Limited Edition Chapstick Holiday Balms Giveaway

With the holidays coming up, it only makes sense to get your hands on some new holiday balms. Today I'll start my giveaway for all three limited edition Chapstick Holiday flavors. I know that these may be easier to find than other limited edition flavors/balms, but who doesn't love a chance to win free stuff?

(review)

The Prize: One tube each of Chapstick's Candy Cane, Chocolate Truffle, and Apple Cider!

How To Enter: This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents only!! Simply comment below with which flavor you're dying to try!

For Additional Chances to Win:
+'Like' Lip Balm Wrangler on Facebook
+Share the giveaway on your Facebook page
+Follow @LipBalmWrangler on Twitter
+Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter (Something along the lines of "Check out @LipBalmWrangler's giveaway for 3 Limited Edition Chapstick Flavors over at www.lipbalmwrangler.com"
+Follow my blog through GFC (Google Friend Connect)
+Follow LipBalmWrangler on bloglovin
+Post about the giveaway on your own blog
+Take a photo of your favorite lip balm on Instagram and use #lipbalmwrangler in your caption

If you already do one of the above, just leave a comment saying so!

**Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry!!**

That's a total of 9 chances to win!

When It Ends: This giveaway will end in one week on December 20th at 5pm!

Good luck to all who enter!

Little Batch

Alright, it's about time that I review one of my new favorite shops! I mean, I've been using one balm from this shop on a daily basis since I received it over a month ago. The balms from this shop are just wonderful! The shop may be closed for a little while while Jen has her baby and enjoys all the things that come with being a mother, but she will open again eventually and when she does, you can bet I'll be ready to order some more of her fabulous balms! I hope you're ready for a huge review because my first order was a big one!

Company: Little Batch

Flavors: Mint Chocolate Chip, New Jersey Cranberry, Orange Cream Soda, Coconut Milk and Peaches, Caramel Apple, Winter Frost, and Lemon Cheesecake. The Mint Chocolate Chip is a wonderful cocoa and mint balm! It's interesting because Jen used Semi Sweet Chocolate in this balm instead of normal milk chocolate so it's not as sweet as one would expect. It's actually very pleasant. If you're a fan of Chocolate and Mint concoctions, you'll like this balm! I didn't know what to think of the New Jersey Cranberry as I hadn't had a Cranberry balm before this one. I know I love dried cranberries so off of that notion, I ordered this balm. This balm is dead on sweet cranberry. It's wonderful! I hardly ever come across cranberry scented balms, so this was definitely a nice balm to try! The Orange Cream Soda is awesome! It's probably one of my favorites from this shop! It's lovely, citrusy orange with creamy vanilla. It's not crazy sweet, but smells amazing! The Coconut Milk and Peaches is probably the best Coconut Milk and Peaches balm I've ever smelled! The Peach scent is nice and fresh and sweet and strong, usually I find that the peach portion of these kind of balms is a bit washed out, but not in this balm! There is also a creamy coconut note to it which is just amazing. Definitely another favorite from this shop. The Caramel Apple is a fresh apple scent with a little bit of caramel sweetness to it. It's not the sticky sweet scent I was expecting (after falling in love with Orange Thyme's Caramel Apple balm). To me this balm smells a bit floral-y which may be why I'm a bit turned off from this one. The Winter Frost is by far MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE! I love, love, love this balm. Seriously, amazing and wonderful! It is the most perfect blend of white chocolate and icy peppermint. Seriously, I love white chocolate and I love peppermint and had never, ever had that combination before. This balm is seriously the greatest thing ever. I was so happy to see that Jen also included a Lemon Cheesecake balm in my order. How is it that every time I'm going back and forth on a balm and decide not to try it, the shop owner always seems to read my mind and send it to me? It's crazy! This balm smells INCREDIBLE! Yes, all caps was definitely needed. The reason I often go back and forth on Lemon Cheesecake balms is because every time I've tried it, I was so disappointed. This one though, is amazing. It's strong in lemony goodness with a bit of creaminess from the cheesecake scent. It also smells a bit like a bakery treat. It's just wonderful.

Wear: These balms go on so easily as they're so smooth! Seriously, these glide on with ease. They cover beautifully and make my lips feel so soft and wonderful. They also last over 2 hours which is wonderful!

Packaging: These balms come in lovely oval tubes which, by now, everyone should know I love! They just fit the contour of my lips so perfectly! The labels on the balms are so simple, yet distinct. There are colored lines on the labels that match the flavor of the balm and the flavor of the balm is written nice and large right on the front of the tube. One thing I didn't like about the packaging is that the shrink wrap isn't smooth on the balm and I try to keep the shrink wrap on to protect the wrapper, but it kept getting in the way so I took the shrink wrap off. The labels though are paper and the ink rubs off really easily for me, so some of the ones I've been using more than others definitely show some wear on them. Also, the labels don't stick to the tube, so they come off really easily. I keep pressing the label back on it though to try to get it to stay.

Price: $4 which I'm more than willing to pay for one of these lovely balms!

Overall
Pros: Flavors, Wear, Oval tubes, price, customer service
Cons: Paper labels, uneven shrink wrap

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists, these balms are definitely some of my favorite ones! I am SO glad I finally tried balms from this shop. I already have other balms for another review from this shop that I ordered after receiving this order. Seriously, when this shop re-opens, do yourself a favor and order a couple balms!

Ingredients: Beeswax, cocoa seed butter, shea butter, sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, casto oil, vitamin E, flavor

Have you tried Little Batch balms before? What did you think of them?

Some More ForGoodnessGrape Balms!

A while back in September, I believe, Lisa over at ForGoodnessGrape had a sale on her balms and had a discount code for her bundled packages too. So naturally...I had to purchase seven lip balms. Yeah, I have to work on impulse control. But sometimes, around lip balm (and coats and boots and...) I just can't help myself!

Company: ForGoodnessGrape

Flavors: Cinnamon Pear, Blueberry Lemonade, Toasted Coconut, Blackberry Lemonade, Lychee, Pineapple, and Candied Caramel Apple. With this order, I decided to try a new flavor that I had never tried before...Cinnamon Pear. This balm is mostly cinnamon to me, the pear in it is just kinda covered up and overwhelmed by the cinnamon. But I love cinnamon (but, not too much cinnamon) so this was okay in my book! The Blueberry Lemonade smells just like real, fresh blueberries blended with sweet, sugary lemonade. I mean seriously, this balm is dead on blueberry! I may have stopped liking Blueberry balms, but for you blueberry lovers out there, this is definitely one to put on your shopping list. The Toasted Coconut smells just like it should, lightly toasted coconut flakes. You still get the sweet warm coconut, but with just a little bit of a toasted/burnt-like scent. The Blackberry Lemonade is wonderful! It smells exactly like Blackberries and lemonade! I was never really a big fan of blackberries, so I didn't know how I'd like this balm. But I definitely like it, it's really refreshing and light. Lychee balms are always ones I have to take a gamble on, none really remind me of the fruit (fresh or canned) which is disappointing. This balm smells a little like lychee to me, but it isn't quite there yet. It's definitely sweet though! The Pineapple is a wonderfully refreshing pineapple scent. I haven't had a plain pineapple balm in a while so this is just what I needed. It's great!

Wear: Smooth! These balms go on so nicely and evenly too, my lips feel really soft and smooth after putting this on.

Packaging: These balms come in your average sized lip balm tubes that have clear labels. The labels have two bands on them designed with a pattern and color scheme to match the flavor of the balm. The flavor of the balm is also right on front in big letters which makes it easily identifiable.

Price: $4 to $4.75 which is definitely higher than I usually pay for a lip balm, but Lisa has so many sales and promotions which usually bring the price down to my normal range for balms.

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

Ingredients: Shea Butter, Mango Butter, Cocoa Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Beeswax, Jojoba Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Vitamin E, Fragrance

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists. I really like Lisa's balms, she has SO many flavors to choose from. It's always hard when trying to decide just which ones I'll be trying.

Have you tried ForGoodnessGrape balms before? Which flavors are your favorite? If you haven't tried them before, which flavor looks most interesting to you?

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway here for your own stick of Softlips Marshmallow Ghost**

Haul of the Week 12.12.12

Today is 12/12/12 how cool! I have always loved when the date aligns in a cool way, I don't know why...I'm just super nerdy! Can you believe that this is the last time it will be a date like that until 2112. Holy crap, 2112? Wouldn't it be so cool to live until then?! Now I'm kinda sad that I won't. Okay wow, way off track here. The packages have been slowing a bit this week which is good because I'm up to my eyeballs in lip balm (and it's not because I'm short!). Here's what came in this week:

Puur Body

For Goodness Grape

Crazy Rumors

The Gnarly Whale

What balms did you receive this week? Have you tried anything new and amazing this week?
--Christina

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway here for your own stick of Softlips Marshmallow Ghost**

Softlips Peppermint Stick

I haven't shared this with you guys yet, but Softlips has sent me a HUGE package full of products to use and review. I was beyond thrilled and completely shocked at the beautiful package that arrived at my door (it was a huge purple shiny large packaging envelope) and even more shocked by the contents inside! I'm going to review one of each of the products each week as to not overwhelm you with so much Softlips all at once! So let's get started with this week's pick shall we?


Company: Softlips

Flavor: Peppermint Stick. This balm is a wonderful combination of peppermint and vanilla. I like that this has a little more vanilla than other Candy Cane-like balms. It makes the balm smell a bit creamier and tones down the mint a bit. This pack also comes with a stick of Softlips Pearl which has a nice light pinkish tint to it, it doesn't show up on my lips because my lips are too dark.

Wear: This balm goes on smoooooth! True to usual Softlips balms they go on smooth and they make my lips feel soft. Because of the thin packaging, I have to go around a few more times than usual but it's not difficult since the balms go on so easily.

Packaging: The packaging on this balm is so festive! It's the usual Softlips tube, thinner than your usual lip balm tube, but it is covered in red and white stripes like a peppermint stick and it has a red cap to top it all off. I love how festive this balm is!

Price: About $3 for this dual pack. Which is definitely not a bad deal.

Overall
Pros: Flavor, Wear, Packaging!!, Price
Cons:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 twists, I love Softlips™ balms. I always have and probably always will. This one is definitely no exception. This one is a hard one to find, as are many Softlips™ limited edition flavors, but I'm so glad to have it in my collection!

Have you tried Softlips Peppermint Stick yet? What did you think of it?

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This balm was provided complimentary to me by Softlips™, however, all opinions are my own. My reviews are not biased in any way, they are 100% my honest opinion. Thank you, Softlips™ , for the opportunity to review your products!

Chapstick Limited Edition Holiday Flavors

These next couple of Tuesdays will be reviews of Holiday balms; I realize the holidays are quickly approaching and there are still many holiday balms I have yet to review! I want to make sure I fit these more seasonal balms in before the season is up!

Company: Chapstick

Flavor: Candy Cane, Apple Cider, and Chocolate Truffle. I had missed out on the Candy Cane balm last year and I was really disappointed because it was so hard to find the limited edition balms from last year and I was only able to find the White Hot Cocoa. But not this year, I was finally able to try the balm I had waited so long for! The Candy Cane is a lovely rendition of one of my favorite Christmas time treats. It's icy peppermint with a little bit of vanilla. The Apple Cider is so interesting. I didn't know what to expect of it, but it's very much like apple juice with a bit of spice. It also has a warmer scent to it. It's actually quite pleasant! I'm usually not a huge fan of apple scented balms, but this one is actually pretty nice. The Chocolate Truffle is a rich, rich, rich chocolate scent. All you chocolate lovers out there are definitely going to want to get this balm. There's really not too much else I can say about this balm, it's rich and chocolatey, what else would you want from it?

Wear: These balms go on smooth and cover beautifully. They last a decent amount of time too which is always nice! The Candy Cane has the wonderful icy bite and tingly feeling one would expect from a Candy Cane balm. I love the tingly feeling!

Packaging: These balms come in your average sized lip balm tube. The Candy Cane tube has a label that is red and white striped like...well, a Candy Cane, and the Chocolate Truffle label is a lovely chocolatey rich brown with thin white stripes which remind me of those yummy Chocolate Truffles! The Apple Cider label is red with a black portion with Chapstick written in it, and the label on the cap has a picture of a cup of apple cider which is very festive.

Price: $0.98 to ~$3 depending on where you buy it. I know I should have waited until I could get the balms at Walmart but when I first saw the Candy Cane and Apple Cider I had to buy them immediately! I paid about $3 for them, but I was lucky to get the Chocolate Truffle for $0.98! Definitely a steal and definitely worth it!

Overall
Pros: Flavors, Wear, Packaging, Price
Cons: Not natural

Rating: 5 out of 5 twists, Chapstick balms will always be some of my favorite. I've been using them for so long, and I may not reach for them all the time anymore because I've found lovely natural balms that I never knew existed, but I know if I ever need a good balm I can always count on a tube of Chapstick.

Have you tried these limited edition Chapstick lip balms yet? What did you think of them?