Chances are, by now, you’ve probably seen Evolution of Smooth lip balms somewhere before. They’re these cute, colorful little capsules of 100% natural and 95% organic lip balms designed to moisturize and sweeten your lips. This sweet mint one is paraben-free, petrolatum-free, phthalates-free, and gluten-free. It also has shea butter and vitamin E to help nourish your lips, and stevia extract to sweeten the deal.
And yes, that is mint that the balm is sitting in. Actually, it’s apple mint, one of my favorite varieties of mint. I’m a mint fan and have 5 pots outside with nothing but different variations of mint. I’m a sucker for the clean, fresh taste/scent it has.
Packaging
Yes, shipping is discreet. Even though EdenFantasys sells adult products, you’d never know from the boxes they ship in. There’s no description of the contents and no mention of the store. Even the return address is different. I had bought all six of these not long after they started stocking them. They all came sealed in plastic baggies and were cradled by butcher paper inside a plain box.
When I got them, I hadn’t taken a picture of them with the shrink wrapper on them. So, I had to snag a product pic from EF to show you all what it looks like. It’s pretty basic and has all the product information on it. The SPF and medicated balms that I got have a sticker on the bottom, but none of the other balms do. So, I’m not sure if I peeled the stickers off the others, or they didn’t come with stickers.
The plastic wrapper is a lot like the decorative shrink wrappers for Easter eggs. You can kind of see in the picture that it has perforated lines to make it easy to peel right off.
After you remove the wrapper, just twist it apart to unscrew the lid. It’ll divide into two halves, and the balm is dome-shaped. The EOS logo is embossed on the top and the flat bottom. The side is also flat, in case you want to lay it on its side. One other thing I noticed about the regular balms compared to the medicated and SPF ones was that they don’t have the expiration date embossed on the bottom… That definitely would have bee nice, and I’m not sure why they didn’t do that for all the balms. Maybe they do now?
Ingredients
Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Beeswax (Cire D’abeille)*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract*, Tocopherol, Limonene**, Linalool**.
*Organic.
**Component of Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil*. Certified Organic by Oregon Tilth.
Okay, the ingredients are pretty good except for limonene and linalool. Linalool is classified by the EWG Cosmetics Database as a possible human immune system toxicant or allergen. Also, it shows limonene to have high concerns for irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs).
So, although I’ve had no issues with irritation or allergies to the ingredients, I wouldn’t recommend this balm for those who are sensitive.
Smell / Taste
To me, the smell is a about the strength of scent that you would get from a freshly crushed mint leaf, but a little less intense. However, my husband crinkled his nose and told me it was really strong. Don’t worry. It’s nowhere near Vick’s vapor rub strong. After asking him what “really strong” meant, he said it’s the same as a freshly crushed mint leaf.
The taste is sweet, minty, and tingly. I’d say the tingle lasts for good 30 minutes, before it fades completely. Of course, that’s provided I don’t eat or drink with it on. What confuses me is that my husband tastes nothing. All he picks up on is a tingling sensation.
Texture / Consistency / Application
To me, this balm feels smooth and light. It leaves what feels like a thin coating, and it’s not sticky. But, if you ask my husband who hates lip products in general and calls them all "lip goo", he’ll tell you it feels heavy and will wipe it off after I kiss him while I’m wearing it.
So far, EOS has won me over with their dome-shaped balm. It’s easy to swipe on and there’s no dealing with a stupid dial that stick balm has, and the issue of the stick going back into the tube because the thing is cheap. Of course, this is probably going to get tricky once the dome wears down. Since I haven’t used any of my balms far enough down yet, I can’t really comment on how this is towards the end of its lifespan.
Longevity
The balm lasts for a pretty long time, but it depends on how much I eat/drink/talk. I generally just reapply it after meals. Sometimes, I’ll just reapply it to refresh the tingle, though.
Storage
There’s really nothing to storing it. Just make sure it’s not going to get too warm and melt. The shape is awkward and bulky, if you’re going to try to cram it in your pocket. However, it’s pretty small and won’t take up much room in your bag/on your dresser/in the medicine cabinet/etc.
Opinion
I love this balm, aside from a couple questionable ingredients. It feels light and isn’t sticky, and it has a tingly flavor that lasts for quite a while. However, as you can see with the differences in experience between my husband and myself, results may vary. If you’ve ever had one of the mint balms from Burt’s Bees, though, that’s pretty much what you’re getting with this.
And yes, that is mint that the balm is sitting in. Actually, it’s apple mint, one of my favorite varieties of mint. I’m a mint fan and have 5 pots outside with nothing but different variations of mint. I’m a sucker for the clean, fresh taste/scent it has.
Packaging
Yes, shipping is discreet. Even though EdenFantasys sells adult products, you’d never know from the boxes they ship in. There’s no description of the contents and no mention of the store. Even the return address is different. I had bought all six of these not long after they started stocking them. They all came sealed in plastic baggies and were cradled by butcher paper inside a plain box.
When I got them, I hadn’t taken a picture of them with the shrink wrapper on them. So, I had to snag a product pic from EF to show you all what it looks like. It’s pretty basic and has all the product information on it. The SPF and medicated balms that I got have a sticker on the bottom, but none of the other balms do. So, I’m not sure if I peeled the stickers off the others, or they didn’t come with stickers.
The plastic wrapper is a lot like the decorative shrink wrappers for Easter eggs. You can kind of see in the picture that it has perforated lines to make it easy to peel right off.
After you remove the wrapper, just twist it apart to unscrew the lid. It’ll divide into two halves, and the balm is dome-shaped. The EOS logo is embossed on the top and the flat bottom. The side is also flat, in case you want to lay it on its side. One other thing I noticed about the regular balms compared to the medicated and SPF ones was that they don’t have the expiration date embossed on the bottom… That definitely would have bee nice, and I’m not sure why they didn’t do that for all the balms. Maybe they do now?
Ingredients
Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Beeswax (Cire D’abeille)*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract*, Tocopherol, Limonene**, Linalool**.
*Organic.
**Component of Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil*. Certified Organic by Oregon Tilth.
Okay, the ingredients are pretty good except for limonene and linalool. Linalool is classified by the EWG Cosmetics Database as a possible human immune system toxicant or allergen. Also, it shows limonene to have high concerns for irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs).
So, although I’ve had no issues with irritation or allergies to the ingredients, I wouldn’t recommend this balm for those who are sensitive.
Smell / Taste
To me, the smell is a about the strength of scent that you would get from a freshly crushed mint leaf, but a little less intense. However, my husband crinkled his nose and told me it was really strong. Don’t worry. It’s nowhere near Vick’s vapor rub strong. After asking him what “really strong” meant, he said it’s the same as a freshly crushed mint leaf.
The taste is sweet, minty, and tingly. I’d say the tingle lasts for good 30 minutes, before it fades completely. Of course, that’s provided I don’t eat or drink with it on. What confuses me is that my husband tastes nothing. All he picks up on is a tingling sensation.
Texture / Consistency / Application
To me, this balm feels smooth and light. It leaves what feels like a thin coating, and it’s not sticky. But, if you ask my husband who hates lip products in general and calls them all "lip goo", he’ll tell you it feels heavy and will wipe it off after I kiss him while I’m wearing it.
So far, EOS has won me over with their dome-shaped balm. It’s easy to swipe on and there’s no dealing with a stupid dial that stick balm has, and the issue of the stick going back into the tube because the thing is cheap. Of course, this is probably going to get tricky once the dome wears down. Since I haven’t used any of my balms far enough down yet, I can’t really comment on how this is towards the end of its lifespan.
Longevity
The balm lasts for a pretty long time, but it depends on how much I eat/drink/talk. I generally just reapply it after meals. Sometimes, I’ll just reapply it to refresh the tingle, though.
Storage
There’s really nothing to storing it. Just make sure it’s not going to get too warm and melt. The shape is awkward and bulky, if you’re going to try to cram it in your pocket. However, it’s pretty small and won’t take up much room in your bag/on your dresser/in the medicine cabinet/etc.
Opinion
I love this balm, aside from a couple questionable ingredients. It feels light and isn’t sticky, and it has a tingly flavor that lasts for quite a while. However, as you can see with the differences in experience between my husband and myself, results may vary. If you’ve ever had one of the mint balms from Burt’s Bees, though, that’s pretty much what you’re getting with this.