My Favourite: Winter Lip Balms

From left to right: Softlips lip balm in Cool Cherry with spf 20, Blistex lip balm in Ultra Protection with spf 30, Nivea Essentials lip balm, Burt's Bees lip balm tin, Burt's Bees lip balm in Honey, Burt's Bees lip balm in Pomegranate, Smith's Rosebud Salve, and Vaseline Lip Therapy lip gel with spf 15

I absolutely love lip products. Balms, gels, tints, glosses, lipsticks, salves, whatever. I always have at least one in my pocket, a few in my bag, one in the kitchen, a few in the bathroom, one on my nightstand, one in the basement, one in the car… I could go on and on.

But when winter comes around my lips need a bit more than just regular ‘ol gloss. They need some intense moisture. With chilly Canadian winters, I’m not a fan of sticky balms that get stuck to my scarves, hair, and everything else coming remotely close to my face.

This is just a short list of lip products that I prefer in the wintertime. Most of these I won’t use during spring or summer. I’ve semi-organized these from least moisturizing to most.

Firstly, Softlips lip balm in Cool Cherry with spf 20.

I love me some spf! I like any of Softlips’ scents; they’re all quite subtle. This balm is super easy just to swipe on, it isn’t the type you can really ‘build up’ too much. This does not have any colour at all. It does have a slight minty feel when applied, but it may just apply to this 'cool cherry' scent. 

Secondly, Blistex lip balm in Ultra Protection with spf 30.

This lip balm is great, but not my favourite. I originally bought this for a friend because he was complaining about chapped lips, and wanted something without any sheen/shine. Well this definitely doesn’t look like you have anything at all on your lips. This scent is hard to pinpoint… it is a warm kind of vanilla, not girly but not manly. This balm needs to be built up in order to get a good layer on the lips, so I do feel like I use up more of this product each time.

Thirdly, Nivea Essentials lip balm.

Funny thing, I bought this without anyone else at the store with me, and came home to find my mother uses the exact same one. Later that year at a family reunion? All my aunts use this too. My father? Yes, he uses this (granted, my mother probably bought it for him). Enjoying this product runs in the family. I was very surprised that I like this product. I’m not a fan of Nivea’s body products, but their lip products really blow me away. I’ve tried a few of their other scents too, but this one is the basic and tried and true one. Definitely buildable, very light scent, and it pushes up like a lipstick dispenser unlike the regular tubes.

Next, is the Burt’s Bees lip balm tin.

Ah, pretty much my first ever ‘grown up lip balm.’ This is the first thing I bought after growing out of the Lipsmackers lip balms. I used this all throughout high school and university, and still do every winter. What I love about this: it has almost exactly DOUBLE the amount of product that you would get in their tube version. For the same price! One tin lasts me a few months, and that’s using it multiple times a day. 

The downside I see to this product is that it is unsanitary, having to dip your finger into the tin each time. Also, as Burt’s Bees products are beeswax, they need to warm up. Whenever you first get a Burt’s Bees wax product you kind of need to rub it between your hands, or what I do is leave it in my pocket and have it warm there for most of the day before first opening it up. That’s only for the first few uses though; it definitely gets softer and more malleable. Quite a strong minty smell, and it will burn your lips a little if they are chapped. However, after regularly using this product, they definitely WON’T be chapped so that won’t be a problem! Very buildable.

The next two are the Burt’s Bees in Honey and in Pomegranate.

I love these the same way I love the original tin one. The honey one is one of my favourites – the scent is fantastic, like real honey – and they have both lasted me a very long time. The pomegranate one boasts having antioxidants in it, and it has a slight berry tint to it. Nice and subtle.

Following is the Smith’s Rosebud Salve.

Technically not a lip balm, but an all-purpose salve for dry cuticles, elbows, hands (it even says you can put it on your acne), and lips. It has secret ingredients and this product has been around for over a century! It has a very rosy scent, so if you’re not a floral fan then this isn’t for you. It has a very nice pink colour but is so extremely sheer that no colour will show. I have used this before on acne and noticed that it healed a bit faster and prevented dry flaky spots from popping up. Bit of a shine to it, depending on how much you slather on.

Lastly is Vaseline Lip Therapy lip gel with spf 15.

I remember my parents using Vaseline on me when I was a baby. This is literally the ultimate moisturizer. You can use this on any part of your body and it butters it right up. I love this stuff. I have a tub of it in my bathroom, two in storage, and some of these little squeeze tubes in my room. Unscented, no colour, just a good all-purpose moisturizer. It does leave shine on the lips though, so if you prefer matte finishes this won’t be for you.