The cold weather here in the UK always does a total number on my lips – they can get very chapped and dry, and I will end up with a split lip at least once a week if I don’t have a really good lip balm on hand. The downside with this (aside from the obvious heath reasons) is that I can’t really wear lipstick, as most lip balms will either rub it off entirely, change the colour, or just simply don’t work very well on top of lipstick. I have tried a few tinted lip balms over the years but again, they don’t really do either job – as a lipstick or as a lip balm – overly well and I am back at square one.
I decided to take a risk then and try out the e.l.f cosmetics hydrating centre lip balm. I am a big fan of e.l.f cosmetics and tend to use a lot of their products in my day to day routine, so I had faith that this would be a decent product and would do what I needed it to do. I tested a few of the colours they had (mostly nude colours but they did have a few reds too) and decided to go with their Delightful colour, which is a slightly dark rose gold colour. Having worn it for a few weeks now, I do think this colour is every so slightly too dark for me, as someone who has the complexion of a ghost. It does settle slightly darker than it looks, so perhaps keep that in mind when looking at the colours.
From the start, this is a very good product. The lip balm aspect of it is great at keeping my lips hydrated in the freezing cold English winter, and the lip stick colouring does last an impressive amount of time – usually until about midday when I have lunch. It feels like a lip balm, although when it first goes on it does have a bit of a sheen to it like a lip gloss, but luckily there is no sticky aspect to it so my hair remains out of my face whilst wearing this. It is also insanely cute to look at – Look at that little heart in the middle! I’ve been using this for about 3 weeks now and the little heart is still in pristine condition, which does give me a little glimmer to my day and helps me feel just that little bit more feminine. This may not be of importance to some people, but I do appreciate a good aesthetically pleasing product every now and again and this is just so darn cute!
My one big complaint about this products is that it does have quite a smell to it, and that smell is crayons. It’s not a bad smell – crayons smell like crayons but there isn’t really a good or bad aspect to this – but I have found it to be very much there. Especially when I first put it on in the mornings before I start my day and the smell really does hit me. If you are someone who is quite sensitive to smells then I would recommend maybe staying away from this – unless of course you really like the smell of crayons? It doesn’t last long – maybe the first five minutes – but then I do not know if that is because it just disappears as the lip balm dries and settles, or if I simply get used to the smell. Strictly speaking, I doubt anyone in your day to day life will ever come so close to your face that they could smell your lip balm on you, but it might be a bit off putting if you are wanting to wear this but don’t really want an odd smell on your face for any period of time.
This product was £7, which is very much on the same level as all of the e.l.f products, and is also very much an affordable make up product. I am personally not someone who sees value in buying super expensive make up products (I guess it helps that the real expensive brands are not even cruelty free, let alone vegan friendly!) so I only ever buy the high street brands – if I can’t readily find it in Superdrug, I am unlikely to ever properly try it. So far I am using this lip balm every day, even if I am just sitting at home all day and not going into an office for work or meeting anyone, and it is clear that this product will last at least the next 6 months, if not the next 12. It keeps my lips hydrated and healthy whilst also providing a little pop of colour, which is really all I was after.
Taylor Talks Vegan 