Balms Away!

ZOMG Epically Epic goodies!

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The Soctopus came home to an amazing -dare I say it- epic mail day this afternoon. Less than one week after placing a custom order, my Epically Epic Soap Co. order arrived. (Side note: service from Epically Epic Soap has always been outstanding. Always.) This order included a lip tint ($3.75), a lip balm ($3.75), and two Many -Purpose Balms ($8.50). I've ordered from EESC many times over the past several years, and I've always been happy with my purchases. This is no exception.

This order included the Cranberry Lime balm, Summer Nights balm, Rainbow Sherbet lip balm, and Peach Macaroon lip tint. The balms are amazing. Cranberry lime smells like cranberry ginger ale, light and clean. Summer Nights is one of my favorite scents. This is the second balm I've ordered in the same scent, because the first tin was used up with love. It is a peach/patchouli scent, which sounds odd on paper but is magnificent in person. It also goes nicely with the Peach Macaroon lip tint, which leaves a light wash of peachy coral color, like a flush, and smells like sweet peaches on the lips. The Many-Purpose balms are smooth and light and sink into the skin quickly without leaving an oily or greasy residue. I usually carry one in my purse to use as a cuticle balm, hand lotion, and hair smoother. It truly is "many purpose." I own an Argon Oil Hair Mist in Summer Nights as well, and find it to be an excellent skin oil as well. The Hair Mists aren't currently available as the new web store gets up and running, but it is worth messaging the shop owner, Allison, for availability.

I cannot recommend products from Epically Epic highly enough. Go! Go now! Go get yourself some Rainbow Sherbet lip balm! The prices are reasonable, and the goodies are outstanding.

*All items purchased by me, for personal use. All reviews are the opinion of The Soctopus.*

Small Business Saturday...

...is almost over! Where did you shop? I bought a bunch of (secret gifty) things from OrangeThyme, most of which are gifts for the parents and the husband. I'm also shopping from Innocent+Twisted Alchemy on Tuesday, for the release of the new Battle Royale-inspired collection. Lastly, I purchased a few things from Haus of Gloi. Meanwhile, here's a list of a few indie/small-businesses that offer great products at a great price:

Epically Epic Soap Company
One Hand Washes The Other
Detrivore Cosmetics
Femme Fatale Cosmetics
Fyrinnae Cosmetics
OrangeThyme
Innocent+Twisted Alchemy
Black Rose Minerals
Shiro Cosmetics
Haunt Bath and Body
Haus of Gloi
Darling Clandestine

Each of these companies makes great products and offers friendly, prompt customer service. 1 out of 1 RNs agree!


*as always, all products purchased by me, for me*

Lip Balm Roulette

I think I may have a problem - a lip-balm problem. You see, I love lip-balm, and can't say no when a new/interesting flavor is introduced. Because even though I have Lemon Cheesecake lip balm, the Meyer Lemon Cupcake lip-balm *may* be different. Or better! Which means, naturally, I have to have both. Let me show you a small part of my collection:

What you're seeing: The Morbid The Merrier, Epically Epic Soap Company, OrangeThyme, Madd Style Cosmetix, Ophelia's Apothecary, and, last but not least, Haunt Soap Company. Each company makes lip-balms, a few places specialize in balms, and a few just have balms as an afterthought. So let's break it down, balm-style!

First up is Ophelia's Apothecary. This picture is Lemon Cheesecake, hands down my favorite lip-balm flavor of all time. It doesn't smell like lemons, or lemonade, it smells exactly like lemon cheesecake - creamy, tart, lemony. It's got a lovely slip to it, so your lips feel moisturized, but not overly slick, and it lasts. I have three balms from OA left, the Lemon Cheesecake balm, Butter Toffee Crunch, and Margarita Lime. All three are lovely. Now for the bad: Ophelia's Apothecary is notoriously unreliable. It took well over two months for me to receive my order. At the time of the order, turn-around time was around 14 days. No notice was sent, no explanation was given. However, I really liked my products, so I didn't really think anything of it. I've since learned of several other customers experiencing months-long waits, or orders that never arrived, and now OA is threatening to close up shop. Oy. So, despite their excellent performance, I can't recommend this shop. Let's move on to a shop I can whole-heartedly recommend...

OrangeThyme! This is one of the companies that specialized in lip-balms, and it shows. These balms have avocado oil and shea butter, which seem to lend a thickness to the balm formula. They glide on heavier, and melt into the lips. Each of these balms is scented very true to life. The Honeycrisp Apple balm really does smell like crisp apple slices, for example, and you can smell a true blueberry scent in the Blueberry Lemon balm. These balms are heavy, and not suitable for under lipstick or gloss, however. I tend to wear these to bed to moisturize overnight. But, really, you can't go wrong with any flavor combination from OrangeThyme. Next up...

Madd Style Cosmetix! MSC is a great company, primarily known for their eyeshadows. (Which are fabulous. Get some. GO!) I happen to have two different formulas: mango butter and sugar lips. I notice a bit more slip with the sugar lips formula, while the mango butter formula is slightly thicker. These two smell lovely, but carry an artificial scent. The Carrot Cake Bomb smells more like sugared walnuts than anything else, which is not a bad thing...unless your husband is allergic to walnuts and HATES the smell. The Marshmallow Peep Bomb smells like burnt sugar. Of note: MSC doesn't make a lot of balms, and when they do, they're often limited-edition. So keep your eyes open, and GO BUY EYESHADOW!

Haunt Soap Co. makes quite a few lip-balms, which they call "Lusts." The two flavors I own, Milk & Nectar and Strawberry-Lime are excellent. Milk & Nectar is a strange scent, which really grew on me. It's floral and fruity at the same time, and very different from any other balm scent I've tried (which is a lot). These are the two slipperiest balms I own. They slide onto the lips and sit on the surface, without sinking in, and tend not to last on me. The saving grace is those lovely scents that don't smell like anything from any other company.

Last, but certainly not least, Epically Epic Soap Co. The current line up includes balms with spice, like Cardamom Vanilla or Pineapple Sage (both of which are on their way to me...). Epically Epic is known for unusual and savory balms. In the past, the store has offered Thai Lemongrass balm, as well as Passionfruit Rose. These combinations don't always work, but when they do, they're (dare I say) epic. EESC balms are soft and moisturizing. They coat the lips and sink into the natural folds. These tend to last on me, which is why I wear the shimmer balms at work (12-13 hour shifts). EESC balms are on the heavier side, but light enough to wear lipstick over.

So who do I recommend? I suppose it depends on what you look for in a balm. I tend to buy based on flavor/smell first, and once I like a formula, I'll go back to that company. The lightest balm in this group is the Haunt formula, which is noticeably slick. The heaviest balms are the OrangeThyme balms. Epically Epic balms lie on the heavier side, but are more wearable during the day. OrangeThyme and Epically Epic make the most interesting flavors, while Haunt makes fewer balms with more unusual flavors. I would buy from each company again, but Epically Epic Soap Company has the balms I keep going back for.

**all products purchased by me**