Pulling again from the new (and very pretty) Holiday Confiserie Collection from L’Occitane, you can never really be with too many lip balms, right? Especially with the chilly winds intent on drying out every exposed surface they can get to. The Desert Rose Organic Shea Lip Balm appealed for that intriguing scent description, the always-nice organic factor, and plus, it’s also a…limited edition item - very ooh.

Being enriched with fair trade Shea Butter (10%), this Limited Edition Desert Rose Organic Shea Lip Balm is said to help moisturize, repair and protect dry and chapped lips. Results will restore the comfort, suppleness and softness of your lips. And with the use of Moroccan Rose extract in the formula, it’s suppose to delicately perfumes lips with a fruity and tangy scent.

Design + Application: I’m sure we’re all aware that lip balms can come in many shapes and sizes, solids and…the less-solid jelly form. For this particular one, you can see that it’s a tube, which actually looks really nice and sort of reminiscent of toothpaste or creams that you might get. The only thing is that they didn’t really build an applicator into the top for an easy application. While you can put your lips to the metal top…swiping with it sort of hurts. And if you try to do it outside in the cold…it’s not that appealing.

I’m not that bothered by it, since if I use finger to apply, there’s not really a color residue since it comes out a super pale yellow/almost-clear for the formula. But you know, it would’ve been nice to make it more friendly to apply without dirtying up a finger.

Formula: I actually really like the formula of this lip balm. Hearing Shea Butter, I expected it to be slightly on the thick side, though somehow L’Occitane managed to make this lip balm have the coverage of a heavy jelly-type lip balm (a la Vaseline-esque) but not really sit on your lips like that. You can definitely feel it on there but it ends up pretty light that you don’t feel like you have a bunch of goop sitting.

It almost seems like those solid beeswax-like lip balms but somehow it’s more liquid-y (which also brings that slight shine). This strange combination-description really lets you feel as though your lips are protected from the elements though, since it sits as a not-heavy but moderate barrier for your lips.

Described to have a “Desert Rose” scent, I was intrigued to find out what that would be like. Though in smelling this, it gives off more of a lemony scent and maybe a hint of rose if you…keep sniffing it for a while (which isn’t really ideal). But it’s okay, since at least it’s not a bad scent, just don’t expect any rose aromas to really come through.

Overall: Thumbs up completely! With a slightly different feeling than regular lip balms, I like that this one is able to sit on my lips without being a bother. The natural shine from the ingredients makes it a convenient item to have to nourish your lips but also make them a little prettier at the same time.

At $12, it’s not a bad price, considering it’s limited edition (so you might as well, before it’s too late!) and you get a lip balm that is full of good and organic ingredients. Though if you’re expectant of a rose-scented lip balm to add to your collection, this one might not be the one…unless you’re okay with a lemons-for-roses trade-off.

Score: 5/5

(Disclaimer: L’Occitane’s Desert Rose Organic Shea Lip Balm was provided to me for review purposes. This review is purely my opinion.)