Review: eos Tangerine Anti-Bacterial Lip Balm Sphere

Ever since Karen raved about the unconventional looking eos Lip Balm Spheres and how they can double as a lip primer/base, I’ve had it on my list of beauty products to test out. Now having eos’ new Tangerine Anti-Bacterial Lip Balm Sphere in my possession, I can check eos Lip Balm Spheres off my beauty to-do list.

One thing that’s really appealing about this lip balm is it’s overall uniqueness on a variety of levels. On a physical level, you’ll notice that it’s spherical in shape. It may look huge, but it’s small enough to store in a purse, but big enough to not be fumbling too much for it if you’ve got it in a huge purse. After all, how many sphere shaped items do you keep? This is what it looks like closed:

If you’re all about being green, the lip balm sphere is 95% natural, gluten free and not tested on animals. Those allergic to petrol, rejoice — it’s petrolatum free! Not to mention paraben free. CosmeticsDatabase.com also gave it a rating of 1 for toxicity. A rating of 1 is the lowest level of toxicity.

Such a low level makes much sense given that it’s medicated and provides anti-bacterial protection that’s supposed to alleviate symptoms of cold sores and decrease the chances of cough, cold and flu germs entering your body via your mouth. Sadly, I couldn’t test the alleviation of cold sore symptoms as I’ve no cold sores. I’m not so much a fan of the fact that it’s marketed to fight cough, cold and flu bugs. I feel like it misleads a bit. Sure, you’ve got anti-bacterial stuff on your lips, but the truth is — your lips aren’t the only place that needs protection from bugs. In addition, there are no public studies or cases showing that having phenol in this particular product helps.

Since I wouldn’t count on the lip balm sphere for any sort of viral or bacterial protection, I can count on it for two other things: Moisture and the fact that it doubles as a decent lip base/primer. Shea Butter and Jojoba Oil have been proven time and time again to be good at providing moisture. The lip balm sphere also does a fine job as a lip base/primer. Usually when you use any other sort of lip balm as a base, lipstick tends to slide off or lose vibrance. This was not the case when I wore the lip balm as a base for my Lipstick Queen lipstick. The lip balm sphere moisturizes and serves as a lip base/primer — two birds, one sphere. I think eos would do good to market it as also a lip base/primer — just an idea.

Overall, I highly recommend this product more as a lip base/primer and protection for dry lips than for it’s anti-bacterial properties. It’s also a great green option. You can purchase eos Lip Balm Spheres for $3.29 at Rite Aid, Drugstore.com and the official eos site.

(Disclaimer: eos Tangerine Anti-Bacterial Lip Balm Sphere was provided to me courtesy of eos. This review does not reflect the opinions of eos, but of myself.)