This weeks Friday Five seems me delving into my stash of lip balms for a quick mini-review.

1. Maybelline Baby Lips in Intense Care, £2.99 here.
   This is neither a love nor hate for me. I know a lot of people hate the packaging and yes, it’s not remotely sophisticated, but it’s kind of cute and I don’t mind it. For a stick lip balm it glides onto the lips, it doesn’t tug or pull like so many can do, lasts for a couple of hours and smells lovely. I don’t think I would personally use it again as there are other lip balms in a tube I prefer but it’s cheap and if you’re just wanting to hydrate your lips on the go it’s worth giving it a try.
2. Vaseline Lip Therapy, £1.95 here.
   The original. You all know this one. These little pots can be messy as hell and I don’t use this on my lips any more but as a multi use product, it’s great. I use it on my heels and cuticles to combat dryness / cracked skin. I’ve heard it can also work wonders on eyelashes to make them thicker and longer although I’m not sure I’m willing to start slathering this on my eyes to test the theory!
3. Korres Lip Butter in Guava, £8 here.
   I could just sit and smell this all day. It’s delicious! Made with shea butter and rice wax the texture is buttery and not at all sticky, making this one of the few pot lip balms I’ll actually reach for. Apparently these also come in a stick form so I’d like to give those a try and see how they compare. It’s perfect for keeping my lips soft and definitely a favourite.
4. Figs & Rouge Balm in Cherry & Vanilla, £4.95 here.
   100% organic and petroleum free, this balm can be used anywhere on the body, although personally I’ve only ever given it a try on the lips. I have both the Cherry and Vanilla and Rambling Rose balms and both feels moisturising, gives lips a nice sheen and I loved the scent (particularly the cherry and vanilla…) but the texture did seem a little gritty on first application. If you warm the product up with your fingertips you do get a soft even texture but I don’t think I’d repurchase, mainly because I’ve realised that I just hate applying lip balms with my fingers when I’m out (sticky fingers = no bueno) so I’m more likely to stick with those in tubes from now on. Whilst writing this post, I’ve discovered that they do balms in a tube so I might give one of those a try in the future.
5. Pixi Shea Butter Lip Balm in Honey Nectar, £8 here.
   It’s in a tube so it’s easy to apply on the go, it’s long lasting and it’s tinted. #winning. The shade Honey Nectar is called a “true nude” on the Pixi website and they’re right. If it was a lipstick I’d be calling this a “my lips but better” shade. It’s sheer and neutral but adds a little something to your lips when you’re out and about. Pixi’s lip balm has shea butter to nourish lips and Vitamin E to protect and is definitely my pick of the bunch.