Recently I did some online shopping at Bloomingdale’s. It’s not one of my regular beauty depots (which are Sephora, Ulta, Amazon, and Target.com (sometimes Target in-store too)). But there is no reason for me not to shop there, because, of course, Bloomingdales is a browser click away now, as opposed to half a country away (I do remember the actual stores from my youth in the Northeast, last century! Yeah. It’s been a while!).
I think it was a gift-with-purchase that lured me to the Bloomies site, and further encouraged the inflation of my purchase total. I clicked around inside the “pop-up” “Glowhaus” boutique, where I ended up buying (more) lip products (I don’t need).
Anyhow, that was a ramble. One of these “Glowhaus” offerings was Frank Body Lip Balm (clear). It was totally unknown to me and the right price, so I hauled it. The lip balm comes in a not-trying-to-be-too-glam cardboard outer box. The product squeezes out of its opaque plastic tube a bit slowly because it’s thick. (At first I thought it was a copycat of “Lanolips.” But Frank Body Lip balm, I learned, is slightly sweet tasting and SO MUCH MORE moisturizing than Lanolips (which amazed me).)
I had thought before this that pure lanolin could not be outdone, but I was wrong. I’ve concluded lanolin, like beeswax, is great at sealing in moisture, but can’t seem to draw in any moisture like glycerin or another humectant.
Frank Body lip balm became a regular at my bedside after I “broke it in” / figured out how to squeeze out just the right amount for my lips and maybe even dry cuticles and nostrils. (Sorry if that’s gross. It’s the truth, and I tell it.)
I went back to the beauty section of Bloomingdales.com to check out other Frank Body products, but the brand wasn’t even available and apparently the “Glowhaus” boutique only sold this one Frank Body product temporarily.
Google led me to Frank’s website, which has free shipping. So, obviously that means I bought something (I’m really skilled at justifying my online purchases, by the way). Frank Body is an Australian company, fyi.
For about $12 I bought Frank Body Lip Tint in “Cherry Bomb.” The description said it was a sheer red balm, and sheer is always my preference. (Sidebar: I don’t want “color pay-off,” matte lips, or “all day wear.” I very intensely dislike the full-coverage-color/matte/velvet-finish lip trend and I’m SERIOUSLY not interested in getting one more liquid lipstick in a subscription box. Or I will scream!). I like my lips to look and feel like lips. Anyway, I didn’t need to mull over this second Frank’s purchase before making it. It was an easy sell.
In person this Lip Tint is more black cherry than red cherry, which is ok, even though I had expected a “true red.” But all the positives stack up: it’s sheer, looks natural as opposed to a pair of wax lips, keeps my lips in great, conditioned shape, has no irritating mint or lemon essence (STOP ruining awesome lip products with mint oils, makeup inventors!) feels great, doesn’t cost much for a nice size tube, and ergo I am happy. And a nice little surprise was the cherry taste and smell (subtle though, and not cloying like a Bonne Bell or Lip Smackers chapstick).
I had to break in this tube as well – it was out in my cold mailbox and didn’t want to squeeze out until I massaged it thoroughly and warmed it up. The semi solid state of this balm is a good sign to me, meaning there are prominent natural butters.
Fast forward, and now I’m waiting to receive the Frank Body Lip Tint in “Nude” (actual name is “Send Nudes,” but I’m not gonna call it that, okay?) that I promptly went back to order. Again, I had no reservations about it, as it’s meant to be sheer as well.
I am curious about what smell and taste it will have, though!
Most importantly, the ingredients are straight up clean and recognizeable. Lanolin is first, followed by “fruit oils,” and wax. Need I say, there is no petroleum or chemical suncreen, sure ways to make a product unusable to me.
However, in the ingredients list on Frank’s site, I noticed one ingredient in the Lip Tint that troubles me: fragrance (parfum).* In the US at least, this makes a product a potential allergen and usherer-in of nauseous headaches (again, I’m a bit dramatic sometimes). But in this case the fragrance is either not in the one I received or subtle enough and hypo allergenic enough to pass without much self-nasal scrutiny. Anyway, I like these so much that I am willing to overlook this one issue unless it causes me problems. I also wonder, hope really, that Frank’s follows some higher Australian cosmetic standard than does the US. That will be my next research project, I believe. . .
*However, the ingredients list on the Cherry Bomb box does not mention fragrance, but does list “aroma.” So, maybe Frank’s has removed the fragrance in production . . . ?