Crazy Rumors Lip Balm

I am a lip balm fiend. It started back when I was in elementary school, since I always licked my lips, making them red, raw, and swollen. I started simple: chapstick, then worked my way up to those Bonne Bell Lip Smackers, which had a huge variety of flavors. By middle and high school I was using all-natural and/or environmentally-friendly brands, and by college I added "animal-friendly" to my list of necessary traits of lip balm. Unfortunately, this meant that my once huge collection of lip balm varieties dwindled. Most companies use beeswax or lanolin or honey or something else not vegan to make their products. The few vegan lip balms I've had since are often disappointing: they come off easily, taste/smell funny, go bad quickly, or they melt or separate too easily.

But then I discovered Crazy Rumors.
And I went a little crazy. But I'm glad I did--the lip balm goes on smooth, doesn't feel too greasy, and feels like it lasts for at least an hour. The ingredients are awesome: about half organic, and all natural. That is, you can pronounce everything, and probably even picture it. It helps that they are made in small batches by the couple who owns the company. The flavors are strong, but though they smell sweet and have stevia in them, they aren't sweet at all, so I don't feel like I'm rubbing my mouth with a popsicle or something. They are all an opaque, waxy color, so they won't stain or tint your lips.

As my "small" collection suggests, Crazy Rumors has a variety of flavors. They have multiple lines, each of which contains 4 different flavors. The "Soda pop," "Fresh Squeezed," "A La Mode," "Gumball," and "Candy Cane" lines all sounded a little too fruity and/or Lip Smackery to me, though I did try the Raspberry Sherbert and the Peppermint Stick. Ther sherbert one does smell a bit too fruity for my tastes--I like my lip balms to be a little more subtle, and remind me a little less of when I was 11. The peppermint one is a decent, basic mint-scented lip balm--just what I wanted. The Brew line, however, sounded more up my alley. Tea-flavored lip balm?! I tried the Orange Bergamot/Earl Grey-flavored one and was a little disappointed, because it's really fruity, not too tea-y. Their flavors are strong, but the site says that, because they use all natural flavors, the flavors might fade a little over a year or so. Maybe I'll age my Orange Bergamot lip balm so the flavor mellows ; )

If you're like me and LOVE chocolate and/or coffee, you really should get all the flavors on the Perk line.
They're all coffee-themed, so there is a straight-up coffee lip balm (which I found to be the msot subtle of all the scents; it's barely there, but in a good way), amaretto (which is AMAZING), mocha, and french vanilla (my boyfriend, sitting across the table from me when I first put it on, asked "is that french vanilla coffee?" so their flavoring combination is spot on!). These are my favorite.

They have other line I haven't tried, but have read good reviews of on the ppk forum: Hibiskiss line of lip colors.

Right now, Crazy Rumors is having a HALF OFF EVERYTHING sale, as they (as in, the couple who makes them and their baby) are moving. Use the Voucher code MOVE to receive 50% off your order. This is an AMAZING deal, especially because their homemade, natural, mostly organic, vegan lip balms are now cheaper than most of the low-grade, questionable lip stuff you find at pharmacies.

Note: Crazy Rumors don't endorse this entry or even know it exists. This review is unbiased; I just love sales, lip balm and small family businesses and wanted to pass on the news.