Review: Glossier Balm Dotcom Universal Skin Salve and Priming Moisturizer Buildable Hydrating Creme

Purchased by Me Affiliate Links

Glossier Balm Dotcom Universal Skin Salve and

Priming Moisturizer Buildable Hydrating Creme

(retail: $12 - $25)

Even if you don't read Into The Gloss, I'm guessing you've already heard of Glossier at this point. But just in case you haven't, Glossier is a brand of skincare that was created by Emily Weiss in 2014. Emily Weiss is also the founder of Into The Gloss. If you're new to the brand, I strongly encourage you to read more about Emily and the brand HERE, to get a general idea of the brand's philosophy. For even more info about how the brand was created, definitely check out Emily's Glossier introductory post from 2014 HERE.

Before I get into my review, I should mention that Glossier products are only available online. You can purchase them directly from the Glossier site HERE (shipping is $4.50 on all orders, but if you order the Phase 1 Set, shipping is always free). If you're outside of the US, you can purchase Glossier Balm Dotcom in a 3-pack on Net-a-Porter HERE (NOTE: if you're in the US, Net-A-Porter offers free ground shipping on all US orders, so that's one way to get around shipping fees). I also want to mention that I spotted some Glossier listings on Amazon, but they all say "out of stock" (like this one).

By the way, I want to mention that the Phase 1 Set, which contains both Balm Dotcom and Priming Moisturizer, as well Skin Perfecting Tint and the brand new Milky Jelly Cleanser, retails for $80 with free shipping, but today and tomorrow only you can get $10 off with code HEY2016 on the Glossier site HERE (ends at Midnight on 1/12).

I purchased my products from the Glossier website a little over three months ago, so I want to show you what the packaging looks like (because it's ridiculously cute):

Full disclosure: pale pink is my favorite color. So Glossier already started to win me over with this cute box.

My order came with a sheet of super-cute stickers and a pamphlet containing product info about the entire range:

I know it's not a huge deal, but I think that little unexpected touches like a smiley face and waving hand on the bottom of the box are so nice. It indicates to me that the people behind the products care about your entire experience, including "unboxing". 

The products themselves come in a pink zippered bubble pouch.

Glossier Balm Dotcom Universal Skin Salve
(retail: $12, 0.68 oz.)
Priming Moisturizer Buildable Hydrating Creme
(retail: $25, 1.7 oz.)

PLEASE NOTE: Both tubes look a little deflated in my pics, and that's because I actually forgot to take pics of these products before I first started using them (aaaah, the life of a beauty blogger!). So keep in mind that the photos of these tubes were taken after I already started testing the products (a few weeks in). Both tubes were nice and full when I first received them.

Let's talk about the pricing for a moment. I think that both products are priced fairly, but I think the moisturizer is priced more fairly than the salve. Why? Well even drugstore moisturizers can cost from between $20 and $40 these days, and oftentimes you may pay around $25 for 1.0 oz. This Glossier moisturizer contains 1.7 oz. for $25. Totally in line with drugstore pricing.

As for the salve, well if you were only going to use this on your lips, this tube would last you forever, making the $12 price tag a bit easier to justify. But since this product is designed as an all-in-one salve for cuticles, rough patches, scrapes, chapped lips, etc., I think it's a bit pricey considering that it's $12 for 0.68 oz. For comparison, other popular petroleum-based all-in-one salves like Smith's Rosebud Salve retail for $6 (0.8 oz.), while Lucas Pawpaw retails for around $9 (0.9 oz.). But I'll get into whether I feel the price of Glossier is justified (for me at least), in a moment.

Priming Moisturizer Buildable Hydrating Creme
(retail: $25, 1.7 oz.)

Ingredients
(Made in the USA)

Glossier Balm Dotcom Universal Skin Salve
(retail: $12, 0.68 oz.)

Ingredients
(Made in the USA)

Priming Moisturizer (left), Balm Dotcom (right)

Priming Moisturizer Buildable Hydrating Creme Review

I have been using this moisturizer off and on (more "on" than "off") for three months now, primarily in the daytime. In short, I LOVE IT. As you can see in my swatch above, this is a thin formula (sort of reminds me of Olay Complete, in terms of consistency). It's not super watery, so it doesn't come rushing out of the tube or anything like that. But it's very easy to spread across the skin, and it sinks in very quickly, even on my oily skin. 

In the months that I've been using this product, I can tell you that my skin feels considerably softer to the touch, and I love how it makes my makeup look. I feel that it does truly "prime" the skin, making my skin ready for smooth makeup application. It's not that this is a two-in-one primer + moisturizer for me, because it doesn't act as a foundation primer in the sense that it doesn't significantly extend the wear-time of my makeup, but it makes my makeup LOOK better. This product doesn't make my makeup look greasy or cakey throughout the day, but I actually find that it does extend the wear-time of my foundation and powder by a tiny bit (not for hours and hours, but things seem to stay put a little bit longer when I wear this moisturizer). I was totally not expecting that.

What I love the most about this moisturizer is that it's fragrance-free (lately my skin is a bit more sensitive to highly-fragranced skincare), and it just makes my skin feel so darned soft. I also love that this product delivers some lasting moisturization, which I appreciate in the cold weather we're currently experiencing in my area. Since I have oily skin, it's tricky to moisturize without my skin feeling like an oil slick by mid-day. I do not get that from this product. I feel that it delivers some nicely balanced moisturization that lasts from morning to night. I have not experienced any unusual skin irritation or breakouts while I've been using this product. Overall, I think this is a solid moisturizer that does exactly what I hoped it would do. It moisturizers, doesn't turn my face into an oil slick, doesn't break me out, and it makes my makeup look better.

Glossier Balm Dotcom Universal Skin Salve Review

If you had asked me how I felt about this product before I tried it on my lips, I would have said "Meh. It's nothing special." When I first got this, I was excited to try it on my cuticles, rough patches, and skin irritations. I find that for those three purposes, this product works about the same as plain ol' Vaseline for me (both are petroleum-based). But unlike Vaseline, this product also contains other skin-loving ingredients such as castor seed oil, lanolin, rice bran oil, etc. So it kind of bummed me out that I didn't really see any dramatic improvement to my cuticles or rough patches when I used this salve.

But then I tried it on my lips.

For the record, I have chronically dry lips, and I'm a lip balm fanatic. I own and enjoy a lot of pricier lip treatments including but not limited to Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment, Anthony Advanced Formula Lip Balm, and Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm. I also own Smith's Rosebud Salve and Lucas Pawpaw. When my lips start to get chapped (when they start to sting, turn red, and flake), I have used all of the products listed above as overnight treatments. I have applied them all before bed, hoping to find some serious relief and healing by morning. At best, with all of the products I mentioned above, I have seen good, but not great, improvement in the morning. But Glossier was MUCH better. 

About three weeks ago, my lips were starting to get that red, burning, stinging feeling, and I knew I had to take action before things got worse. So I decided it would be a good time to try Glossier Balm Dotcom on my lips. I applied a thin layer right before bed and hoped for the best. Well, in the morning I was absolutely shocked to discover that the stinging feeling was gone, the redness was gone, and the dryness was about 10% of what it was the night before. I repeated this process the next night and by day two, my lips were completely back to normal. I have to tell you that this never happens with my other lip treatments. I usually have to slather at night, and then apply multiple times in the day to get mild relief (even with Fresh, my most expensive lip treatment). 

I realize that everyone's skin is different, and there may be some of you who love this product on your cuticles, dry patches, AND lips. And there are some of you who probably won't think it's that great for any of those areas. All I can tell you is that I wasn't wowed by this product until I tried it on my lips. For me, it's absolutely magical for my lips, and I'm so very, very happy I took a chance on it.

I should also mention that this salve is fragrance-free (no scent at all to me), and the flavor tastes pretty much like petroleum jelly. But it doesn't FEEL like petroleum jelly on my lips. It's creamier than that, and not quite as slick and greasy. It's slick--don't get me wrong--but it's not a super greasy and thin type of slick. This salve has some heft to it, and the staying power is great.

I also want to mention that in addition to loving both of these products, I absolutely adore the understated packaging. As I mentioned before, my favorite color is pale pink and well, how could I NOT love that signature "G" on the packaging??

FINAL VERDICT: There's a lot of hype about Glossier right now, and I went into it intrigued, yet skeptical. But I can now tell you that after three months of using these products, I adore them both. If the Priming Moisturizer also contained SPF, I think it would be my new holy grail facial moisturizer (because I'm lazy like that I love moisturizers that also contain SPF). It doesn't contain SPF, but I still love it and reach for it just about every morning to wear underneath my makeup. I love how it makes my makeup look, and I love how it hydrates my skin, leaving it so soft to the touch without turning it into an oil slick. As for Balm Dotcom, it's not a winner for me in terms of being a universal all-in-one salve, but I absolutely love it as a lip treatment. For me personally, it works better than all of my other salves and lip treatments when it comes to soothing and healing my severely chapped lips. So the $12 price tag is completely justified for me, since one tube will last forever if I'm only using it on my lips. If you've been intrigued by the idea of Glossier, I hope this review helps. I cannot wait to purchase some other products from this line based on my experience with the salve and moisturizer.

Again, Glossier products are only available online. You can purchase them directly from the Glossier site HERE (shipping is $4.50 on all orders, but if you order the Phase 1 Set, shipping is always free). If you're outside of the US, you can purchase Glossier Balm Dotcom in a 3-pack on Net-a-Porter HERE (NOTE: if you're in the US, Net-A-Porter offers free ground shipping on all US orders, so that's one way to get around shipping fees).

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.