The Good: Smells great, Offers decent protection, Revitalizes dry skin on lips
The Bad: Expensive, Grainy
The Basics: Burt's Bees Soothing Lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol is one of the few that one can feel its effectiveness, but has an unpleasant grain to it that makes it a less worthwhile lip balm.
With winter upon us, my wife has taken to sneaking me lip balms and I keep finding new-to-me lip balms all over our house. While making me feel good – her obsession with my lip health does seem to imply that my kissing skills have improved over the critiques left by the last person to kiss me regularly – it also compels me to try a wide array of products pretty regularly. With lip balms lately, I have been giving myself a one week trial period in which I determine the product’s effectiveness. The week leading up to the winter holiday (where I received a few lip balms specifically for me), the lip balm of choice was Burt's Bees Soothing Lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol. While the mentholated nature of this lip balm is instantly apparent, it has an unfortunate quirk that makes it less than ideal. In addition to making lips feel cold in the winter, the tube of Eucalyptus & Menthol Burt’s Bees lip balm we have is grainy, as if it were made with tiny sugar crystals embedded in the wax. That makes it a very distracting sensation when one applies it and for as long as the product remains on the lips.
Burt's Bees Soothing Lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol is the latest in a long string of lip balms from Burt’s Bees my wife has had to keep our lips soft, supple and kissable. The tube is expensive, in the $5.50 - $6.00 range in retail stores, and the claim that it is “Soothing” is more a marketing tactic, which seems odd because Menthol flavor seems like a pretty common way to sell this lip balm.
Burt's Bees Soothing flavor Lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol comes in the standard .15 oz. tube. It is a discreet plastic tube measuring two and a half inches long by 3/8" in diameter. The Lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol it dispensed by simply removing the aqua green plastic cap (it pulls off easily enough after the safety strip is removed) and twisting a dial on the bottom to push the remaining product up. The Lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol itself is a waxy white colored tube that is rubbed onto the lips and it offers a physical barrier to water and other damaging elements that could crack lips in winter and sunlight which could damage lips in the summer (or winter, whatwith the brightness of sunglare on snow). The product does not leave any coloring on one's lips, which is a plus. However, it does have an excessively waxy texture to it and it feels like there is something crystalline embedded in the wax both in the tube and when on the lips. The menthol in this lip balm makes it feel exceptionally cold, though that cool, just-ate-mint feeling does not diminish the feeling like one has applied a lot of something cruddy to one’s lips.
The sunscreen properties of this Burt's Bees Soothing lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol are quite extensive and quite real; while there was no SPF rating on the container, it appeared to keep my lips protected in the sun and offered real protection in the winter against skin cracking. As well, the lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol worked better than some - like Chapstick - at protecting my lips.
The product has decent restorative properties and the Soothing lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol restores slightly damaged or chapped skin to more a more supple state, though it does so in a way that agitated me; I was constantly aware of this lip balm on my lips and the crusty feeling made my lips feel gross. When I started using the Burt's Bees Soothing Lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol, my lips were dry and a little cracked. Since starting to use it daily, it prevented further damage and it promoted healing within a few days of using for the first time regularly. As well, this kept my lips from getting chapped again. This is a Lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol that does a lot to moisturize lips, as well as protect them. Since my lips healed rapidly, the Burt's Bees Soothing lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol has prevented them from getting damaged from the elements again.
As well, this product is remarkably easy to apply. It glides on easy and creates a barrier needed to resist the elements. When it is on my lips, I am exceedingly aware of its presence for the hours it endures because it has a crystalline grain to it.
Burt's Bees Soothing leaves no significant color on the lips when it is applied.
On the taste front, the Lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol is remarkably subtle. While the scent is strongly mint and peppermint menthol, the taste is comparatively nonexistent. The scent implied that this balm would be a wonderful one to kiss other people with, but it has no real flavor. That said, the energizing, minty mentholated cooling feeling does transfer when one kisses another after applying this lip balm.
The Burt's Bees Soothing Lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol has ingredients on the tube, so be sure to check the package before purchasing for any allergies you might have. But the primary ingredients are: sunflower seed oil, coconut oil, and beeswax. It is worth looking into one's food or chemical allergies before purchasing. It is noted that it is not intended for human consumption.
This Lip Balm with Eucalyptus & Menthol is momentarily fun, expensive, and more irksome than it is pleasant. While it lives up in most ways, its intrusive nature makes it impossible to eagerly recommend.
For other Burt’s Bees products, please check out my reviews of:
Medicated Lip Balm With Clove
Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme
Res-Q Ointment
4.5/10
For other health and beauty products, please visit my index page for a list of those reviews!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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