What it is: Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer in Nutmeg.

The wear: As expected, this wears like a nice, light lip balm. The colour is sheer, lasting 2-3 hours, and you get the expected refreshing, pepperminty tingle when you apply or reapply. It’s on the moisturizing side, but slightly less so than the original Burt’s balm — for a tinted lip balm, it’s pretty moisturizing, but if you were hoping to use it in place of your normal lip balm, you might need a little more oomph.

Then again, I do expect a lot out of my lip balms! This is just as moisturizing as, say, a ChapStick or tube of Nivea, but those with dry lips would need to either layer this or use something a little more moisturizing in the night. If you have normal lips, though, I think you’d be totally fine with a Lip Shimmer on it’s own.

The vibe: I didn’t swatch Nutmeg for months. Literally: the poor thing just sat in a box. Unloved and alone. Cold. Terrified. Desola–

Erm, anyhow, it looked like it wouldn’t be my thing, y’know? About a week ago, though, while procrastinating some readings out of sheer boredom, I gave it a swatch…

…and immediately thought of NARS Orgasm. Peachy-pink base with gold microshimmer? Ding ding ding! Hey there! It’s a darker and more peach (less pink,) but they definitely have the same vibe. I mean, they’re not dupes, so don’t plan on smudging this one one cheek and buffing Orgasm onto the other*, but one is definitely reminiscent of the other!

*please never do this. I can’t imagine how icky it would be! Lipstick as blush, yes. But lip balm? Not recommended — you’d need so much for a tint that it would feel like a gross mess :/

The ingredients:

Ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, cera alba (beeswax, cire d’abeille), candelilla cera (euphorbia cerifera, cire de candelilla) wax, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, lanolin, theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, cera carnauba (copernicia cerifera, cire de carnauba) wax, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil (huile de colza), limonene.
May contain+/-: CI 77491/77492/77499 (iron oxides), mica, CI 77891 (titanium dioxide), CI 75470 (carmine), CI 778161(tin oxide).

Try it if:

• You’re a NARS Orgasm fan! (I am; I’ll admit it.) Or if you’re a fan of other medium-toned peachy to peachy-pink shades ;)
• You’re neutral, warm, or cool-toned. Like with Orgasm, this would really work on anyone — sure, the shimmer’s gold, but it’s very finely milled and is on top of a very versatile base!
• Like I do, you love finely milled shimmer. I hate anything encroaching on “glitter” when it comes to my lips, and this is just perfection.

Skip it if:

• You’re allergic to lip products with peppermint
• You like BIG shimmer (try these glosses instead, if you do! Or these lipsticks.)

The verdict? I really liked Nutmeg, in the end. I don’t love it so much that I’d wear it every! single! day!, but it’s definitely worth the meagre price tag of just $5 US ($6 CAD.) It’s not dramatic by any means, but in the stead of a normal lip balm, it’s quite pretty and easy to wear — you’ll never have to worry about matching it to your makeup, or staying in your lip lines!

Remember how I was disappointed by Burts’ Super Glossy line, because it wasn’t… glossy? Well, this is exactly what you think it’ll be, and it does a darn good job of fulfilling its role. As they say, “a kiss of colour and pearlised shine add a hint of glamour to our world famous lip balm”!

Availability: Well.ca, drugstore.com, Ulta, Macy’s. (Yes, I just said Macy’s. Why they  carry this, I do not know. But they do!)