Lano Lip Balms

The good folks at The Lano Company sent me some of their Lano Lip balms to review a while ago and I put it off because of my aversion to potted balms. That was unfair, I now realize, because theirs is a pretty decent product, so here is a much-awaited writeup.

Price: $6.99 per pot. A liiiittle pricey.

Appearance: Shiny! I was actually sort of amused by how much I liked the metallic screw tops on the clear plastic bottoms.

Glide: Not great. I mean, okay, I have a bias against potted balms in the first place because of the sticky finger thing, but these balms take that to an extreme. Rather that being a bit firm to the touch, as many potted balms are, they are incredibly soft; I would describe it as a Vaseline or VapoRub- like texture (Lano Lip doesn't use wax). The balm is sticky and gooey to the touch but feels okay once it's on.

Flavor/Smell: Lano Lip comes in four varieties: Dreamsicle, Wintergreen, Strawberry and Unscented. The Strawberry and Dreamsicle are pleasant smelling but the Wintergreen is a car air freshener strength of minty. None of them is at all sweet, which is an interesting surprise. You expect the Dreamsicle to taste of citrus but it doesn't. Hey- anything that shaves down the number of ingredients and doesn't enable my licking habit is fine by me.

Lasting Power Fantastic! I could still feel it working even two hours after application. I wish I'd had these when it was colder outside. They would have been great lip protection against the whipping wind.

Product Pluses: SPF 15 in the Strawberry and Unscented, cruelty-free, no beeswax, simple ingredients (lanolin, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil and vitamin E).

I can't stand the goopiness, but I'll get over it for the lasting power. Remember, some people are sensitive to lanolin, so these may not be for everyone.

4 out of 5 tubes.