Elemis, Murad and Temple Spa - Lip Balm Comparison and Review (with Bonus Kittens)!

I like to use a thick lip balm each evening before I go to sleep.  It’s about the only time that a lip balm stays on my lips.  Generally I gravitate for tube-style lip balms (see my recent addition from Kiehl’s), my all time favourite being Carmex, which I swear stays on my lips all night long.

Recently, I’ve been rotating three different tube-style lip balms for my overnight use, all of which I got free, courtesy of my Mum’s cruises and car boot sale hauls, but all of which are well respected brands: All Talk by Temple Spa (£6.50 for 10ml), Lip Rescue by Elemis (now called Lip Revive, £14.30 for ml) and Energizing Pomegranate Lip Protector by Murad (£12 for 15ml - I have a sample size).

I’ve not enjoyed using the Temple Spa one at all (and sadly, there’s another tube of if sat in my drawer – something for Give and Makeup perhaps).  The smell of it reminds me strongly of white tea which I dislike, but it says it should be 'mediterranean fruit' flavoured on the back of the tube.  The website says it has green tea in it - confused!  Although it does generally last a long time (I often wake up and can still detect it on my lips), it feels as if my lips are slightly dried out after using it; it isn’t the most moisturising lip balm I own.  I quite like the applicator, where you rub the round ball over your lips, although it’s probably not the most hygienic way of applying lip balm!   

Similarly, I’m not really liking the Elemis lip balm either.  It is a weird consistency, sort of grainy when you apply it, immediately dissolving, but just sort of odd.  I’m not sure whether this is because I’ve had this lip balm sitting around in my cupboard for too long, or whether it’s just a strange formula.  Anyway, I find that this doesn’t last very long, and if I put it on, say an hour before I go to sleep, I’ll definitely have to reapply it before going to sleep. I also dislike the taste/scent. I dislike the applicator, as the hole to squeeze the product out is quite large, and I sometimes catch my lips in it.

The lip balm I like most of these three is the Murad Pomegranate one.  I wasn’t sure if I liked the flavour/smell at first, which is quite sweet, but it has really grown on me now.  It’s the right consistency, quite thick so it lasts a long time, but not too thick and gunky.  It’s also slightly tinted so that it adds a light glow to your lips (not that I’m really looking for a glow, but it’s a nice touch).  I’d also say that I like the slanted applicator – it applies pretty easily and smoothly.

I definitely wouldn’t buy the Temple Spa or Elemis lip balms again, although I also would probably take them off my Mum’s hands if she comes across any freebies.  As for the Murad one, it’s not the cheapest lip balm ever, it’s more than the Kiehl’s one I’ve just bought.  I would consider buying it, as I have liked using it.  However, I wouldn’t go out of my way to repurchase. 

Finally, an issue I have with these type of lip balms is that they are a magnet for cat hairs.  Every evening I end up picking off cat hairs which have mysteriously stuck themselves to the lip balms, despite them being kept in a drawer.  I then always find cat hairs stuck to my lips and have to pick them off... every day.  I suppose it’s the price you pay for having feline company – I wouldn’t be without my kitties!