Like Vaseline, ChapStick is a brand with a long, storied history. I’ve always associated it with the classic cherry ChapStick of my youth, so discovering this richer balm was a delightful surprise. We couldn’t agree on its hydration, longevity, and taste (yep, taste), which knocked it out of the runner-up slot, but it deserves an honorable mention.
Hydration: “It was thin yet had that smooth/sticky staying power—without actually being sticky,” Lauren said. “It was such an interesting and surprising, delightful feeling.” The rest of us agreed that it went on smoothly, but Jodhaira and I had similar experiences, feeling it actually made our lips drier than they had been.
Longevity: Jodhaira and I felt that we had to apply this balm several times a day (“hourly,” she said), but the other evaluators found it lasted for a few hours. “[It] really seemed to hydrate my lips,” Aileen said. “They definitely felt smoother. I used it before bed and could still feel it a bit in the morning.”
Scent: We had an interesting mix of opinions here, with some of us experiencing a hint of “cake batter” or, as Jodhaira said, “Sugar Daddy candies I used to buy at the bodega in Brooklyn.” Aileen and Arianna didn’t detect any scent at all, proving it was light enough to go unnoticed by some people. But a few of us thought it had an off-putting taste. “I didn’t like the taste, couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, [but] it was odd,” Yael said. Lauren agreed. “It tasted slightly of mineral oil,” she said. “I’d say neutral to slightly unpleasant.”
Form: This balm comes in a tube that’s much thinner than those from E.L.F., Laniege, Rhode, and Summer Fridays, though it contains the same amount of product as E.L.F.
Under makeup: Yael and I thought it worked relatively well under lipstick and gloss. (I still had to wipe a bit off before applying lipstick.) Aileen said that it was so hydrating that lipstick didn’t stick well to it but that it worked great with a lip liner under it. “Also, it had such a nice shimmer that I even felt it looked like I had lipstick on when I didn’t, so I really liked it just on bare lips,” she said.
