Review: Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1

Kiehl’s is a brand that’s relatively new to me. I’d never tried anything of theirs before I started beauty blogging, but there are a few Kiehl’s items that are firmly in my skincare regime – including the Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleanser.

I first came across Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 when I was working with a girl who would apply is liberally every couple of hours. Being a sucker for pretty packaging I didn’t really give it a proper glance, but with Kiehl’s celebrating 40 years of Lip Balm #1, I knew that there must be something special about it.

The formula reminds me a lot of Vaseline but it feels a lot more moisturising. You can almost feel it sinking into your lips, which is really nice. I like it when I can feel/see a product working, so this definitely ticks those boxes.

Excuse the sore-looking lip line. I'd swatched lots of lip products and constantly been rubbing them off and reapplying.

My main issue with the balm is the fact that I feel I can only apply it at night. As someone who suffers with very dry lips, if I don’t apply balms constantly throughout the day my lips flake up like fish food and peel. So obviously I expect my lip balms to combat this.

However, I feel that this balm almost encourages my lips to peel. Not in a bad way – it kind of lifts the dead skin, so it’s perfect to use before and after a lip scrub. But not as a general day balm – loose bits of skin on my lips while I’m out and about? No, ta.

Plus it's got parabens in it. I do usually try to avoid products with parabens, as I don't think there's any need to include them in beauty products anymore - there are suitable alternatives. However, since I don't use this that much it's not a big issue for me.

The lip balm comes in original or scented versions. I have both the original and mango scents, but from the images on the website I think it comes/came in Vanilla and Pear too (perhaps just US?).

The scented version is probably my favourite over the original, as the original tends to have a bit more of an oily taste. They both do in fact, but the taste is masked under the strong mango scent.

The tube is 15ml, but feels very generous and I can see them both lasting a very long time.

Bottom line: It’s a decent balm, but I’ve tried cheaper alternatives that perhaps perform better. It only contains SPF4 so if you're looking for better sun protection then this isn't for you. But if you’re prone to a flaky lip, then I’d recommend trying this as a way to alleviate it.

Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 is available from Kiehl’s online and in store, priced at £9.50/15ml.

---