The sun hates my lips. Seriously, they burn, they chap, I lick them, they get sore… It’s a constant struggle. So a lip balm with SPF that I can use every day and will keep my pout well moisturised on my travels is an absolute essential.
This month I’ve road-tested a few of the popular SPF lip balms out there to find my new star performer. Here’s what I thought…
CARMEX
I’ll start with my go-to lip balm, Carmex. The reason I love this beaut is because it keeps lips protected from the sun with SPF 15, doesn’t dry out too much and is good for sore lips as well as chapped. Pots come in at £2.69 and tubes are £1.65 so totally affordable. And it comes in loads of lush flavours – my all-time fave is Mint but I tend to throw Cherry and Strawberry into the mix every now and then. Let’s see if the newbies can beat it! (Buy yours here)
THE BODY SHOP VITAMIN E LIP BALM
The Body Shop’s Vitamin E lip balm is £4.50 and is your classic SPF lip balm – it’s SPF 15 and is in the standard chapstick format. I love Body Shop products so was keen to try this one but I don’t think it’s enough for my prone-to-chapping smackers. The waxy formula would be ideal for a backpacker looking for an easy lip balm primarily for sun protection. But as I get real sore lips I need something a bit extra. (Buy yours here)
BALMI CUBE
I hadn’t actually heard of the Balmi Cube until recently, but the cool packaging drew me in! As well as the fact that it’s a cube and comes with a little keychain gizmo attached. I’m just a sucker for anything that looks a bit different basically. Anyway, this is a good one for chapped lips as it’s super smooth and moisturising. It’s also SPF 15 an comes in lots of flavours. I tried the Coconut variety and it smells lovely! It’s a tad more expensive than the others at £4.99 but did I tell you it also doubles as a balm to keep your eyebrows in place? You know I love a multi-tasker. (Buy yours here)
BLISTEX INTENSIVE MOISTURISER
This is another one for lips prone to soreness and is affordable at £2.59. The tingly cream-based formula is only is a slightly lower SPF at SPF 10 but soothes tender lips and moisturises chapped ones. Weirdly addictive as well, I find myself applying it a lot more often than than the others! (Buy yours here)
NIVEA HYDRO CARE
A lovely little SPF 15 balm for chapped lips! This guy comes in the chapstick format again and is so smooth and moisturising. And at £1.55 is the cheapest of the bunch! I would still need one of the balms better for sore lips I think, but would recommend this as a good travel lip balm overall. (Buy yours here)
NEUTROGENA LIPCARE
Another chapstick format, the Neutrogena Lipcare is £2.89 and has slightly more sun protection at SPF 20. This one is pretty standard, not quite as moisturising as the Nivea or Balmi Cube but the added SPF makes it ideal for someone whose lips always burn in the sun. (Buy yours here)
So what’s the conclusion?
From the star ratings it seems the Nivea Hydro Care is the overall winner for backpackers as it keeps lips really moisturised in the heat, is well within the backpacker budget at £1.55 and is a nifty SPF 15 for ideal sun protection. However, personally I think I’ll be sticking with Carmex as my lips are always getting sore on my travels. And I’ll be honest, if I didn’t need the soothing element of it, I would upgrade the Nivea to the Balmi Cube. It is slightly more expensive but just feels lush on your lips and smells fantastic. It’s going to be my new everyday balm at home!
But hey, the choice is yours. Have you tried any of these? Let me know if I’ve missed your fave SPF lip balm!
* Please note this is a sponsored post but all views expressed are my own! I wouldn’t play you like that shorty
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