This lip balm has become an absolute staple in my collection. I suffer very dry lips, particularly in Winter and on top of this an allergic reaction that led to extremely sore lips led me to search high and low for something to relieve it. I spent a fortune, filling my bedside table with tubes, tubs and sticks of every salve imaginable until I found this. Now I have no need to continue hunting!

~~~~Appearance~~~~~

OK, I'll admit, I'd long since heard of this product and two things had put me off trying it. The first was the packaging. I'm ashamed to admit it now, but it looked quite boring and 'medical'. Sitting on the shelf alongside much prettier competitors, it always got left in the shadows for me. Also, I wasn't particularly keen on the applicator, having had lipglosses with a similar design, I remember they were quite inefficient. The second issue for me was the price, at around £2.60 it just seemed like a lot of money for such a dull looking product. What tempted me into buying it was that it just so happened to be on offer in ASDA for 60p, and that was that, lip-love at first sight. I take back all my previous negatives thoughts, Blistex, and I hope you forgive me ;)

The packaging is blue and simple, with the well recognised Blistex stamp in red emblazoned on the front. It advertises to us straight away that this is a hydrating product and also mentions that it has SPF 10. Not all lip balms seem to offer sun protection these days, I think it's really important so I approve of Blistex including this.

Once you rip off all the boring cardboard you're left with a white and blue tube. It really is so small and nondescript, I almost forgive myself for my previous misgivings. It looks much more like a treatment than a treat, which I suppose it is.

The tube contains 5g of the product, and its ingredients are:
Aqua, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Cera Alba, Petrolatum, Ethyhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Sorbitan Isostearate, C18-36 Acid Glycol Ester, Alcohol Denat., Glycerin, Polysorbate 60, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Aroma, Stearyl Behenate, Cetyl Alcohol, Allantoin, Camphor, Olea Europaea, Dimethicone, Phosphoric Acid, Hydrated Silica, Butyrospermum Parkii, Sorbitan Olivate, Lanolin Alcohol, Arachidyl Alcohol, Ammonium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Behenyl Alcohol, Thymol, Myristic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Oleic Acid, Arachidyl Glucoside, Lauric Acid, Sodium Saccharin, Citric Acid, Limonene, Calcium Disodium EDTA, Linalool

Now, at this point I'd already committed to try this lip balm, but seeing the ingredients list did make me falter. I'm very conscious about what I put in and on my body, and I tend to opt for products with natural ingredients. Seeing things like Linalool, Alcohol and Glyerine on the list concerned me a bit, usually I'd steer well away from these drying ingredients. But, my lips and I were desperate so I went for it anyway...

~~~~What's it like?~~~~

A bit strange, actually!

Once you remove the twist cap, you'll be met with a squeeze applicator. As I mentioned before, I'm not overly keen on these. They put me in mind of cheap lip glosses, where you always squeeze too much out and end up smearing it all over your lips before clamping the lid down and letting excess product ooze out under the lid, creating messy wastage. With this balm, I've combated this by giving it the tiniest squeeze, before scooping up the product and applying it with a fingertip. It's much easier and more precise, plus it gives you the chance to rub it in more effectively. Also, you really don't need a lot of this balm at all, so I get the feeling applying it this way actually makes it last longer. Little money saving tip for you there!

The smell is very overpowering, but not unpleasant. It's quite menthol scented, and again it smells very medicinal rather than a faux-sweet fruit fragrance you might get from other lip salves. I've grown used to it now, and actually I really like the smell - it's quite a reassuring scent, it smells soothing and like a proper lip treatment.

When you apply the moisturiser, you'll immediately feel a tingling cool sensation. It's not particularly strong or burning, but it's there all the same - if you've tried a lip plumping gloss, its' a similar feeling to that. It's another reassuring feature of the product, because it makes you feel as if it's instantly working.

It's a white product, with quite a thick consistency so it does require a generous amount of rubbing in unless you want to look like you've smeared Colgate all round your lips! But it does absorb very quickly, which was a nice surprise as at first it feels as if it may leave a top layer of residue behind.

Should you forget you've applied it and lick your lips, you'll soon regret it because it has quite an unpleasant taste. For this reason, I like to apply it at night time before I sleep. This also gives the best chance of working - I always wake up the next morning with well moisturised, soft lips if I've applied this the night before. Having said that, I've also found it's an amazing base for lipsticks too. I wanted to protect my lips a bit so rubbed a small amount of this in, before removing any left behind with a tissue and applying my usual lipstick - it made the lipstick last longer, and gave it a lovely sheen without being too glossy or noticeable, perfect!

For everyday use, I still choose something less heavy duty and nicer tasting. But when my lips start to show the tell tale signs of chapping, I immediately reach for this and before I know it. they're back in perfect condition again. Even when they were in the worst condition ever, I noticed immediate benefit and relief from the soreness. Within three days, they were almost back to normal. Some cheaper, greasier lip balms I've noticed tend to sit on the lip and protect it, but don't permeate the skin and moisturise it at all. Blistex Intensive Moisturiser seems to do exactly the opposite and act more like a cream than a balm - it quickly absorbs without a trace, reaching deep down into the skin and hydrating it, exactly as it says it should. For that reason, it's my go to product for any lip emergencies.

Thanks for reading :)