Review: Zelens The Balm

Let me start by saying that I am the worst. I have literally run out of ways to say how sorry I am for not posting on this blog regularly. This is my first post since my New Years post at the start of the year. That is just not on I'm afraid, I am very disappointed in myself. All I can say is that this year has been a crazy, extraordinarily tough year for me and maybe one day I'll write a post on why that is, but not today. Today I get straight back into the swing of writing proper content for this blog, starting with a beauty review. 

So here's the back story: I am very picky when it comes to lip balms/treatments. I have extremely dry lips that crack and flake all the time (glamorous, right?) so I don't find that popular lip balms such as Vaseline and Blistex work for me. To make things even more difficult I also have very sensitive lips so other lip balms such as Carmex and Burt's Bees react with my lips and even make them bleed in some cases! So with this in mind you can imagine how important it is for me to find a lip balm I like. I finally found one I could rely on in the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant which saved my lips on numerous occasions. It would even work wonders when my lips were at their worst, transforming them almost completely overnight from dry and scaley to smooth and moisturised. So you can imagine the heartbreak when I lost my beloved lip balm! Unfortunately for me I do not live near anywhere that stocks Elizabeth Arden and my desperate need for something to fix my lips quickly (combined with the curiosity of a beauty blogger) led me to visit my nearest Space.NK.apothecary for a suitable substitute.

Having explained to the very friendly sales assistant my annoying situation with my high maintenance lips, she helped me decide on the Zelens The Balm lip balm. I had never heard of Zelens before and so I was very curious to try something from their range.

Spot the awkward iPhone reflection...

Firstly, the packaging is gorgeous. The embossed mirrored tin looks very chic and I love how minimalist the design is.

Now onto what's inside the tin, which of course is the most important part. The lip balm is unlike any other lip balm I've tried in that it is not waxy at all but more of a thin cream formula. A problem that I have had with waxy formula such as Vaseline or Lipsyl in the past is that it acts as a barrier on my skin and doesn't let moisture penetrate deep into the tissue, so my lips do not feel like they are benefiting in the long-term. Therefore, when I tried this lip balm I was intrigued by how this would affect my lips. I do definitely prefer the cream formula to the waxy ones, however I think I would prefer a formula that was slightly thicker for the my lips, since they do need very heavy duty care which I do not feel this lip balm is able to give me. For someone with less problematic lips this could be a very good option though since it is fairly moisturising.

One thing I do absolutely adore about this lip balm is the smell. It has an enticingly sweet cocoa butter smell which I cannot get enough of. 

So, how does this lip balm hold up to my beloved Elizabeth Arden? I still prefer the Elizabeth. Although it has a greasier formula and more medicinal smell (that signature Elizabeth Arden scent I've come to think fondly of), it works miracles on my lips that the Zelens just cannot compare to. It takes a lot more time for my lips to heal with the Zelens than it did with the Elizabeth Arden, and honestly I don't think the Zelens has ever managed to match the results I got with the Elizabeth Arden lip protectant. I find this disappointing because I really wanted to like the cream formula of the Zelens. Finally, the price of the Elizabeth Arden makes it the more economical option.

The Zelens lip balm is very expensive. For 10ml of product I had to fork out £35. This is a lot of money and definitely not something that I would consider a necessary buy as there are plenty of  alternatives which are just as good. For me, the price does not justify the meagre results that I experienced using the product but that is not to say that someone with less dry and sensitive lips would not love this product. I would not purchase this product again though, I'm definitely going back to my Elizabeth Arden as soon as I finish the Zelens tin.

I hope you've found this review useful. Let me know if you have tried this product and what you thought about it. Also, let me know if you've tried anything else from this brand which you think I should try.

Kira xxx