Kiehl's Lip Balm #1 in Mango

*This item was sent for review. All opinion is 100% honest. You can read my full disclosure here.*

I'm gonna be honest with you guys. I wanted to love this lip balm sooo bad because of the fact that it was sent to me as a gift, but... Let's just say it's very, very complicated.

$9.00/£9.50

It says on the tube:

"Temporarily protects and helps soothe dry lips. Helps shield lips from the drying effects of wind and cold weather. Apply liberally to the lips and allow an excess of the balm to be absorbed."

As soon as I read that, my expectations sky rocketed. My first thought was "this thing must be great!". Well... Ok, I'm gonna start with the negative.

The only negative thing I could say is that it numbed my lips. You know when you buy a certain lip product and as soon as you apply it, you feel like it tingles but in a way that is making your lips feel weird and numb? Well that's how mine felt the first time I applied it. At first I thought it was me, like I was allergic to an ingredient in it or something, but after my friend tried it and said the same, I knew it wasn't just me. Now, I have been using this a lot since I received it and I must say that every time I applied it, the numbing feeling felt less and less noticeable. I think it's just a matter of your lips getting used to the ingredients or maybe it goes away overtime? I just know that I do not like that feeling. At all. Oh and also it has parabens in it which is not really a problem for me but I do know some people don't like that and the lasting power is not that great. (Update: I applied it while writing this review and my lips did not feel numb at all. Why, oh why do you play with my emotions like this, lip balm?!)

But, wait! There are positive things about this lipbalm. Actually quite a few. The best one for me being the smell. It smells amazing! Just like mangoes but a bit sweeter. (but it does not taste like mangoes, beware!) Apart from the numbing, it is actually very moisturizing and light (even tho it looks thick in the swatch). I was impressed! It is a bit, I don't know if greasy is the word for it, but it feels soft and kind of oily (ok, so maybe greasy is the word for it, but I don't mind). It is not sticky at all, not one bit. It really does shield your lips from wind and cold too. I was sitting on my bed with my fan on a low setting about three meters from me and I felt the air on my face but not so much my lips. I mean, I did feel a breeze but not as strong as the rest of my face or body and it didn't feel cold either. Or maybe it was just because my lips were numb? Now I don't know, gah.

So yes, if you can look past the parabens, numbing or don't experience it on yourself, this lip balm would be perfect for winter months. Even with the numbing, I found a perfect use for it; on top of any not-very-moisturizing lipstick. It's great cause it gives good shine, it makes the lipstick look better aaaaand, it doesn't sting. Heck yeah! So I would definitely be using this puppy up and if the numbing goes away, I'd think about purchasing.

Fhew! That was a whirlwind of emotions, wasn't it? What do you think? Does this happen to you with some lip products? Would you try it in store and see if it doesn't feel weird to you or would you just look past it? I really wanna know!