Smell that lipbalm.... (Agatha Ruiz De La Prada Lipbalm)

Member Name: kyara

Product:	Agatha Ruiz De La Prada Lipbalm
Date:	08/03/09 (145 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: funky, smell good, unique, nice colours

Disadvantages: can cause headaches, tub sometimes jams, messy

I was first introduced to these lip balms when my cousin brought me one back from Spain as a gift from her holidays. This was the raspberry one, which still remains my favourite even now. The lip balms come in stylish little tins, similar to those in which you find Vaseline nowadays, although the Agatha Ruiz de la Prada balms are much larger. The tubs have a simplistic design, with a base colour, then there are various shapes on top, which are in a co-ordinating colour. The overall design is very funky and modern and above all, eye-catching.
There are 6 flavours - raspberry, kiwi, papaya, tutti fruitti, passion fruit and cherry.

On opening the tub, you find the smell hits you before anything else. The scents are quite overpowering at times, and even once you have the balm on your lips, you still smell it strongly. My mum even asked me what perfume I was wearing once, upon which I replied that I wasn't wearing any perfume, it was lip balm. The balm itself is usually a vibrant shade; the raspberry is bright purple, the papaya is pinkish red, the kiwi is green etc.

The lipbalms feel nice on the lips, and usually colour your lips the colour of the balm (I don't know what the kiwi one does, as I've never tried it, but I don't think it makes your lips green!). They make your lips look plump and healthy, which is a really nice effect.

Now, it has many benefits - unique smells, bright colours, cool design, but it also has some drawbacks. Sometimes, the lid of the tub can get jammed on tightly, and it can be virtually impossible to get back off when this happens. And its not even like you can avoid it by not putting it on tighly - if it drops, or is bashed, or squashed in your bag, you're looking at a 10 minute struggle to open it up again. So not practical...
There's also the issue of it leaving gunk all over your fingers after you've used it, and its very difficult to get off. And you can't wipe it on anything, as the bright colours will stain.
Finally, the smells occasionally give me a sore head, which, as you've worked out, is not good.

Now, I've never seen these products on sale in this contry. Whenever I've bought them I've either been on holiday in Spain, or once I saw them on sale on a ferry from Hull to near Noordwijk (Holland). But they were only a few euros, so if you go on holiday, I reccomend you buy a couple of these, either for yourself or as a present, because they really are lovely.

Summary: They're cheap, cheerful and worth a try!