Review: Kiehls Lip Balm #1 Cranberry

I actually bought something I said I'd buy!  The world must be coming to an end.  It's pure insanity.  Anywho, I picked up this Kiehl's lip balm this weekend, and even though it's just a lip balm, I thought I'd do a little review on it.

The Kiehl's lip balm comes in unflavored, with SPF's of 4 and 15, and then in scents/flavors (cranberry, mango, mint, vanilla, coconut, and pear) with SPF 4.  The scented lip balm is $9 at kiehls.com.

I was going to take pictures of it myself, but honestly, it's a tube of lip balm.  It looks the exact same in real life.  Now, as for the actual product.  It is a little small for $9, but I don't feel ripped off.  It's cranberry flavored, but honestly takes more like fruit punch (in a nice way, not an artificial way), and it's completely colorless.  It has a similar consistency to Aquaphor, maybe a little thinner/looser, and goes on very smoothly.  It's not at all sticky, but doesn't feel greasy, and it gives lips a very nice sheen that looks almost like you're wearing a clear lipgloss.  As for the actually balm quality, it does feel really moisturizing, and it lasts a long time on the lips.  It would be the perfect thing to wear under lipgloss or lipstick to them from wearing or flaking unevenly.  Overall, it's on the higher end of all the nicer lip balms I've tried, and I will probably end up repurchasing (maybe in pear?).

But I can't help but compare it to the other niceish lip balm I've tried, which is the MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink, which is $14.50 at maccosmetics.com.  It was actually the first thing I ever bought from MAC!  For those of you that haven't tried a lip conditioner, they're SPF 15, come in these little tubs, and about 5 or 6 different colors.  You get more product with a lip conditioner than you do with the Kiehl's balm, which helps justify the high price tag.  I repurchased the lip conditioner twice, and then got a little disenchanted with it.  I don't like the tub format, just because it's not very hygienic, and my lip conditioner always, always seemed to melt when it got hot outside.  But on the plus side, they are really moisturizing, taste delicious, and add just the right amount of pinkish sheen to your lips.

Now, which one do I like better?  It's definitely a close one, but I think I'm leaning towards...the lip conditioner.  Just because it's like nothing else I own, and it's tinted.  But I'll be finishing up my tube of Kiehl's, and then we'll see what happens.

Image from: kiehls.com, indianvanitycase.com.