceeded to do a double take once she saw what was in my hand. She immediately asked me where I had found them and quickly ran out of line to go get them. It felt awesome!

Enough of my long, detailed story of how I found these marvelous, very sought after balms and on to the review!

Company: Chapstick

Flavors: Orange Cream Burst and Chocolate Rush. I have to tell you, this is the BEST orange cream balm I've ever had! It's JUST like the sweet frozen treat. I adore it, I could use it all day. Perfect combination of sweet orange and creamy vanilla. You should definitely try to find this one in stores. The Chocolate Rush smells like a very decadent piece of chocolate cake. If you love chocolate, you will love this balm. It's not like my cocoa flavored balms, which are made with cocoa butter (and are absolutely delicious, might I add) so this is clearly an artificial chocolate, but still not bad.

Wear: It goes on smooth, not like my natural balms but still pretty smooth. I'm sure most people have at least one stick of Chapstick and are familiar with how it goes on. Even coverage, a tried and true classic of balms. Each application lasts about an hour or so. I'm always reapplying these anyway since the flavor is so amazing but, I do find myself licking my lips a little more than usual so that may be a reason it lasts so little.

Packaging: The little paper/plastic packaging these tubes come in is ADORABLE. Keeps up with the ice cream theme by having a summer scene with an ice cream truck depicted. The tubes themselves are average sized lip balm tubes with a swirl pattern of brown or orange, corresponding with the flavor.

Price: I think I paid around $1.50. Usually you can get Chapstick brand lip balm for around $1, but since it was at CVS it was going to be a little more. I didn't care though, they were limited editions!

Overall:
Pros: Flavor, packaging, price, application
Cons: Not natural, doesn't last too long

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists, it's a tired and true lip balm brand. I've always been a fan of them (they were my absolute go-to brand along with Softlips, before I found my love of natural balms). These limited edition balms are definitely something you don't want to miss out on!

Olimax Soap

I am SO sorry I've been late on my posts lately, I've been super busy and have barely had time to sleep let alone write up some reviews. Next week I'll try to make sure I post on Thursday like I usually do. My Etsy.com obsession is just going to keep continuing. I just love the variety of flavors I can find online.

I love when sellers put effort into their packaging.

Company: Olimax Soap

Flavors: Banana Coconut, Orange Creamsicle, and Lemonade. I'm obsessed with lemon anything so beware that there may be an influx of balms containing lemon in the next few weeks. Back to these flavors...all of them have this subtle perfumey, soapy smell lingering over the scent of the balm. I haven't yet decided if that is a good thing or a bad thing yet. I don't usually like really perfumey balms and prefer just scented lip balms that smell like the flavor they are supposed to. The Banana Coconut is very much banana, I have yet to find the coconut part to it. I was really hoping to find an awesome banana coconut blend since I haven't come across that before but this was pretty much just banana. The Lemonade isn't like lemonade, I only sense the perfume-y scent and when applied it doesn't really have a noticeable scent to it. It's a little disappointing since I love lemon and lemonade lip balms. For the Creamsicle flavor, it's a very subtle orange scent and a little hint of cream. I think this is the best flavor out of the three I picked out.

Wear: They go on super smooth and it doesn't take much to get full coverage. I did notice that some went around the outside of my lips, but it also could be how I apply it because I tend to be a little over zealous with putting on lip balm. Pretty decent though. It lasts about 2 hours.

Packaging: Very simple and plain labels on average size lip balm tubes. There are white labels with color bands around the top and bottom of the tube to match the indicated flavor. The company name and a pink flower are also included on the tube. It is the paper kind of label though, no waxy covering so I could see the ink wearing away with frequent use.

Price: I bought 3 for $7.50 which is a heck of a deal, for 1 it's $3 which is not too bad for a natural, vegan lip balm.

Overall:
Pros: Wear, Price, simple label
Cons: Flavors weren't as expected

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 twists, I wasn't too impressed with these balms. The price is phenomenal for three tubes. The wear is great also if you're looking for a spare balm or to try a new balm that isn't too costly.

Crazy Rumors: A La Mode

I was browsing the Internet one night while I was in Los Angeles a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a lip balm company that I had never heard of before. I was amazed by how attractive and well done their website was from their "mascot" to the different names for their different lines of lip balm. I then noticed their very unique and unusual flavors and could not decide on just a select few to try; this was definitely not your ordinary lip balm company. I was so engulfed by their website and overwhelmed by the variety of flavors that I ended up buying three complete lines of their lip balms and a handful of single lip balms from a mixture of their other lines. For now, I'll start with just one of their branches of flavors: A La Mode.

Company: Crazy Rumors

Flavors: Orange Creamsicle, Raspberry Sherbet, Mint Chocolate, and Banana Split. I CANNOT describe how delicious all of these flavors smell! The Raspberry Sherbet was so crisp and fruity, it was as if I had just opened up a pint of the actual thing. Also, I've tried other Banana Split lip balms since discovering my banana flavored balm and this one definitely takes the cake! I can smell the hot fudge, nuts, and banana; I was practically drooling when I took just a small whiff of it. The Mint Chocolate was also the perfect mash up of mint and chocolate, with neither being too overwhelming or stronger than the other. I found that the Orange Creamsicle was more citrus-y and orange than it had creamy vanilla, but it was still quite enjoyable.

Wear: As I always say, it's hard to find a natural balm that glides on beautifully and man I have never had one go on as smooth as these ones! As soon as you try to apply it, it's soft and goes on wonderfully. You get full coverage and my lips definitely feel softer. It feels thinner than most other balms when it goes on, but definitely doesn't feel like you need more to get the job done. It also lasted more than an hour, which was fabulous!

Packaging: The size of these balms are your average lip balm size, but have really cool labels attached to them. Each label has a classic old-fashioned feel to them (and I truly mean that in the best way possible) and have a banner that is color coded to match the flavor that states the flavor of the balm. They have clear caps which are pretty unusual but definitely compliment the look of the balm.

Price: $3.49 plus shipping, this is a pretty good price for a 100% natural, vegan, and cruelty-free balm.

Overall:
Pros: Flavors, flavors, flavors! Price, Packaging, Application
Cons: Nothing that I can see

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists, I highly recommend trying this brand!