help me replace my favorite lip balm!

August 28, 2018 9:44 AM

My beloved Blistex medicated lip balm has changed! I can't use it anymore. Please help me find a replacement.

Blistex has changed their lip balm (the stuff in the blue tube). It has always contained SPF but never had any flavor or taste*. Now it has different ingredients and it tastes and smells strongly of sunscreen.

Here's what I would like:
Lip balm in a stick, no pots or weird ball things
Creamy
Fairly inexpensive

I don't want:
Tint
Smell
Flavor (no vanilla, cherry, berry, etc.)
Not gonna make my own, ever.

I don't care if it has SPF or not as long as it doesn't TASTE OR SMELL like sunscreen. Online or in store is fine.

Stuff I've tried and don't like:
Regular chapstick and its many varieties - hate the taste and it's too waxy
Carmex - way too thick and dry, hate the smell and flavor
EOS - not a fan of the packaging and they all seem to have flavor
Blistex ointment - burns my lips

I've spent a lot of money trying one of everything I can find at various drugstores and I'm frustrated. Do you have a favorite that meets my picky criteria?

*I thought the ingredient change was related to some upcoming sunscreen ingredient bans, but it seems they removed one banned ingredient and added another banned ingredient. Also, both formulations contain camphor and menthol so there is a very, very faint mintish sensation, but I find it almost undetectable and it doesn't bother me. I've tried other mint and mentholated products but haven't found one I can use.

posted by peep to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (33 answers total)

Nivea is my favorite! The dark blue one is unscented.
posted by typify at 9:48 AM on August 28, 2018

My lips changed forever for the better when I shelved all my Blistex and similar products that had either menthol, camphor, or spf (I realized it was just making my lips drier, increasing the need for more more moarrrr balm) and switched to plain old vaseline.

I'm a vaseline-in-a-tub lady myself, but they do make it in stick form. If I were after what you're after, that's what I would choose.
posted by phunniemee at 9:52 AM on August 28, 2018

Love Weleda. Can get at Whole Foods.
posted by greta simone at 10:02 AM on August 28, 2018

Did you try Burt's Bees?
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 10:05 AM on August 28, 2018

I always go back to this
posted by koahiatamadl at 10:06 AM on August 28, 2018

What about Blistex Lip Medex (the one in the dark blue tube)? No SPF, and not burny like their medicated ointment.
posted by blerghamot at 10:13 AM on August 28, 2018

I like this one from Dr. Bronner's - I get it at Target.
posted by blacktshirtandjeans at 10:23 AM on August 28, 2018

Malin & Goetz Lip Moisturizer.

Yes the price is scary but I use it daily & a tube lasts at me at least 3 months. It's amazing & unlike most other lip balms I've tried it doesn't make the problem worse & my lips still feel soft after it's absorbed. I'm a mouth breathing, snorer & drooler this keeps my lips moisturized all night until morning.
posted by wwax at 10:32 AM on August 28, 2018

I love Aquaphor. As neutral as it gets.
posted by sevensnowflakes at 10:39 AM on August 28, 2018

Le Labo Lip Balm

In the same price neighborhood as the Malin & Goetz, but it works like nothing else for me, and a tiny (flavorless, scentless) dab is all I need. Vaseline and Aquaphor are fine when my lips are medium-but-not-terribly dry. In the wintertime, this is basically the only thing that keeps my lips from peeling off my face and blowing away in the dry, desiccating wind. A tube that I keep on my desk and dab multiple times a day easily lasts two months.

DHC Vitamin C Stick is pretty darn good, even less greasy than the Le Labo, has a better travel factor, and better "stay as a layer on top of my lips to seal in moisture" feeling, but is not as hydrating. The price is basically on par what I'd pay for a nice lipstick, but I've never stockpiled any shade of lipstick like I stockpile DHC Vitamin C Stick. (It used to be sold in DHC's US catalog, but was discontinued there, despite continuing to be sold in Japan.)
posted by joyceanmachine at 10:43 AM on August 28, 2018

You can't go wrong with C.O. Bigelow Lip Balms. My personal favorite is the aptly named My Favorite Night Balm.
posted by spilon at 10:47 AM on August 28, 2018

Roc Enydrial Repairing Lip Care is my absolute favourite balm. I'm 95% sure it's unflavoured/unscented but I don't have it near me so I can't doublecheck. I get it at Shoppers, for about $6-7.
posted by arcticwoman at 10:48 AM on August 28, 2018

I spend insane bank on lipbalms b/c I'm a crazy person, so my scale of "fairly inexpensive" may be way off, but I like DHC Lipcream. Doesn't sink in / moisturize as well as my beloved Bite Agave Mask or Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, but those are pricey and also not in a stick anyway. Nivea as suggested above is decent too, for a cheapie option, as is Lypsyl, which is cheap enough to stash everywhere.
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 10:50 AM on August 28, 2018

Even though it's a Chapstick brand, this is not the old school waxy kind. Smooth and moisturizing.
Chapstick Total Hydration
posted by XtineHutch at 10:52 AM on August 28, 2018

you want Blistex Silk n Shine. I am a serious lip balm addict, I hate smell or taste in lip balm. this is a perfect place between waxy and glossy.
posted by supermedusa at 10:57 AM on August 28, 2018

As I, too, dislike waxy lip balms, I really like the texture of Merry Hempsters lip balm (caveat: I usually use a flavored one but they do make unscented/unflavored). I get mine at a natural foods store.
posted by dlugoczaj at 11:03 AM on August 28, 2018

If you feel like getting 50 tubes of lip balm dirt cheap, Bulk Apothecary has these lip balm tubes in "original" flavor. (The ingredients are soybean oil, sunflower oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, shea butter, vitamin E, and aloe vera.) I didn't find it to have much taste other than the cocoa butter and it was very moisturizing. 50 tubes may be more than you desire, though!
posted by Neely O'Hara at 11:09 AM on August 28, 2018

Aquaphor makes a sunscreen version of their lip repair balm that I recently recommended to a friend that complained about the taste of SPF lip balms. I don't think it has any flavor at all, unless you really load it on. (The one linked above isn't the SPF version, I don't think - they look very similar so be sure you're getting the "repair AND protect" version).
posted by misskaz at 11:55 AM on August 28, 2018

I...I...I came in here to say Kiehl's Lip Balm #1, which is the best thing ever, only to discover that it has been discontinued. I am bereft. Okay wait, it now comes in a tube instead of a pot. I'm assuming it's the same? Maybe you can sample it somewhere to ensure it meets your standard -- but at least when it was in a pot it was **exactly** what you're asking for.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:00 PM on August 28, 2018

Seconding DHC lip cream (which is labeled a cream for some unknown reason, but is actually a stick). I also really like Aquaphor Lip Repair if you’re open to a tube (the kind with a slanted opening, so no finger application) - there’s an SPF version and a non-SPF version, I’ve only tried the non-SPF version.

Neither the DHC nor the Aquaphor has a scent, taste, or tint. They’re both smooth and non-waxy, with a little bit of shine but not so much that it looks like you’re wearing gloss. I find both to be very moisturizing. I bought the DHC on Amazon and the Aquaphor lip repair is everywhere (drugstores, target, sometimes grocery stores, etc).
posted by insectosaurus at 12:13 PM on August 28, 2018

Oh and I really like Hurraw! balms. I’ve only tried the scented ones (they’re my favorite scented ones!) but they make an unscented one too and I’m sure it’s good.
posted by insectosaurus at 12:16 PM on August 28, 2018

Vaseline +++. My lips are the softest they have ever been. I used to use lip balm 10s of times a day and since switching to Vaseline I'm using it once every other day at the most. And I live in a dry Arctic climate to boot. It's a revelation.
posted by some chick at 1:11 PM on August 28, 2018

Kiehl's lip balm is great. And if you go into the store, they'll have a sanitary way for you to sample it there and likely they'll offer a small sample to take home as well.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:03 PM on August 28, 2018

Seconding Dr. Bronner’s in the light blue stick.
posted by katie at 3:21 PM on August 28, 2018

I am in love with Nuxe Reve de Miel (the one in the jar - the one in the tube has a slightly waxier consistency that I do not prefer) but it's no longer sold in the U.S. (here's an international link). When I can't get it, I use Hurraw (I like the Earl Grey but they do have an unscented one).
posted by matildaben at 3:53 PM on August 28, 2018

Jack Black lip balm is mostly petroleum (Vaseline) with SPF; while I use a flavored one, the shea butter & Vitamin E iteration might suit you. They're long-lasting and sold by Nordstrom, Ulta, and Sephora -- check if a local store stocks it, to test before you buy.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:10 PM on August 28, 2018

Lucas paw paw ointment.
posted by Jubey at 5:11 PM on August 28, 2018

We are lip balm preference twins. I have the worst lips and Jack Black lip balm mentioned above is my favorite, since I started needing more than blistex. I know exactly what you mean; here are my recommendations for that very light feeling you get from blistex. Jack Black is kind of waxy, but not in an artificial way - it is warmer than chapstix and it hydrates your lips like nothing else. It does not bother me. Give it a chance. Herbivore's lip polish is my other love. I don't usually like sugar scrub type stuff at all, but this stuff is nice and oily and light on your lips. I've had my container of it for a year and a half with daily wear. I also love Hurraw! (in the unflavored form) - it can be on the corner of your mouth in a way the chapstick or vaseline never could, without shining or clinging.
posted by sweltering at 7:38 PM on August 28, 2018

I second wwax's recommendation of Malin & Goetz. It's the best I've ever come across and I genuinely need to use it less often and in smaller quantities than any other lip balm I've had, so it's worth the cost.
posted by tavegyl at 12:56 AM on August 29, 2018

I have so many lip balms it's a running joke. For no flavor, no weight, The aquaphor above is the winner, followed by the Vaseline lib balm, regular but it's in wee containers not a stick. I like the Burt Bees coconut. faint taste/smell nice texture. I do not like the others much BUT I do keep the regular Burt Bees Honey in my car because that stuff does not melt in the hot car.
posted by ReiFlinx at 4:25 AM on August 29, 2018

OK, so far I have tried:

Nivea in the dark blue tube. Maybe there's a different version, but I bought mine at Target, and it definitely has fragrance.

Blistex Silk N Shine. I used to use that occasionally and it was fine, but it has also changed SPF ingredients recently. It tastes strongly of sunscreen now. To me anyway.

Dr. Bronners in the light blue tube. Very promising! Going to do some longer term testing on it. Ideally I'd prefer something more creamy, where this is a bit oily. But I could definitely live with it.

Burt's Bees. I grabbed the Ultra Conditioning because it specifically says "does not contain any added fragrances or flavors." It has a bit of a hippie/earthy scent, which is fine. This is promising as well; I'll continue to try it out.

I also tried the one that seems to be their basic/original version, the Beeswax Lip Balm with Vitamin E and Peppermint. This one is SO CLOSE to perfection. The formula is exactly what I want. But it's just too minty and burny. I'm going to try some of their other varieties.

I'm just not a fan of squeeze tubes, only looking for stick balms, but I'll keep trying stuff out. I'll probably try to exhaust some of the cheaper options before moving on to the pricier suggestions. Thanks everyone!
posted by peep at 8:38 AM on August 29, 2018

Have you tried Chap Stick medicated? The kind in a light blue tube, harder to find than original but usually available at drug stores. My personal lip balm dependency began in middle school with your old fave Blistex medicated, but at some point I decided I preferred Chap Stick's version. No SPF, no weird beeswax stickiness, no off tastes that migrate into the mouth. It's a little bit minty but no moreso than Blistex. At about $2 a tube it's an easy one to try.
posted by Jemstar at 9:35 AM on August 29, 2018

Hey there! I like THIS product.

It's like a few dollars, it goes on smoothly but not slippery, I am quite sensitive to scents and I don't mind this one. No SPF though.
posted by Crookshanks_Meow at 8:31 AM on September 2, 2018