Guest Post! Pepsi Vanilla Lip Balm

Our intrepid reviewer Pyramus continues his dollar bin journey of discovery...

Price: $1.00 at the Dollarama (see my previous review).

Appearance: Irresistibly charming. The tube looks like a tiny, burly bottle of Pepsi in a shade of plastic that will make you think either "Mmm! Vanilla cream soda!" or "That plastic is twenty years old and is yellower than Grandma's toenails". It's blister-packed onto a card that's also shaped like a bottle of Pepsi. The top third of the bottle (just above the label) is the cap, which pops off to reveal a twist-up stick about one and a half times as wide as a standard tube balm: the bottom quarter of the bottle (just below the label) twists to dispense. It's bulky for a pocket (or, I suppose, a small purse), but it looks great sitting on your desk or nightstand.

Glide: Melty. The stick looks solid, like pure beeswax, but as soon as you apply it to your lips, the heat turns it into a soft, buttery, only slightly waxy balm. If your lips are chapped or dry or otherwise sensitive, it's the best imaginable texture, because there's no painful dragging during application; it just glides on effortlessly. There's also no shine whatever, which, for a guy, is a big plus.

Flavour/Smell: Yum. It smells strongly of frozen cola, that sweet, spicy, citrusy scent that you get from movie-theatre frozen Coke, with an overlay of vanilla. The sweetness has been dialed down, so it's not something you have to sample with your tongue every few seconds until it's gone.

Lasting Power: Excellent; it's good for a couple of hours at least, presuming you can avoid licking your lips, and the product isn't sweet enough to compel you to do that.

Product Pluses/Minuses: Plus- inexpensive. Looks awesome. Smells good. Tastes nice. No shine. Minus- the tube is quite wide, which if you're used to those Jumbo Lip Smackers or have particularly wide lips might not be a bad thing, but it makes application a bit clumsy.

This gets a four out of five: I deducted a mark because the stick is so wide and because the plastic is kind of brittle (I'm on my second one and the cap on both was cracked).

Stay tuned for Pyramus's review on the Coke version next week. Maybe we can do a blind taste test.