Since we all know about lip balm, I'm going to do something a bit different with this review. We're going to start off with a pop quiz about lip balms. Now, don't cheat and go check on the net - just guess the answers. The correct answers will be at the bottom of the review.

1. Which came first - Carmex or Chapstick?
2. When were lip balms first marketed? 1857? 1880's? 1912? 1920's? 1931? 1940's? 1947?
3. What state was lip balm invented in?
4. True or False. Earwax was once used to moisturized lips?

You will find more facts throughout the review in italics.

So like most lip balms, this is designed to be applied to your lips. Not Soap Radio's "Cocoa Nostra" line sells their lip balms two ways. One is a tin with two flavors of lip gloss side by side. The other product, which is this one, is in a stick format, much like what you see at the registers in grocery stores.

According to their website, these products are "all are completely natural, vegan and made with real cocoa and fruit extracts."

The ingredients in this balm are: 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.

If you have an allergy to chocolate, I would stay away from this product.

Let's start first by talking about the texture of your lips. Did you know that Cracked lips could be a sign that your diet is low in B vitamins. In addition, the skin on our lips is very thin and there are no oil glands to help protect them.

So now let's move to this lip balm. I find it to be fairly thick and waxy. I am not sure if this has a higher wax content than their lip balm that is in the tin and you apply it with your fingers - or what - but I find this lip balm to be more thick and waxy feeling than the tinned lip balm. It feels like it goes on heavy and it is hard to get just a light coat on your lips.

It reminds me somewhat of the texture of the "Baccio Me Lips" by Principessa Beauty, another product that Eden Fantasys currently sells on here.

Once on my lips, it doesn't feel greasy or oily but it does feel very waxy.

I love lip balm that tastes so good that you want to eat it. But did you know this? Did you know that women who are habitual lip chewers eat four to nine pounds of lipstick during their life?

While the taste of this is ok, it isn't realistic and it doesn't leave me wanting to eat off my lip balm. Not Soap Radio does sell a cocoa butter lip balm that I could eat all day if I wasn't careful. The same with the Cocoa Nustra tinned line.

This has a nice chocolate mint smell when I open it. It smells more like chocolate with a hint of mint than vice versa, which I like because sometimes mint can be so overpowering.

But taste? Well, it tastes like someone tried to flavor some wax with chocolate and didn't quite succeed.

With that said, it isn't a bad taste, a fake taste or a chemical taste. It probably would be closer to trying to nibble on a chocolate scented wax crayon or something - without the crayon smell or taste.

The one good thing about this product is that it lasted a long time. Since I wasn't constantly chewing on my lips, I didn't have to put more on for several hours, and I was in the house where the air is somewhat dry.

I didn't like the fact that it was so thick, but to be honest, after about 5 or 10 minutes, I didn't notice it anymore.

You can see the stick of lip balm next to a little tub of Cocoa Butter Lip balm and Shiny Lip Balm - both of which are also by Not Soap Radio. However, when I just checked on the Not Soap Radio website, I did not see the Shiny Lip balm available any longer.



The white container beside the three products is a travel-size container for carry-on luggage when you need to travel with cosmetics, to give you an idea of product size.

Ready for the quiz answers?

Dr. C. D. Fleet, a physician from Lynchburg, Virginia, invented Chapstick or lip balm in the early 1880s. Fleet made the first Chapstick himself that resembled a small wickless candle wrapped in tin foil.

More information:Fleet sold his recipe to fellow Lynchburg resident John Morton in 1912 for five dollars after failing to sell enough of the product to make it worth his continued efforts. John Morton along with his wife started production of the pink Chapstick in their kitchen. Mrs. Morton melted and mixed the ingredients and then used brass tubes to mold the sticks. The business was successful and the Morton Manufacturing Corporation was founded on the sales of Chapstick.

Chapstick History

Did you know that the first lip balm was actually earwax. It worked, but the flavor left something to be desired. - Lip Care

The following things can make your lips dry: aging, heat, cold, not drinking enough water, being anemic.

For more information on lip balm, lip balm trivia and even lip balm anonymous, visit the following links.

Wikipedia

Softer Lips This Winter

Another interesting fact from History of Lip Balm - In fact, during World War II, production of Carmex lip balm was limited because one of its principal ingredients, Lanolin, was needed by the military to prevent rust and grease war equipment.

The difference between lip gloss and lip balm

Lip Balm Anonymous