Propoline Lip Aid w/Cocoa Butter

Really? It's called Propoline? It sounds like a mix between propanol and gasoline. Wait, what's that you say? Oooh, it's named after propolis, "a valuable and unique substance produced by bees in order to build a protective, sterile wall around the hive". That makes more sense. Those crazy Greeks and their root words. (I will pronounce it pro-poh-LI-neh. Sounds less...gasoline-y.)

This lip balm comes to us from the bee-loving Greek company Apivita, which has a huge line of all-natural body products and a very corporately pretty website.

Price: $5.59 on Drugstore.com. $7 on Amazon.

Appearance: A bit wider and taller than a normal tube with a lipstick-style cover and twist mechanism a la Labello. The actual amount of lip balm you get is actually less than the amount in a standard stick! Is the packaging an overcompensation for something?

Glide: Holy smokes. I actually have to pull my face away from the tube as I'm applying to be sure that the whole thing doesn't melt all over my lips and engulf my face and I'm not found dead the next day drowned in pool cocoa butter and beeswax. It's like you're applying lotion directly to your lips. I guess it's not terrible, but I'm not used to such a squishy texture.

Flavor/Smell: The smell in the tube (which is always more concentrated) is heinous. Absolutely heinous. I can't tell if it's the plastic or the lip balm. Once it's on your lips (if you can get it there) it smells like cocoa butter. No taste.

Lasting Power: I gotta say, it hangs on for a good long while. It over-douses the lips with moisture at first, but if that's what you're in the mood for then it's a welcome feeling.

Product Plusses: SPF 15. All natural ingredients, or so the company says. I can't pronounce some of the ones listed (polyglyceryl-2 sesquiiostearate?), but many are familiar (olive oil, coca seed butter, etc). If you're allergic to peanuts beware- it contains peanut oil.

It's an okay stick and it does have that SPF 15, but given the price, the amount of it you get and the unpleasant application/smell experience, it's nothing to write home to Greece about.

3 out of 5 tubes.