I’ve had a lip balm on me at all times since college. I’m more likely to leave my house without my phone than I am without at least one on my person. One of “lame claims to fame” is that I have completely used up more than one tubes of lip balm before I lost it. I had no idea how rare this was until recently- I had no idea I was so talented LOL.
A couple years ago I was diagnosed with a mild case of sleep apnea and so I got a CPAP (you can read all about that here: https://beckypalmer.me/?p=4605 ). So, now on average I have a light breeze blowing on my face 7 to 8 hours a night. As my might imagine, this made my already fragile lips very angry. Because of this, I have tried virtually every drug store lip product on the market and I’m going to share my results with you to save you time and money.
NOTE- I’m not going to rate the super common ones- i.e. Chapstick, Carmex, etc. Everyone has tried those so I wouldn’t be adding anything new there. I’m also excluding tinted lip products even though I do use a few of those too because they have more limited use cases.
Up first are the misses:
- Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm $10 per tube. Grainy texture, did nothing for me at all.
- Dr Pawpaw Lip Treatment $10 per tube. By far the worst I tried. Weird almost slimy texture that didn’t stay on my lips- I felt like it sort of crawled out into the rest of my face. I actually threw this one away.
- OKeefe’s Lip Repair Night Treatment $9 a tub. Was recommended by a nurse, but didn’t do much for me. I didn’t like the scent either which is a big deal since I was using it at night with my CPAP on.
- Dr Bronner’s Lip Balm $5 a tube. Really waxy, didn’t really do anything
- Revlon Kiss Sugar Scrub. $8 a tube. Irritated my lips, very strong scent.
Next are the “mehs”. They were OK but not ones I repurchased.
- Lanolips Original Ointment $17 a tube Worked OK, but there are cheaper options that work just as well.
- OKeefe’s Lip Repair $3 a tube Very small tube, weird smell, works OK.
- Vaseline Lip Therapy $6 a tub. If it wasn’t in a tub it would be a hit, but it’s messy to use.
- Burt’s Bees $4 a tube. It’s fine, but nothing to write home about.
- Tree Hut Overnight Lip Mask. $7 a tub. Works OK, but has a really strong, off-putting smell.
Now to the hits:
- Elf Holy Hydration! Lip Mask. $8 a tub. Marketed as an overnight treatment, but great for anytime use. If I could only use one product for the rest of my life it would be this one. It’s that good. It’s in a tub, but the consistency makes it way less messy than some other tubbed products.
- Elf Squeeze Me Lip Balm $5 a tube. My favorite scented product. Super cheap and works really well. AND comes in many yummy scents. Vanilla is my favorite
- Aquaphor Lip repair stick. $5 a tube. Simple, no fragrance. Also great for dry elbows!
- Tree Hut Sugarlips Lip Butter $8 a tube A hidden gem for sure- I found this one completely by accident. But only the original- the scented ones are not as good for some reason.
- Vaseline Lip Therapy $2 a tube A little greasy but works great for the price
I hope this helps you when looking at the startling array of lip options on your next trip to Target! If you have a favorite I missed please let me know!