What I look for: I need my lip balms to be hydrating with some occlusivity. Primarily wax-based balms do nothing for me, so I avoid them. While some petrolatum in my lip balms is good, being primarily occlusive isn’t enough for me.
Farmstay Real Collagen Essential Lip Balm. Type: squeeze tube. Use for: day wear. Flavorless, but strange floral(?) scent. Thicker than Torriden’s lip essence, and more staying power, but somehow also more moisturizing and hydrating. Also much cheaper at just a few US dollars. Fragrance is far too strong, though, it’s a major caveat. (Workaround to the fragrance: blow right after application, after a few seconds, the fragrance is gone.) It only cost a few dollars, so the scent drawback with the workaround isn’t a dealbreaker for me. They do have an aloe vera lip balm that I’m interested in trying, though.
Torriden Solid In Lip Essence. Type: squeeze tube. Use for: tried overnight, found insufficient, used for day wear instead. Is occlusive enough with the petrolatum, but not hydrating as I’d hoped. If my lips were chapped, this wasn’t enough. I think the internet hyped this up too much, along with my thinking a lip essence would be…like an essence. The packaging cracked on me when I was getting down to the last bit of the product—I was folding the tube, and that was enough to damage the packaging. That left a poor last impression on me.
alternative stereo Lip Potion Steaming Milk. Type: opaque bottle with gloss applicator. Used for: first layer, overnight wear. This is the hydrating I’d been looking for. Price is a bit ouch at $13-15 USD. Has a nice slip to spread easily and in a thin layer. A cooling effect, but not overly. It’s honestly pleasant and I look forward to it lol. I love applying this at night before bed, then applying one of the more occlusive, petrolatum based balms on top. I will keep an eye out for this on sale, but I absolutely will repurchase this one. I haven’t had chapped lips since I cracked this open! If it weren’t so pricey, I’d slather this on all day, too.
Abib Protective Lip Balm Block Stick. Type: Tube with stick balm. Used for: spf protection. Balm is soft enough to apply, not so soft you waste accidentally overapplying. If hydrated, will feel slightly conditioning, but if dry, your lips will feel drier. When mine are dry, I definitely find myself reaching for one of my other balms when I get out of the sun. I’d repurchase though, the price/spf ratio is good for me.
Benton Honest Lip Balm. Type: squeeze tube. Used for: day and overnight wear. About the same consistency as the Farmstay, but scent and flavorless. Feels smooth and more occlusive. I was hoping this might replace the non-AB occlusive balm I use over the alternative stereo lip potion, and it can serve that purpose. It’s more hydrating than the Farmstay (another hopeful). It does also wear well during the day, as it’s non-sticky, so I’d likely go through it quicker. It’s also very affordable at a few dollars.
Dr Ceracle Vegan Kombucha Tea Lip Balm. Type: tube with stick balm. Used for: daytime, maintaining already moisturized lips. It goes on smoothly and very thinly, and feels more conditioning than hydrating or moisturizing. Not a bad thing—but idk about its problem-solving power. Very lovely feeling on the lips though, good for when you don’t want to feel or look like you have something on.
A’PIEU honey&milk lip Oil. Type: Tube with thick oil and doe foot applicator. Used for: tried as overnight (too sticky, not sufficient), tried as daywear. This is my first lip oil—and I really hope this isn’t standard. I found it the stickiest product I’ve ever put on my lips, transferred on everything, and was gone not long after application with not much benefit. This has been living in my purse somewhere—I’ll dig it out for when I have nothing else on me, but not much otherwise.
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Lip “type”: dehydrated, easily chapped
Climate: hot humid summers, dry cold winters
What I look for: I need my lip balms to be hydrating with some occlusivity. Primarily wax-based balms do nothing for me, so I avoid them. While some petrolatum in my lip balms is good, being primarily occlusive isn’t enough for me.
Farmstay Real Collagen Essential Lip Balm. Type: squeeze tube. Use for: day wear. Flavorless, but strange floral(?) scent. Thicker than Torriden’s lip essence, and more staying power, but somehow also more moisturizing and hydrating. Also much cheaper at just a few US dollars. Fragrance is far too strong, though, it’s a major caveat. (Workaround to the fragrance: blow right after application, after a few seconds, the fragrance is gone.) It only cost a few dollars, so the scent drawback with the workaround isn’t a dealbreaker for me. They do have an aloe vera lip balm that I’m interested in trying, though.
Torriden Solid In Lip Essence. Type: squeeze tube. Use for: tried overnight, found insufficient, used for day wear instead. Is occlusive enough with the petrolatum, but not hydrating as I’d hoped. If my lips were chapped, this wasn’t enough. I think the internet hyped this up too much, along with my thinking a lip essence would be…like an essence. The packaging cracked on me when I was getting down to the last bit of the product—I was folding the tube, and that was enough to damage the packaging. That left a poor last impression on me.
alternative stereo Lip Potion Steaming Milk. Type: opaque bottle with gloss applicator. Used for: first layer, overnight wear. This is the hydrating I’d been looking for. Price is a bit ouch at $13-15 USD. Has a nice slip to spread easily and in a thin layer. A cooling effect, but not overly. It’s honestly pleasant and I look forward to it lol. I love applying this at night before bed, then applying one of the more occlusive, petrolatum based balms on top. I will keep an eye out for this on sale, but I absolutely will repurchase this one. I haven’t had chapped lips since I cracked this open! If it weren’t so pricey, I’d slather this on all day, too.
Abib Protective Lip Balm Block Stick. Type: Tube with stick balm. Used for: spf protection. Balm is soft enough to apply, not so soft you waste accidentally overapplying. If hydrated, will feel slightly conditioning, but if dry, your lips will feel drier. When mine are dry, I definitely find myself reaching for one of my other balms when I get out of the sun. I’d repurchase though, the price/spf ratio is good for me.
Benton Honest Lip Balm. Type: squeeze tube. Used for: day and overnight wear. About the same consistency as the Farmstay, but scent and flavorless. Feels smooth and more occlusive. I was hoping this might replace the non-AB occlusive balm I use over the alternative stereo lip potion, and it can serve that purpose. It’s more hydrating than the Farmstay (another hopeful). It does also wear well during the day, as it’s non-sticky, so I’d likely go through it quicker. It’s also very affordable at a few dollars.
Dr Ceracle Vegan Kombucha Tea Lip Balm. Type: tube with stick balm. Used for: daytime, maintaining already moisturized lips. It goes on smoothly and very thinly, and feels more conditioning than hydrating or moisturizing. Not a bad thing—but idk about its problem-solving power. Very lovely feeling on the lips though, good for when you don’t want to feel or look like you have something on.
A’PIEU honey&milk lip Oil. Type: Tube with thick oil and doe foot applicator. Used for: tried as overnight (too sticky, not sufficient), tried as daywear. This is my first lip oil—and I really hope this isn’t standard. I found it the stickiest product I’ve ever put on my lips, transferred on everything, and was gone not long after application with not much benefit. This has been living in my purse somewhere—I’ll dig it out for when I have nothing else on me, but not much otherwise.