A Tried-and-True Lip love

 Top to Bottom: Berry Burst, Tropical Coconut, Juicy Peach


I can’t say enough good things about the Revlon Kiss balms, which i've been using and repurchasing ever since they were first for at least a year now. I purchased my first Revlon kiss in the Tropical Coconut flavor entirely on a whim. I wasn't sure if  I would like it very much because I’m not a huge fan of coconut flavored things (too fake) and my only prior experience with a drugstore beauty lip balms had left me rather unimpressed. However, from the very first swipe of that sheer pink coconut balm, I was hooked.
It was shiny. It was hydrating. It didn’t give me a color exactly, but it seemed to impart a smoothed out and “finished” appearance to my lips that regular chapstick didn’t. I really liked the coconut flavor and scent too; I thought at best the coconut smell would be merely tolerable but it turned out to be a feature I genuinely enjoyed. And it was tasty too, which is important if you're planning on puckering up for someone special. Most important of all, regular use of the Tropical Coconut Kiss Balm did not lead to dryer-than-normal lips when I wasn’t using it. I dislike lip products with a built in dependence effect... I’m looking for a lip balm, not an addiction. An added bonus is that because the color of this gloss is so sheer, it doesn't require a mirror to apply but looks very clean and polished on the lips.

Left to Right: Berry Burst, Juicy Peach, Tropical Coconut

After that fantastic experience with my first Revlon Kiss Balm, I decided to buy the orange-colored Juicy Peach flavor next. Again, I had some misgivings about whether the flavor and color would work for me, but both turned out to be wonderful. Juicy Peach smells peachy but not overly fake; it has more of a general juicy fruity smell that is incredibly pleasant for me. The color is great as well, a peachy almost coral color and not overly orange or yellow. It looks very shiny and pretty but imparts a tint of actual color on the lips, unlike the coconut flavor with is basically colorless (or perhaps a very very very light sheer pink). And of course just like the coconut flavor, the taste is great! 

After using and loving both Tropical Coconut and Juicy Peach for a while, I decided to buy Berry Burst which is a deep burgundy pink color. It looks gorgeous when worn but I'm not quite a fan of the flavor, which is a bit tart. Someone how I feel like that tartness makes the berry balm not quite as moisturizing as the coconut and peach balms. To date, I've gone through three tubes of Tropical Coconut, three tubes of the Juicy Peach, and I've currently got one open tube each of the coconut, peach, and berry balms on rotation in my handbag. After I use up Berry Burst I probably won't replace it because I prefer Tropical Coconut and Juicy Peach more, but it IS pretty and I do enjoy it. There are three other Revlon Kiss Balms that I have not tried yet- Crisp Apple (warm red), Sweet Cherry (cooler red), and Fresh Strawberry (bright pink). I've been eyeing the strawberry one but first I want to finish up Berry Burst.


However, in the meantime I did purchase Revlon's newest addition to the Kiss Balm line, which is spotted quite by accident at CVS the other day. The newest Sugar Mint Kiss Balm is actually an exfoliating balm! It has real sugar crystals in it which gently scrub your lips as you apply it and it takes lovely (sweet and slightly minty). Due to the fact it has real sugar in it, I don't recommend use of this balm at night after teeth brushing because it would re-introduce sugar into the mouth. However, during the day it's pretty good. As first the texture of the Sugar Mint balm took me aback- the sugar crystals are VERY scrubby (which is what one would expect from an exfoliating product but not what I was used to after the more emollient regular Kiss Balm lineup). Also, the texture of the calm itself is different- more waxy and firm than the regular Kiss Balms, which are quite soft and smooth. 


Additionally, after a swipe of the Sugar Mint balm, if you rub your lips together you do get a gritty feeling from the sugar crystals that are left behind. Eventually the crystals do melt away (or probably get licked away!) but upon first application this product feels strange if you're used to the smooth and shiny regular Kiss Balms. That said, I think this new addition to the Kiss Balm line is a great exfoliating product! My lips were never super chapped to begin with but they did have dry patches that made certain lipsticks difficult to wear. I am definitely finding my lips to be smoother after a week of using this balm once or twice daily, and I like how easy it is to apply. I have a small pot of Fresh Sugar Lip Scrub that I love but I was never a fan of the messiness of dipping my finger into the pot and then smearing it around. Both products are effective lip scrubs, but for accessibility I think the Revlon Sugar Mint Exfoliating Balm wins! Whether I will repurchase this one remains to be seen, but for now I'm not seeing any downsides.


On the topic of purchasing, I initially bought all of these items at my local CVS for about $8 apiece. However, they are MUCH cheaper on Amazon where they retail for about $3.75 each (depending on the flavor). You can also subscribe and save for an extra 5% or 15% off, which is a nice bonus. As I use these a lot and purchase them fairly frequently, for me Amazon is the better place to purchase. The Sugar Mint exfolitating balm is still quite a new release so it might be easier and cheaper to find in a physical store than online, but I'll leave the Amazon page for it anyway because I'm willing to bet in the future it'll be cheaper on there just like the other Kiss Balm flavors!


**This post is not sponsored in any way. The Amazon links may earn me a small commission if you purchase, but there is absolutely no difference in the cost to you.**

Comments

Popular Posts