Every year people scramble through the malls to find those uber-trendy gifts that everyone just has to have. But people rarely ever stop to wonder if these random trendy gifts are worth the hefty holiday price tag. Recently cycling the internet has been the trend of lip balms, lip oils, treatments, and glosses. Some of the most popular are the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm, the Laneige Lip Glowy Balm, and the Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment. All of these products come with a hefty price, but it leaves me, as well as many to wonder, if are these products as good as influencers make them seem. That is why I have taken the time this year to take a deep look into these products and investigate whether or not they are worth the holiday lines and bank-account-emptying prices.
The first one I tried was the Rhode Peptide Lip treatment. One thing about this product right off the bat is that it is not sold in any retail stores in Nebraska, this can cause a problem if last-minute ordering happens to pop up. However, with that being said, the shipping on my product was very fast and very quickly updated. It took about one week for my Lip Treatment to come, which I found very fast. This product retails for $16 plus whatever shipping is for your zip code. Now, this price is the lowest of all the products I am rating in this review, which was very pleasantly surprising for a celebrity brand. Overall I think the price on this product was pretty fair. This product comes in many different flavors; I bought Vanilla. The product comes in a minimalistic, almost futuristic tube with a chiseled applicator. The packaging was very durable and very nice. But, this review is less about the packaging and more about what is inside. After opening the product, the sweet vanilla scent hit me right away; and it smelled amazing. The product applied very smoothly and left the most beautiful glossy look behind on my lips. After eating, drinking, and wearing this product for hours, my lips were hydrated and the product was still on. I’ve never had a lip balm stay on as well as this one did. I think the only negative I could find with this product was it does have a bit of a sticky consistency, which I don’t love for 24/7 wear. Overall I think the price for this product is fair for what you get, and it would make a great gift for any loved one looking for glossy, plump, hydrated lips.
The second one I reviewed was the Laneige Lip Glowy Balm. This product retails for $18 and is sold in retail stores in Nebraska, making it convenient for last-minute buying. Again, this product comes in many flavors; I tried the peach. The scent and flavor on this one, right away I noticed, was not as strong as the Rhode one, and did leave something to be desired. However, upon applying this product I immediately realized that this one was my favorite consistency. This balm is not sticky at all and glides so smoothly on. What I like about this product is that it’s not sticky; you can put as much or as little on as you want and it will still look good. This balm also has the same chiseled applicator as all the rest of the products. The only big negative I saw in this product was the amount of times I had to reapply. Because this product is not sticky in the slightest, it rubs off with every drink. Still, I believe that this Laneige Lip Glowy Balm is worth the holiday line and price, and stands as one of my favorite lip balms of the season.
Finally, I tried the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm. This product is probably the most popular of the season and when trying to purchase this product in-store I was met with disappointment when it was completely sold out. This product is not going to be great for last-minute gifting, considering it is selling like hotcakes. However, I was able to get my hands on some that I ordered online to review. Shipping only took around four days, so pretty fast. I tried the Sweet Mint in this balm. This balm comes in many different flavors and tints. The mint one I tried was clear. I believe this product is the most popular this season because of its aesthetic packaging. I agree it is aesthetic, but I just can’t get behind buying things for pretty packaging. This product retails for the most eye-catching price of this review, a whopping $24. This product, however, is much larger than the others I tried so I was willing to accept a bit of a larger price tag. This balm, again had a chiseled tip, but this one was more unique because it was squishy. The texture of the applicator was nice when applying the balm. Overall the blam was very smooth and very glossy on the lips. But with this one, I was a bit disappointed with how sticky it was for something titled, “Butter Balm”. I think the stickiness of this product was much more than the Rhode, and honestly, something that would make me want to buy the other products over it. Besides the stickiness and the price, I do think that this product is very nice and very hydrating. I think that it’s worth a buy-and-try, but not worth punching someone over in the Sephora line.
Happy shopping this season, and I hope you find as much joy in trying these products as I did!
