Hi all!
Today I
have a very special review for you, written by Sara Hanna owner of Sara Hanna
Originals. I also plan to review For Goodness Grape in the future, but I
thought it may be nice to get another perspective on her products. Also, Lisa’s perfume stix will also be covered in this review. Enjoy!
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Many of you don’t know me; the ones who do, know that I’m extremely picky when it comes to lip balms. I’ve probably tried hundreds (thousands?) of different flavours, brands, types, etc. I’m always eager and excited to open the mail and discover my new little gems, though often times am disappointed with the quality or taste. But not with my For Goodness Grape items! No sir, these are by far some of the best balms I’ve ever tried!
Flavours: Wild Blueberry Sugary Lip Scrub, Lemon Cupcake Lip Candy,
Blueberry Lemonade Lip Candy, Breathless (Lip Tintx), Sophia (Lip Tintx), Dark
Cherry (Lip Tintx), Cotton Candy (Shimmer Styx), Bordeaux (Shimmer Stix),
Better Than Sex Cake (Solid Perfume Stix), and Hello Sugar! (Solid Perfume
Styx).
When I placed my order with Lisa,
she was very sweet and helpful in answering all of my questions. I had never
tried a lip scrub before, but I was intrigued with her flavours, incredibly
detailed photos, and the idea of licking sugar off my lips. True to the
description, the Wild Blueberry Sugary Lip Scrub was delicious and tastes
EXACTLY like fresh blueberries! The blueberry infused sugar lends to the
effect. I had to scrape some of the sugar off the top before I used it, as she
likes to pack a whole lot on to look pretty. At first, I found it a little
difficult to use; it seemed too solid and felt like I wasn’t getting enough of
the balm from it. After using it a few times, I’ve come to find that it does
actually spread fairly well, and it’s a lot of fun to lick the sugar off
instead of wiping it off!
Lemon Cupcake tastes exactly as
it says, and it makes my mouth water every time I use it! Blueberry Lemonade is
not my favourite of the bunch, but blueberry and lemons are definitely noticeable
in the balm. Maybe I’m just not a fan of the flavor combo, I’m not sure.
All of the lip tints have just a
slight amount of colour in them, and glide on super smooth! I’ve never been a
huge fan of lip tints, but if you are into them, I think you’d love these. The
shimmer sticks have the same texture as the lip tints, but with a hint of
shimmer. The only thing that’s missing from these is flavor. I don’t tend to
wear colours on my lips, but I especially dislike the taste of plain balm (and
HATE the taste of lipstick!). These have a taste similar to lipstick, in my
opinion, so I likely won’t use them.
As for the perfume sticks, all I
have to say is WOW! They look just like a lip balm, they smell delicious,
and I love the funny looks people give me when they think I’m spreading lip
balm on my wrists and neck. The Better Than Sex Cake smells absolutely AMAZING
in the tube; the product description says, “Can there really be a cake this
good? German chocolate cake is blended with semi-sweet chocolate chips and
laced with crunchy toffee bits in this decadent treat. Vanilla creme and
butterscotch syrup create a luscious undertone, while hints of almond and
coconut complete the yummy blend.” I’m not sure I can smell each of these
elements, but it does smell divine! Unfortunately, I don’t know if it’s my body
chemistry or what, but within minutes of applying this perfume, the scent
changes and makes me feel sick to my stomach and gives me a headache. I’ve
always been extremely sensitive to scents, which is why I almost never wear any
sort of perfume (aside from Vanilla Body Spray from the Body Shoppe). I’ve
tried wearing it a few times, but I get the same reaction every time. I even
had to go to the bathroom at work and wash my wrists and neck to try to get it
off! However, the Hello Sugar! Perfume is perfection in a tube! The description
says, “Fun, flirty tart lemon sugar scent. A note of crust mixed in with the
lemon - a yummy perfection and spot-on to the real deal!” It smells delicious
in the tube, but smells EVEN BETTER on me! I can’t quite describe the scent,
but it definitely smells like a wonderful blend of vanilla and lemons; a combo
I wouldn’t have thought would be so lovely!
Wear: The lip
balms go on super smooth, and I love that they’re not “wet” feeling, or too
waxy. There is definitely a tiny bit of waxy feeling, but it still feels
amazing on your lips. The lip tints are even smoother than the lip balms, and
are almost wet feeling, but not in a bad way. I think I’d even like that
texture better as a lip balm, if that were possible! The lip scrub kinda feels
a little funny when you’re applying it, especially if you’ve never used one
before. It’s a bit scratchy, but pleasant feeling. My lips are never chapped
really these days, but in the winter I can see how this would be awesome to
slough off the dead skin we all occasionally get!
I’ve not kept the lip tints on long
enough to get an idea of how long they’d last, so I can’t comment on that. The
lip balms do tend to stay on for about 1-2 hours, depending on how often you
lick your lips! Even the flavour tends to stick around for quite a while! The
solid perfume, however, doesn’t seem to last very long on me at all. Usually
within half an hour, I can’t smell it anymore, unless I sniff my wrist. After an
hour, the scent is gone completely. Lisa (the shop owner) did explain to me
that varying body chemicals can change how long a scent will last, or how it
will smell, on every person. So maybe that’s it, I don’t know. But I do tend to
reapply it a LOT just because I love the scent!
Packaging: The lip
balms come in standard little clear tubes, with super cute labels! She uses a
little plastic cellophane wrapper around the labels so that they don’t get
scratched; however, I didn’t realize I was supposed to keep them on when I got
my package, so most of my labels are pretty badly scratched up now. The solid
perfumes also come in little black tubes that look exactly like the lip balm
tubes, so make sure you remember which is which when you reach into your purse
to apply one or the other! The thing I loved the most was the oval shaped lip
scrub tube! I love that design so much, and had never seen them before this!
Lisa was kind enough to agree to put my new lip balms that I’ve ordered
recently into the little oval tubes, because she knows how much I adore them!
Price: The lip
balms are $4 each, lip scrubs are $7.75, lip tints are $6.75, and solid perfume
sticks are $6.25 (she also sells .10oz and .5oz roll on perfumes). They are
definitely a little on the pricey side, especially the lip scrubs, compared to
most of their competition. Honestly, they are the only company I’ve tried so
far in the handmade category, so I have nothing to compare them to, price vs
quality-wise. However, I was definitely NOT disappointed in my purchases, so I
would consider them totally worth it. I have got some orders in with a few
other companies, so I will be able to compare them later on. The thing I adore
is her perfumes; even if I end up buying balms from other companies as well,
the perfumes are what gets me. Also her lip scrub flavours are beyond any of
the competition so far! I’ve seen a couple of other companies with a fairly
large variety of flavours for their scrubs, but For Goodness Grape seems to
have the flavor types to suit my tastes.
Overall
Pros: Flavours,
taste, texture, cute packaging, natural.
Cons: Price.
Rating:
4 out of 5 twists. These lip balms
aren’t quite competitively priced, and that’s really the only thing that is
costing a point here. The perfumes seem to be on par to her competition, but
the lip scrubs seem far more pricey than other shops. Maybe it’s the fact that
she’s using the oval tubes? I’m not sure. But otherwise, For Goodness Grape is
absolutely fantastic, and Lisa is an absolute gem and a pleasure to work with.
She offers customized labels for weddings, showers, etc, and is always happy to
work with you on customized flavours too! Do yourself a favour and try at least
one of every type of product she offers! I’m totally sure you’ll love them.
Sara Hanna
Owner, Sara Hanna Originals
www.facebook.com/SaraHannaOriginals
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If you would like to do a guest review, please send your review to
lipbalmwrangler@gmail.com, if I like your review, I’ll post it!
