Pucker Up! | Carmex Lip Balm.

When I posted this photo on Instagram a couple of days ago, I knew my Mum wouldn't fail to notice it.

And notice she did. She even left a comment saying, "Oh, that's not new here. But very, very good."
By 'here', she meant in London, where Carmex happens to be a household brand. These lip balms sure are popular! From their lab in Wisconsin, the brand has a following that spans across the globe.

Invented in 1937 by Alfred Woelbing, Carmex began as a small business for the Woelbing family. Alfred Woelbing concocted the lip balm on top of the family stovetop and hand-poured the mixture into small glass jars. Together with his wife, they sold these jars to pharmacists from the boot of his car.

The popularity of these yellow-capped jars remain up to this day. Only now, they're no longer contained in glass, but in plastic jars. And they sure have gone a long way from being peddled to pharmacies.

Classic Carmex.

Aside from the classic jar packaging, Carmex lip balms now come in sticks and tubes, too.

Click Stick + Squeeze Tube.

I was actually very excited to try the Strawberry Stick first. Remember, I'm a sucker for anything strawberry. Plus the fact that it has sunscreen protection of SPF15. But alas, someone made a mistake of sending me an empty box!

*insert facepalm here*

So I went on to try the Squeeze Tube instead.

Squeeze it!

Its formulation is the same as ones contained in jars.

Check the label! :)

Active ingredients are menthol (to kill germs and alleviate discomfort), camphor (to ease the pain of chapped lips), and phenol (to numb sore lips and remove dead skin).

Sounds a lot like Vicks Vaporub? Right you are.
That was my initial reaction when the lip balm came in contact with my lips. I was like, "Wutda?! Vicks?!"
The tingling sensation and the waxy feel was a bit overwhelming at first, but I got used to it after awhile.

Carmex on my lips. Also known as my 'almost no-makeup' look. :)

What I love:
- It's now available locally. No more pre-ordering from US sites or waiting for balikbayan boxes, lol.
- The sunscreen protection (found on the Click Sticks).
- The light, vanilla scent.
- The price. (Click Sticks and Jars at Php 99.75, Squeeze Tubes at Php 109.75)
- The cooling sensation.
- Not tested on animals. Yay, Leaping Bunny advocate! :)


What I don't like:
- The jar packaging. (Unhygienic.)
- The empty box, lol!
- It contains petrolatum. (As much as I can, I veer away from chemicals such as these.)

I know most people consider this as their HG lip balm - my Mum included. If not for the petrolatum, then I'd be more than happy to jump into the Carmex bandwagon. :)

Visit the Carmex website to know more about their products.
Like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter, too!

*I received these products for free for review purposes. Thoughts and opinions stated above are entirely my own.