Creme de La Mer Lip Treatment. MMMMM.

MMMM as in MMM ok... Good. Soothing. 

Let me break this down for you. So a couple of years ago, I noticed V's lips were very nice and soft. I saw by her bedside a small jar (!) of lip stuff. $45, she said. Creme de la Mer The Lip Balm. What? Who spends that much on lip stuff. I went to Neiman's (we're in 2005 at the time of this story) and I saw the ingredients list. #1 Petroleum. I was not sold. Except, the thing is, I had a gift certificate and there were no cute clothes at the time, so I bought it. 

I have had the same little jar since that time because I often stray way from The Lip Balm. This winter I re-discovered the stuff. Although, when I first bought it-- I was living abroad in a tropical climate.  And in a tropical or moderate climate it seems to keep lips soft, it definitely isn't all it's cracked up to be on cracked and chapped lips. 

I am in the middle of a winter's winter-- a cold mess in the East Coast here-- and I have been having friends point out the severity of my chapped lips. I apply this stuff to soothe the dryness, but-- In essence, the fact that it starts off being a petroleum base makes it no different than Vaseline in the winter time. Yes, it has a lovely sort of a vanilla-mint smell and taste, and YES it does, over time help lips soften up-- but I don't think in the severe winters it's $45 worth of soft. I still find a sort of exoskeleton on my lips which I need to remove through light exfoliation or worse-- peeling! 

I like-- but don't love-- this product. I use it because I have it (and it's going on 4 years-- I keep it clean by not sticking my grubby fingers in it! I use a Q tip, a little stick, or, worst comes to worse, I get it out with the backside of a finger nail) , but by no means would I send you ASAP to the store to get it. I don't like that it comes in a pot, I don't like that it is petroleum based (which means it never really penetrates through the chapped skin-- it will only seal in moisture that already exists so it protects from the elements -- which Vaseline could do for you!) I do like that in the summer, my lips are pretty and soft and I guess this sort of helps. But only to the point that I think almost any pretty decent lip stuff helps. It's not as good or as dramatically inclined as the face cream (which I think does produce actual results).  It's kind of a waste. 

Overall 1.75 stars. Underwhelmed and overpriced. Stick to the face things. Lips deserve better treatments. 

Chapped Lipped kisses. 

S.