Review: Lanolips Lip Ointment

Disclosure: These were PR samples

Lanolips.  If you read Charlotte's excellent blog, you'll have heard of these before - and you'll know that Charlotte, not one to gush unnecessarily, absolutely adores them.  Lanolips is an Australian brand, who produce these gorgeous tubes of goodness in both tinted and original variations, using "medical grade" lanolin.  Lanolin, in case you've not come across the ingredient before, is the waxy substance produced by woolly animals such as sheep - it's what keeps their coats waterproof.  As Sarah so charmingly put it, Lanolips is based pretty much on sheep grease.

But hell, if it works, I'll happily cover my lips in sheep grease - and work it definitely does.  The ointments are smooth and very moisturising - you know how some lip balms just sit on the lips, and when they eventually rub away your lips feel pretty much the same as when you put it on?  This stuff is the opposite: it sinks in, and leaves lips feeling comfortable and looking soft.  I'm fully expecting these to be a big part of my usual winter battle against dry, chapped, painful lips.  The inclusion of SPF15 is an added bonus, as lips are so often left unprotected in the sun.

The tinted versions are essentially the same lanolin rich base with a dose of colour included.  The colours look significantly stronger in the tube than they apply to the lips; the pigmentation is pretty low and the effect is a sheer, pretty gloss rather than a dramatic shot of colour.

Top row: Original (clear), Rose

Middle row: Sunshine, Rhubarb
Bottom row: Dark Honey, Apples

I really like the way these look on the lips.  They're an ideal accompaniment to a strong eye or cheek, as the colour is subtle and the finish glossy.  They don't last a particularly long time on the lips; after an hour or so, the balm has sunk in, and the pigment doesn't stick around once the base has gone.  That said, I've been perfectly happy to reapply frequently, as the tubes are small and easy to use (although a slanted applicator wouldn't go amiss), and the colours are sheer enough that you don't need to pull out a mirror.

I'll definitely be buying more of these when my sample tubes run out.  My favourite shade, Rhubarb, is already half gone because I've been applying it so much - and I can definitely see them becoming a permanent part of my collection. Well worth checking out, particularly if you suffer from very dry lips!

If you want to grab a few of these for yourself (and I'd highly recommend you do!), they'll be available at Victoria Health from the end of September.  The original clear will cost £10.99 a tube, and the smaller tinted versions £7.99 a tube.

What do you think?  Something you'll buy into?