Review: Neutrogena Revitalizing Lip Balm

"I’m a not-so-closeted makeup addict. I love testing, trying, buying and applying! This guilty pleasure began early on in life while in boarding school. A two-mile walk got me to a CVS, which was about as thrilling as it got. So, naturally, I went bonkers and I bought every moisturizer, shampoo and eyeliner possible.

The therapeutic euphoria of perusing the isles of a drugstore remains as strong, 10 years later. My roomie has to interrogate my Walgreens joy rides as if she were questioning the whereabouts of a rebellious Tween. “Where were you? What did you buy? How many? How much? Didn’t you just buy a lip balm? What is Witch Hazel and why?” But I thank her for it, because without her policing, I would be broke and homeless with a ton of moisturizers.

But I digress… Let’s talk lippies!

During my last therapy session at Walgreens; I landed on the Neutrogena section. I love me some Neutrogena. Maybe it’s marketing, maybe it’s the truth, but I feel like their products will actually protect and help my skin, versus clogging my pores.

So, when my eye caught this gem, I knew I had to reach out to Beauty Banter about it:

Neutrogena Revitalizing Lip Balm. The product description from Neutrogena: “This sheer tinted balm with patent-pending ion_complex™ instantly moisturizes lips, leaving them looking fuller and more defined.” Ok, I believe that’s fancy talk for ‘this is a lip balm’. But in all seriousness the tint is great and subtle, and it does go on smoothly.

“In just one week, it helps improve lips’ texture and restores the look of rosiness, so lips look naturally beautiful even after you take it off.” I’m actually going to call truth on this one, my lips were chapped like a cowboy on Monday afternoon and by Friday, I didn’t even need lip balm! 

“SPF 20 helps protect lips and keeps them looking healthy.” TOTES! Love the SPF factor! Neutrogena does a great job at sneaking in SPF into their lippies, making it worth the extra $ versus my $1.99 chap stick. We gotta protect those lips so we don’t end up with the mouth lines of a 90 yr old Atlantic City Casino regular.

Pros:

• Truly hydrating. I applied only once or twice a day and it really did save my lips. I mean, this is not Elizabeth Arden 8-hour cream repair style, but it goes beyond what your average tinted balm does.
• Moisturizing: My lips are always chapped; pretty sure I sleep with my mouth open, so I look like I’ve returned from an expedition to Siberia every morning. I don’t need a lip salve, I need a lip saver. This one saves my lips.
• Lasts long: Nothing news-breaking, but it stayed on my lips thru a diet Pepsi
• SPF 20!
• Fab Colors:
Sheer Shimmer: delicate shimmer, so you don’t look like you put your disco lips on for breakfast. Which is, depending on your lifestyle, either a good or a bad thing. Tip: Put a dab on your bottom lip for a subtle lip plump.
Healthy Blush: Sold out in all the Walgreens I visited… so I’m guessing its fab L
Sunny Berry: Bright yet not overwhelming pink red color; stands out for sure; perf for beach!
Petal Glow: Favorite! It’s a dark pink- lavender shimmer (looks great on blondes and pale folk like moi).
Soft Caramel: I have way too many pink undertones for this color to ever look good on me, but it would work for olive skin complexions. Looked good on my friends.
Fresh Plum: dark terra cotta red; great for going out when you rock heavy mascara and cat eye look, but want something other than a shimmer as a lippie.
• Flavor: a very subtle, pleasant hint of fruit can’t but barely detectable.
• Texture: Smooth, light… feels similar to Nivea lip care
• The tube: the tube is flatter, more oval shaped, so more precise application and not as noticeable if put in back pocket. It’s nothing special in terms of design, but it’s a subtle sophisticated black tube. It also won’t roll off your desk, makeup counter, etc.
• Peeps agree: 4.8 out of 5 rating on Neutrogena

Cons:

• The tube: While it looks sleek and sophisticated, It’s also hard to locate in your purse
• The taste: Ok, it’s got SPF 20; so if you get some in your mouth it does taste like sunscreen, but I’d rather that than lip lines, for sure.
• Expensive: retails at $8.99. If it didn’t have the tint, I wouldn’t pay that much. I would just go back to a personal favorite and beautybanter.com discovery: EOS lip sphere
• Other comparable products:
 - Burt's bees tinted lip balms: $7. Tried it… definitely not a fan of the color I bought… a bland Flintstones-vitamin orange. (Hibiscus). Also, no SPF

BOTTOM LINE: I’m a believer! They provide a lot of color for being lip balms and would look great for a day at the beach and girls night out. From one drugstore Junkie to another, I highly recommend"

Thanks to our fabulous reader Laura Healy for writing in with this wonderful product review! We, too, are believers! xo, Beauty Banter.

Neutrogena Lips + SPF

Neutrogena is no longer simply the skincare line that makes an awesome face wash or sunscreen - they've also got some pretty spectacular products in their color line too!!!


One of my new favorite lippies (and perfect for summer - remember to VOTE NOW!) is the MoistureShine Lip Soother with SPF 20. It comes in 6 shades but my favorite are: Sheen (a modest dose of red), Shine (a natural baby pink) and Glimmer (a sizzling copper). They're each equally fabulous adding loads of non-sticky gloss, a hint of color, and smelling like watermelons infused with cherries! Not to mention an added SPF of 20 to protect your precious pout while out and about in the summer sun! They're so natural - great to wear alone during the day or layer with another favorite lippy at night - and hydrating - like vaseline with a splash of color, a pinch of super high gloss and a squeeze of fruity flavor! OBSESSSED!!!

A word (or several...) from the company:
"Neutrogena MoistureShine® Lip Soother hydrates, soothes and protects dry lips on contact with beautiful high-gloss shine. The unique hydragel formula contains conditioning botanicals and glycerin for intense moisturization."

Here's a secret: These lip soothers are just as glossy and colorful as Lancome's infamous Juicy Tubes, but they're a fraction of the price!!! While the Juicy's are $18.00 for 1 TUBE, you can practically purchase 3 SOOTHERS for the same price (they retails for around $6.99 a tube).

Save money, not beauty! Neutrogena lip soothers rock!!!

Hmmm... What shall we try next in this color line???

SWEATPROOF YOUR FACE

We just divulged our secrets on sweatproofing your scalp, and now we have some tips and products for sweatproofing your face!

First, you'll need to start with a good, old-fashioned sunscreen (nobody wants wrinkles... and everyone knows that the summer sun is brutal for your skin's youthful glow). We're obsessed with Neutrogena's Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock with Helioplex. It's lightweight, oil-free, fast absorbing, waterproof and sweatproof (duh), non-shiny, dry to the touch (unlike old sunscreens that are creamy and cakey and leave a white residue that reeks of sunblock mishaps), and, best of all, this sunscreen protects against UVA AND UVB rays (insert YAY's here)! We also love that it comes in a variety of SPF's - 45, 55, and 70 (our protection of choice). Oh yeah, the price is pretty awesome too... $10.16 for 3.0 fl. oz.

Next, you'll want to use a primer - something that control the inevitable summer oil and shine. Try Philosphy's Never Let Them See You Shine. It reduces skin shine up to 55%, decreases appearances of pores up to 36%, and reduces sebum up to 49%! It also contains antioxidants to protect the skin from environmental hazards while still providing long-lasting oil and shine control. Bottom line - wear this primer and your face will definitely be sweatproofed! $20.00 for 1 oz. (but a little goes a loooong way!).

When it comes to cheek stains, Tarte Cosmetics takes the gold medal. Their classic, aptly named Tarte Cheek Stain swept into the hearts (and cheeks) of beauty addicts all across the world. The latest installment to their cheek stain empire is no exception: Natural Swirl Cheek Stain is "an all-natural version of Tarte's award-winning cheek stain that swirls two universally flattering shades together." Cheek stains are awesome because, unlike powder blushes, they go on and stay on... all day... no need to reapply! They literally stain your cheeks for a natural, flushed, pinkish glow that even the scorching heat can't sweat off. The Natural Swirl is amazing not only because the color is so fierce and fresh, but also because Tarte is helping to save the world through its makeup!
"In keeping with Tarte's eco-friendly efforts, they've partnered with Sambazon, creators of the Sustainable Açaí Project - an initiative to promote positive change in the Amazon Rainforest through forest conservation, improved living conditions and educational opportunities through the sustainable management of the Açaí Palm tree. Açai is an antioxidant-rich super fruit that helps fight free radicals, promotes cell regeneration, has known anti-inflammatory and skin softening properties and combats premature signs of aging." We heart companies that provide us with beautiful products while helping to keep the world a beautiful place too! $28.00 for 1 0z. (apply sparingly... dab onto the apples of your cheeks and blot outwards).

Virtually every cosmetic company makes a waterproof mascara but how many can claim that the mascara will last 24 hours??? Well, Prescriptives Here To Stay 24-Hour Long Wear Mascara not only claims this, it also delivers the results! I literally couldn't remove this mascara with merely soap and water!!! This is the must-have Summer mascara - perfect for swimming, sweating, sleeping (you know those nights when you just happen to "fall" asleep at your boyfriend's house... you don't actually want him to know that your lashes are really blonde, thin, and ultra short, do you?). This mascara never comes off, never smears, never runs! AND, it actually works wonders on the lashes. The wand is plastic (our fave) which means that it can really get deep into the lash line, lengthening the lashes and coating every inch of hair with dramatic blackness! The wand also does wonders to separate lashes, thus unclumping unfortunate mascara goo. Here To Stay is waterproof, smudge-proof, and sweat-proof! $19.50

A lip stain is crucial in sweaty, humid climates. The last thing a girl wants in a bleeding lip (and by bleeding we mean your lippy is bleeding into the cracks of your mouth... yuckness!). theBalm's Stainiac Hint of Tint is the perfect lip stain that'll rectify the bleeding lip problem (and keep your lips matte all day long). Sure, there are a ton of lip stains on the market, and you can even use a cheek stain on your lips as well, but this particular lip stain is one that EVERY makeup junkie should keep in her makeup bag year round. Not only is it great for summer - as the stain literally stays in place ALL DAY LONG - but it's an obvious choice for Fall, Winter and Spring too! You see, if you apply a stain prior to applying another gloss or lippy, you not only enhance the color, you also secure the staying power of said lippy. Stainiac is sweatproof, food proof, drink proof and kiss proof. Just a dab allows for natural, flushed lips. A little more looks like you ate a bowl of cherries, maybe a lolipop. And yet, even more, and you're lips are smoltering hot in that sexy, ravishing red sort of way. It's all in the layering, ladies! Of course, this too can be used as a cheek stain. Just a dab on the apples of your cheeks and you'll look like you're blushing, au natural style! (NOTE: Stainiac is pure red, unlike Tarte's Natural Swirl Cheek Stain which is way more on the peach/ pink side of the color spectrum). $14.00
And if you're still feeling icky and sweaty, try using blotting papers... they really do work wonders to absorbs excess oil, rid the face of perspiration and diminish shine. Clean and Clear's Oil Absorbing Sheets are a handy on-the-go pick-me-up for shiny, sweaty mugs (a.k.a. faces). We like them because they wont remove your makeup and they fit nicely in your purse... amazing for nights out on the town (and G-d knows a crowded bar/ club can really get your sweat on)! And, of course, Clean and Clear has long been a skincare brand favorite for problem and acne prone skin types... so, we trust them! $5.29 for a pack of 50


We know it's hot... and humid... and sickly sweaty... so, stay cool, stay calm, stay sweatproof, and, of course, stay beautiful!

The Perfect Foundation For YOU

This is cool. Women's Health Magazine has posted the best foundations for each skin type.
CLICK HERE to find out what's your ideal match!

Apparently, mine is Neutrogena Healthy Skin Enhancer in Neutral to Tan.
Hmmm... I'm gonna have to give it a try!