Hard Candy Balm Girls Moisturizing Lip Balm (retail: $5) is a packaging hoor's dream-come-true. It's got to be one of the cutest lil' lip balms I've ever seen. Each "girl" has her own name and the one I purchased is "Amy", who is a cute brunette with blue eyes.
I deliberately went outside the box when I decided to purchase "Amy", because I usually go for the pinky-brown or rosy colored shades whenever I purchase a colored lip balm. But the color assortment of these little "girls" was so unique that I was torn between a baby blue shade and "Amy", which is a milky peach. "Ooooh, I wonder what this will look like on my lips" was all I could think of as I grabbed this one and put it in my basket.
So let's take a look:
The balm itself is encased in clear plastic and the plastic is sort of pear-shaped and wider at the bottom, which is in keeping with its Matryoshka doll (Russian nesting doll) theme. I love any type of balm that is in unusual packaging, so I was sold instantly. Oh, and the bottom of the tube is where you twist to make the product come up.
So what's this look like on my lips? Let's see:
Here's a pic of my currently poor, dry, chapped lips with no product.
And here are my lips wearing "Amy".
As you can see, this is definitely a milky peach. In fact, I'm getting way more "milky" than I am "peach" when I wear this. At first I thought, "Oh no, I shouldn't be testing this while I have dry, chapped lips." But then I realized, it's a MOISTURIZING BALM! What better time to test this product, right? But that said, the color "Amy" might not be the best choice if you have dry, cracked lips because it will highlight all of your imperfections, so I would suggest trying a darker color if your lips are like mine right now.
So how did it perform? Well first of all, it smells and tastes deeeeelish. Just like fresh marshmallows. Not toasted marshmallows--fresh ones. Love it. And is it moisturizing? Yes. My lips feel smoother the minute I put this on, and I love how smooth this feels when you rub your lips together. It's slick but not too slick. As far as balms go, this one feels just right.
As for the color, maybe it's just because my lips are dry, but the more I look at that pic, the more I think that this is just the wrong shade for me. I've never been able to pull off milky-white shades because they have a tendency to turn my natural pigment into something that looks sort of grayish-purple. This is a real bummer because I have a feeling this shade will look fabulous on some of you--just not on me. :(
Bottom line, Balm Girls are adorable and, if you get a color that works for you, I think you'll look forward to pulling this out of your bag and using it on a regular basis.
I NEED a Hard Candy stand right now!!
ReplyDeleteThis balm reminds me of a favorite of mine called Heavy Rotation Lip Concealer, from japanese brand Kiss Me, it's a lip misturizing concealer that helps achieve the Nude look (a la J.Lo).
Are there any reddish shades of that HC balm?? It would be a nice dupe for the Bobbi Brown Lip Tints, another favorite...even though a concious lip exfoliation would be recommended befor using it!
As usual, great post :)!!!
@ Elena: they do have reddish shades! There are a total of 12-15 shades ranging from pinks to browns to reds and more.
ReplyDelete@ Recessionista: These balms are so cute and gorgeous-- and perfect for me! I love lip balms. They're glossy but not over the top shiny. I contemplated whether I should buy one or pick up a few more liners when I went tonight and decided to get liners instead :)
FYI, the Walmart in Lemon Grove just stocked up on more Hard Candy items after we fashionistas stormed the isles this month. All items are there today if you want to pick up a few more things from HC.
♥ Shela
the lip balm really looks great
ReplyDeleteOh- I wish they would sell those pretties in Europe- or I wish they'd even have a walmart here :(
Hee hee - you said hoor! ^_^
ReplyDeleteGreat review, as always!
Hey Elena! Like Shela said, there is definitely at least one reddish shade available. I believe there are nine shades total, and from what I can remember, there is one deep berry reddish shade and a lot of pink and peach shades. You can see some of the pics I took of the actual display here:
ReplyDeletehttp://nouveaucheap.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-found-hard-candy-i-found-hard-candy.html
(you can see them in the first pic of the entire HC display, and then if you scroll down a bit there is a close-up of the Balm Girls later in the post). Hope that helps! :)
Shela, my love! Thank you thank you for the heads up about Lemon Grove! I had been avoiding that location because they *never* seem to restock their beauty department and it always looks like a tornado hit it. lol. SO thank you for letting me know that they have restocked HC! This is awesome news! Another good Walmart is Grossmont Center--they seem to stock their inventory pretty regularly. :)
Hi amusedPolish! I'm so sorry that you can't get the new HC in Europe. Hopefully, eventually, it will become available to you. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! :)
Hey femputer! LOL! Yup. Guilty! I love that word. It makes me laugh every time I type it. And thank you! xoxo
I love lip balms =] Maybe if i see hard candy i'll get this. Today I was at Safeway and i saw they have a lot of makeup reduced for quick sale, i ended up getting a revlon lip stick in softshell pink, covergirl clean makeup, and a cover girl eyeshadow. Each one was under 3 dollars! If you have a Safeway near you, check it out! I wish i had know sooner because a lot of stuff was gone, but they had some good stuff left, like almay eyeliners and such. I thought of you when i saw it all =]
ReplyDeleteHey izzelove! OMG, how incredibly sweet of you to say that you thought of me when you saw all those goodies on clearance!! :) I am honored!! And wow, I wish we still had Safeway in San Diego (I think they're just in N. Cal now?). But I think Vons is owned by Safeway so I better get over to my Vons asap and see if they're clearing out their makeup too. I can always use an extra Almay liner. :) Great catch and congrats on all those goodies!! xo
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I agree. The ones in Lemon Grove and on Aero Drive are always in a mess but it's always worth a try. I went to the one in Grossmont today and was amazed that their displays are all stocked.
ReplyDeleteBut I refrained from making more HC purchases! My cosmetics stash was overflowing as of last night.
xD
Oh yeah, the one on Aero is pure madness! lol! And good for you for restraining on the HC. It's a tough thing to do, but sometimes you just have to say no (until the lemmings become too powerful, that is!). xo
ReplyDelete