411 on Holiday Revo Lip Balm!

Hello, friends! I have what I think is some hot scoop on holiday Revos. If you're anything like me, you are OBSESSED with these little spheres of joy. Well, I am happy to reveal that today, at my local Stop and Shop grocery store, I spotted a display full of three Revo holiday scents. They have Candy Cane, Chocolate Mint and Sugar Cookie. Now, you might be thinking "Kari, these are not new scents" and you would be correct. However, to the best of my knowledge, they were previously only available at Walgreens as part of limited edition collections. I happened to have Chocolate Mint from Halloween 2014 and Sugar Cookie from Holiday 2014 but I had never seen Candy Cane until today. Needless to say, I grabbed it right up. Even cooler, they were on sale at 2 for $5.00, down from their usual price of $2.99 each. (Even cooler still, you can buy one item from a "2 for" sale at Stop and Shop and it will still be the sale price. Just make sure you sign up for their free discount card.)
Here's my beautiful new Candy Cane!

Don't be fooled by the CareOne name. This is, in fact, an authentic Revo. They market under several store-branded names such as Well at Walgreens and Beauty 360 at CVS.

This is a great opportunity to add three hard to find scents to your collection or to stock up on backups if that's your thing. 

*This product was purchased by me with my own money.

Hi, I'm Kari and I Like Lip Balm...a Lot.

Hello, friends! This is a post that has been requested several times and I'm finally ready to share it with you. Let me preface this by saying, yes, I have an extraordinary amount of lip balm. With very few exceptions, it was all purchased by me, traded for or gifted to me by friends and family. Will I use it all in my lifetime?  Probably not. Is it a relatively inexpensive thing that I really enjoy collecting? You're darn tootin'! And, therefore, in spite of the Judgey McJudgersons who will find it necessary to comment negatively while collecting their Hummels or Precious Moments or pencil erasers or stickers or toenail clippings or whatever it is that floats their collecting boats, I am now prepared to share with you, in its entirety, my lip balm collection.  Feast your eyes!

This bin contains my Lotta Luv brand lip balms.

 Here are my Chap Stick, Soft Lips, Nivea and other miscellaneous brands as well as "novelty-shaped" lip balms.

This bin contains most of my Lip Smacker lip balms.

More Lip Smackers and a few randoms.

This dish contains my Revos (including one I blinged out with Dollar Tree stickers)

And finally, my eos collection.

Yup. Here it is. My very large lip balm collection. I'm not sure exactly why I love it so much. It's useful, of course. It smells wonderful and, ideally, tastes wonderful, too. But why on earth would someone need 350+? I can't answer that. I know that part of it stems from my childhood. As is the case with most little girls (and some little boys, too), lip balm is the first thing I was allowed to wear on my face related to makeup. To this day, it makes me happy (even though, for the most part, I've lost interest in makeup). It also reminds me of my beloved Grandma Blum, sadly, no longer with us. Rarely did I see that woman without a Bonne Bell Lip Smacker nearby. There was usually one on her kitchen table when we'd share talks over cookies and milk (or, later, tea). The sight, feel, smell and taste of a Lip Smacker in particular takes me right back to those wonderful times. And that is more than worth the small price I pay for them. 

I feel like I am justifying myself when I realize that I really don't have to. Lip balm makes me happy, pure and simple, and that is reason enough to collect. I know that many of you (if not all) will understand. And if not, you feel free to keep on enjoying those toenail clippings behind closed doors. I promise not to judge you.  

xo,

K

Revo Lip Balm Summer 2015 Collection

*PRESS SAMPLES AND GIFTS*

Hi friends! Today I'd like to share my thoughts on the Revo Lip Balm Summer 2015 collection. Of course, as always, I'll jump right to the pics!

Here they are! From red to light pink they are Cherry Cola, Orange Mango, Pina Colada, Pink Lemonade and Cotton Candy

Here is a shot of the goodness inside.

It's awesome that Revo puts the flavor names on the outer seal but once you've removed the plastic wrap, the flavor is a mystery, right?  WRONG!  Don't say I never did anything for ya!

These labels, available at pretty much any office supply store as well as Walmart, Target, etc. solve your problem.  They fit perfectly on the bottoms of the balms!

Now, let's get to each flavor specifically, shall we? I'll start with Cherry Cola. I am very into soda-flavored things, even though I'm really trying to cut back on my actual soda consumption. With the exception of the occasional root beer float (are you listening, Revo? Wouldn't that be an amazing flavor to add to your line, along with cream soda? You're welcome), I rarely drink "real" soda anymore. Now, my next trick will be giving up the diet stuff. But, I digress. In a pinch, this wonderful Cherry Cola balm helps satisfy my soda cravings in a way that is calorie free, score! I think Revo captures the essence of Cherry Cola very well in both scent and flavor.

Orange Mango was an ambitious idea. While I LOVE the scent and flavor, I get very strong mango and very little orange. Not a bad thing, it's great. I guess it is just hard to capture both flavors equally. Still, I really love the mango-ness (not a word but I'm making it one) of this balm.

Do you like Pina Coladas? (C'mon, I had to!) I love them. And I love this balm. Unfortunately, not quite enough scent or flavor for me. Is it accurate? Yes. Is it strong enough? Not quite, for me. As always, just my opinions here, please judge for yourselves.

Pink Lemonade is next. Let me say this right off the bat...I...LOVE...Pink...Lemonade (the beverage). Few things are more thirst-quenching and delicious, especially on a hot summer day. As for the Revo version...I...LOVE...Pink...Lemonade. I think they did a fabulous job in capturing the scent and flavor of this tasty treat.

Lastly, Cotton Candy. Yum. Can we just take a moment to appreciate the deliciousness that is cotton candy? I'll wait.........okay.  Revo's cotton candy balm smells just like the real thing. However, I was slightly disappointed in the taste. While it does have a very subtle cotton candy flavor, I wanted a bit more *punch*, if you get my drift. This is not a girl who does subtle. Still, I love the formula (as I do for all Revos), the pale pink packaging and the fabulous fragrance. So, still a winner.

Overall, I'm super-happy with this collection. For some reason, where I live (Long Island, NY), is is extremely difficult to find the Revo limited edition collections like this one. Once in a rare while, I'll find one or two, but never the complete collection, and I HUNT. Seriously. Like seven Walgreens locations. Therefore, I'm extremely grateful that the kind folks at Revo sent me a few of these to review and that my dear friend, Christine, who lives in another state, was kind enough to send me the rest. Otherwise, you'd probably still here Kari crying wherever you are. As I kinda sorta implied, you can find this limited edition collection at your local Walgreens. I hope. If you don't live on Long Island. If you pick up any or all of these, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Until next time, stay beautiful, butterflies!

xo,
Kari

*As stated, some of the products mentioned in this post were sent to me for review purposes. The remaining products were either gifts from a friend (the remaining lip balms) or purchased by me (the labels). As always, all opinions expressed are completely my own.

Welcome to Revo!

*PRESS SAMPLES*

Hello, friends! Something I have not shared often on this blog (or maybe, not at all) is the fact that I.LOVE.LIPBALM! Like, a LOT. Kind of obsessed, to be honest. And one of my favorite lip balm brands is Revo. You have probably heard that word tossed around in the beauty world but you may not be familiar with this awesome brand. Let me give you a little introduction. Revo (parent company OraLabs, Inc.) is a spherical-shaped balm with a flat top and bottom. It is similar to another brand but is not in any way, shape or form affiliated with them. Let me show you some pics so you'll see what I mean. 

Here is how they look when you first get them.  They are sealed in plastic with the branding information, bar code and flavor name on them.  The flavors pictured here are Tangerine, Melon Mint, Pomegranate and Marshmallow Creme.

Here is how they look on the bottom.

Here is how they look on the top.

This is how they look without lids.  As you can see, you get a decent amount of product inside.

Now, you might be thinking, "Kari, what's up with those labels? Some say 'ChapIce', one says 'Techniq' and one says 'Well at Walgreens'. I thought you said these were Revos?" Yes, that is slightly confusing but let me explain. OraLabs markets Revo lip balms under several brands depending on where they are selling them. For example, the "Well at Walgreens" is only available at Walgreens. There are also Revos under the mantle "Beauty 360" (though none are featured in this post) that are available only at CVS. The "Techniq" one, to be honest, is one I had never seen before. Likewise, the "ChapIce". For more information on these, I suggest going directly to the OraLabs, Inc. website and clicking on the "Lip Balm" tab. 

These lip balms are, in my opinion, fabulous! They are not pigmented but they are super-moisturizing and the scents and flavors are terrific. I am not ashamed to say that it is my goal to eventually own one of every Revo sphere available. This will be a challenge as the Revos sold in Walgreens and CVS (with the exception of several "core" flavors, none of which are featured in this post, that are permanently available at Walgreens) are limited edition and, alas, I didn't start collecting until after several collections had already come and gone. (I am currently searching for the following flavors if anyone can help me: Berry Frost (Holiday 2013), Blueberry Popsicle (Summer 2014), Blue Razberry,

Bubble Gum (Summer 2014), Candy Cane (Holiday 2013), Grape Snow Cone (Summer 2014), Mint and Strawberry Banana (Summer 2014)...but I digress). The retail price for these balms vary depending on where you purchase them but they generally run about $3.00 a piece if not on sale.

My one major fault with Revos (other than their limited availability. Often, my local Walgreens stores do not get the limited edition collections at all) is that once you remove the plastic outer wrapping, there is no indication of the flavor name. However, I solve this problem by adding colorful office labels to the tops over the Revo name. They fit perfectly and stick well to the flat surface. In a pinch, it will do. Note the expiration dates on the spheres. A pretty cool feature, in my opinion.

Pros: moisturizing, flavorful, relatively low price point.

Cons: no flavor printed on actual sphere, limited availability

These balms are fantastic and I highly recommend them. Please note, I have also seen smaller versions of these (often referred to as "Mini Revos") in both Dollar Tree and Big Lots stores. However, they are only available in three flavors, Strawberry, Cherry and Watermelon. If you are on the fence about trying this brand, they are a great way to start.

The products featured in this post were provided to me for my honest review and consideration.