Lip Balm Mania #3: Buddha Balm by Karma Creatives

I believe this is my first post in which I bash a product. Hmmm. I started this blog only to share things that I like. But sometimes, I come across something that I really don't like. And this time, I decided I'd share that, too.

As I said in a previous post, I'm a fan of lip balms in the vintage-y sliding tins. They are just so cute. So when I saw these Buddha Balms, I had to buy some. I was so sure I was going to like them, so I ended up treating myself to: Grape Soda, Grapefruit, Root Beer, and Watermelon.

The packaging is ever so cute. No complaints there. And the scent is pretty great. As soon as I took a whiff of each, I knew I'd love these, the Grapefruit most of all.

And? I was wrong.

The consistency is too waxy. It's a lot of work to coat my lips, and once it's on my lips, the surface feels ... well, a lot like car wax. As in squeaky. Not good.

The second thing I didn't like about these balms is the taste. I don't usually care about the taste of lip balms - I don't lick or chew on my lips that much. If it happens to be flavored, fine. If not, no matter. But these balms are flavored with saccharine. And it's gross.

Having downed a ton of Diet Coke in my life, I don't have a problem with saccharine in general. But with these balms, I can taste it perpetually without trying to. The chemical aftertaste creeps into my mouth and lingers all day, and remains even after eating, drinking, and wiping off the balm.

Which brings me to the fact that these balms are near impossible to wipe off! Due to their tacky car-wax-like consistency, even washing the balm off my mouth with soap and water didn't get rid of it completely. The icky squeaky texture remained, and so did the nasty taste. Ugh.

But I'm not done. There are even more reasons to dislike these balms.

First, the container is labeled "petroleum free," but the ingredient list says it contains microcrystalline wax, which is a by-product of petroleum refining, just like petrolatum and other petro-chemicals. So it's just wordplay. Lame.

Second, the container is also labeled, "contains natural ingredients." What does that even mean? These contain some natural ingredients, but also contains chemicals. Again, this is wordplay designed to create the illusion of a natural product. Not cool.

Lastly, the contained is also labeled, "Do not use on cut or broken skin." Hrm. So if my lips are chapped, I can't use these? A lip balm that can't be used on chapped lips ... Fail!

So I didn't like these Buddha Balms at all. Cute packaging, wonderful scent ... but the balms themselves had terrible texture, taste, and misleading claims. Oh, and you can't use it when your lips are chapped. A lip balm is a pretty simple thing, you'd think. But this was downright useless.