Born Lippy - with troublesome lips (The Body Shop Born Lippy Lip Balm)

Member Name: sweetiebum

Product:	The Body Shop Born Lippy Lip Balm
Date:	07/11/08 (351 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells divine

Disadvantages: A little bit greasy

Every winter without fail my lips decide to remind me (with much more aggression than is necessary) that they really don't like the cold. Ever since I can remember I have had troublesome lips that can become dry very rapidly. They also crack and bleed very easily, sometimes just from a simple thing as yawning. This often results in a strange mix of red raw swollen lips with thick plaques of dead skin! Attractive, I know! This rather embarrassing problem of mine even got me into trouble at school as my lips were so red it looked like I was wearing lipstick and it took ages to convince the teachers that my lips were just red and sore! Throughout the years I have tried a concoction of different lip balms and creams to try and rid myself of the dead skin and alleviate the pain. One of my favourites that I tend to buy more than most is the range of lip balms produced by The Body Shop.

Each Body Shop lip balm comes in a cute little plastic pot with a screw top lid, containing 10ml of lip balm. Despite each individual lip balm retailing at around £4, this is still good value for money when you consider how much product you get. Even if you are a lip balm addict and are always re-applying then it will still last you a good while. Although having lip balm in a pot isn't always the most hygienic way of applying lip balm I do find it has its advantages over sticks of lip balm. If, like me you have a handbag which is like the tardis, the size of the pot means that it is much easier to find in a bag full of things, compared to smaller ones that disappear never to be seen again. Another bonus is that with a screw top lid, it is less likely to fall off so the lip balm always stays really fresh and clean. I don't know about you but no matter how much I clean my handbag there is still unidentified crumbs/ bits of fluff that stick to lip balm when the lid has fallen off. I don't know how many lip balms I have had to throw away because of this, however this has never happened with any I have had from the Body Shop as the lid stays firmly shut.

What draws me to the Body Shop range more than most, is not the fact that I find it is the most effective. Instead it is the absolutely gorgeous smell that each lip balm has. As soon as you open the pot you can smell the rich and sweet fruity smell. Although I have tried almost every flavour I currently have the strawberry one so this review will be based on that one. After removing the lid which is easy enough to do, you are greeted with a pot full of a rich and shiny balm. The strawberry version is particularly thick looking. The colour is a rich bright red colour, not pillar box red but instead slightly pinker. Combined with the sweet strawberry scent the balm looks good enough to eat. Unlike some pots, this one is large enough to easily get a finger into and there are no annoying crevices that you cannot reach. This is good as it means when you get to the end of the pot you can get every last little bit out of the pot without having to throw half of it away.

I find that with this lip balm, because it is so thick that I do not really need to use a lot coat my lips with. Less is definitely more with this product because if you use too much the product will not sink in at all and you'll look like a cross between a clown and a three year old who's borrowed their mum's lipstick.

One downside of this lip balm is that because it is so thick I find it does not always soak in very easily. Instead this creates more of a protective layer which can sometimes be a bit sticky and greasy. Everybody knows that a sticky lip balm is not always the best, particularly when going outside in the wind as it becomes a magnet to any stray hairs! This is not a good look, so I tend to only use this lip balm a good half an hour before having to go out. That way I know it will have had time to sink in and lose its stickiness. As the lip balm is quite greasy it does make it very easy to spread over your lips and it can give a shine to your lips. This is good if your lips are sore as you don't aggravate them much when applying them and as an added bonus the shine factor makes it look like you are wearing lip gloss.

However because the product is so greasy it does mean that if you get a lot over your fingers you will probably have to wash your hands after using it. I have tried trying to wipe my hands on my jeans (come on ... we all do it now and again) but my fingers still seem really glossy and sticky so it's best to either wash your hands or just be careful and not get it all over your hands. The lid of the pot can also become quite greasy if you put the lid back on with it all over your hands. This can create problems when you next come to open it as it can be quite slippery.

Despite having a few negatives I would definitely recommend this product and I will continue to buy it. However as my lips are so bad I sometimes have to use more of a cream based product when they are at their worst because they sink in better. I tend to apply the cream based one first then a little while later apply this one over the top. This is a great all round lip balm if you occasionally suffer from dry lips or like me am addicted to anything that smells fruity.

Summary: Another good product from The Body Shop