Cocoa Nostra confectionery lip balm by Not Soap Radio - review by Airen Wolf

I have extremely dry lips during the Winter and I really hate the waxy feel of most Chapstick type lip balms. I was intrigued by the Cocoa Nostra Confectionery lip balms but couldn't choose just one to try. So like any curious reviewer I decided against the one flavor I knew I wouldn't like and ordered the rest! At $4 per it wasn't a bad deal and you definitely get your money's worth.

These are basically dressed up tubes of heavy wax lip balm. The main difference is they don't sit as heavy on the lips as the more waxy brands can and they moisturize completely. They don't impart a color to the lips so they are perfect for everyone regardless of gender identification.

They smell amazing but don't have a particularly amazing taste which is a good thing for this type of balm as it means it will stay where you want it and you won't be increasing the problem by licking your lips. Each of the varieties has a bit of mica added to increase the shine and they look amazing over your favorite lipstick.

The ingredients are listed on each tube clearly and are very mundane. Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Cetearyl, Alcohol, Lauryl Laurate, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Beeswax, Copernicia Cerifera (Camauba) Wax, Hydrogenated Soyean Oil, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Flavor, Mica. There aren't any common allergy triggering ingredients in these lip balms and they have never been tested on animals.

The tubes (.15 oz) are small enough to fit in a makeup bag, coat pocket or even an evening bag. They are clear plastic and have pop off tops. The product is pushed up via the usual turn dial at the bottom of the tube.

I cannot stand chocolate and orange so I didn't order that variety but this is a personal choice and should in no way reflect on the product negatively.

The White Chocolate Raspberry Confection has an exotically sweet smell of cream covered raspberries with a hint of white chocolate. It is light pink in the tube and doesn't impart any color to the lips, just a subtle shine. It has a very mild and very light sweet taste but is more scent than flavor.

The Lemon Vanilla Cannoli smells just like lemon chiffon pie to me but Sigel says it smells just like a lemon canoli. I've never smelled a lemon cannoli being a more chocolate chip cannoli girl so I'll take his word for it. It is a lovely, pale yellow in the tube and goes on smooth. This is my favorite scent of all of the varieties. I find that lipstick dries out my lips but a light coat of this under and then over the lipstick to seal it means I don't end up biting the dry skin off my lips.

The Chocolate Hazelnut Capo-ccino smells heavily of hazelnut and chocolate but is missing the subtle dryness of coffee. Don't get me wrong it is an amazing and exotic scent it's just not totally coffee shop to my nose. Your mileage may vary.

The Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate scent is actually my least favorite scent of the ones I chose. It smells sort of like chocolate but not quite! It is very soothing to dry lips and smells much better on the lips. I think this is because it is lighter when warm and melting with the heat of the body. Either way it is nice it just doesn't scream lucious chocolate to me.

On the other hand the Mint Noir balm smells like lucious dark chocolate with more than a hint of mint. It tingles mildly when put on dry lips but not unpleasantly. The smell is amazing and this tube got fought over by my girls so I am thinking I'll be buying more pretty soon!

All of the varieties melt into a creamy, smooth layer with subtle shine on the lips that washes away completely with warm water and soap. It doesn't stain clothing or leave a weird waxy or oily blotch if you put your shirt on after applying your makeup. Hair will catch on the lips so if you don't want the "just got in from a windstorm with my hair stuck to my mouth" look be sure to pull hair up under a hat or at the very least away from the face.