Lip Slip, Norwegian Stylie (Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Lip Care SPF 20)

Member Name: mattygroves10

Product:	Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Lip Care SPF 20
Date:	06/02/09 (362 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Neutral flavour, SPF 20

Disadvantages: Doesn't heal cracked lips

Aah Winter. A time of sniffles, snuffles. It's cold, windy and generally miserable. Whilst it may be a grim time for me, makers of nostrums and remedies are no doubt rubbing their hands together in glee. Even lip balm makers will be doing well, as a combination of colds and flu, and wind and chill conspire to dry and crack my lips. I don't use lip balm on a daily basis, only when my lips have turned a bit scaly, cracked and uncomfortable. This has happened, due in no small measure to the factors listed above. I therefore popped to Boots to find a suitable healing lip balm. Well, stone me, there are a lot of them. Sadly, they're all sealed in boxes, so you can't try before you buy. I therefore bought Neutrogena's Norwegian Formula Lipcare.

This stuff comes in a little box, inside of which is a stick (as opposed to a pot or a tube). Both the tube and the box helpfully tell me that it's SPF 20 (thus protecting your lips from sun damage), and that it will provide 'immediate and lasting relief for dry, chapped lips'. Well, I thought, that's what I need. I paid around £2.50 (far more expensive than a similarly sized stick of chap stick). I left Boots, opened the box, and followed the directions to 'apply often for immediate relief and protection,' after checking the side of the box and discovering that the stick does indeed have ingredients - quite a lot of them, actually. I won't detail those here, suffice to say it has them.

Because I tend to ignore lip balms except when my lips are cracked and damaged, I prefer a medicated lip salve - the sort that stings slightly on contact. This isn't that type, sadly. It does soothe and soften, but I can't say it provides immediate or especially long lasting relief for painfully chapped lips. It would be more than adequate for mildly chapped lips, or as a preventative. It is moist (as it tells me it's 'moisture rich' - don't you love marketing speak). It doesn't taste of much - it's not a flavoured or scented lip balm. It's not unpleasant, though. It's a rather neutral flavour (and indeed colour - a kind of light beige).

I can imagine someone who spends a good deal of time outdoors working or skiing using Neutrogena's Norwegian Formula Lipcare. However, it is quite pricy, I think, for a stick lip balm, SPF 20 or no. You can get preventative lip sticks for considerably cheaper (for example, you can get Chapstick with sunscreen for around £1.20), and no less effective in keeping your lips soft and protected for all that. As a curative, I'm disappointed. It doesn't heal (or even seem to heal) cracked lips. It just provides a coating over the top. For me, next time, I will stick with Blistek or even Vaseline when my lips are painful, cracked and frankly vile.

Summary: An overpriced, otherwise standard lip balm. Not sure what makes it Norwegian!