Beauty Review: Kiehl's Lip Balm in Hue No. 30G

So, I'm pretty much off lipstick. I mean, if I were auditioning for "American Idol" or making my debut in society, I'd probably wear lipstick. It would have been an absolutely perfect, plush red from Chanel before I found out that Coco shacked up with a Nazi during the occupation; now it would probably be the very similar, but slightly less opulent and therefore slightly less satisfying, Urban Decay Jezebel. If I needed something a little darker, a little more earty and mysterious, I would go with Lola creme lipstick in Paris. But, under ordinary circumstances, lipstick is just too much. I've become a big fan of gloss, but I'm finding that it just doesn't work for me in wintertime. With a comfy, no-nonsense, WASPy wool sweater, for example, super-shiny and possibly shimmery lips just look odd. With a fuzzy turtleneck, glossy lips make me feel like I'm back in junior high ski club, which is not an unambiguously good feeling. That pretty much leaves lip balm.

The greatest lip balm of all time is, of course, Kiehl's #1. A very nice Kiehl's employee at the East Village store turned me on to this product when I was stocking up on Creme de Corps, preparing for a move to Anchorage. In fact, when I told her I was going to be living in Alaska, she threw in the lip balm for free. I made it through an Arctic winter without ever experiencing chapped lips, and I've been a fan of balm #1 ever since.

Recently, Kiehl's introduced a couple of tinted lip balms, thereby offering a solution to my winter lipcolor dilemma. There are two shades. I have hue 30G. Straight from the tube, it's pinky-red. On the lips, it's incredibly subtle—like nature, but a little better. It's got a nice sheen, but it stops well short of glossy. It's wonderfully moisturizing, and it has the same protective powers as Kiehl's original lip balm. It is, in short, proving to be the perfect cold-weather lip treatment.

If you live in NYC, you know where to get Kiehl's. If, like me, you live in Ann Arbor, you'll find it at Bivouac on State St. Otherwise, you can order it from Kiehls.com.

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Beauty Review: Kiehl's Lip Balm in Hue No. 30G

So, I'm pretty much off lipstick. I mean, if I were auditioning for "American Idol" or making my debut in society, I'd probably wear lipstick. It would have been an absolutely perfect, plush red from Chanel before I found out that Coco shacked up with a Nazi during the occupation; now it would probably be the very similar, but slightly less opulent and therefore slightly less satisfying, Urban Decay Jezebel. If I needed something a little darker, a little more earty and mysterious, I would go with Lola creme lipstick in Paris. But, under ordinary circumstances, lipstick is just too much. I've become a big fan of gloss, but I'm finding that it just doesn't work for me in wintertime. With a comfy, no-nonsense, WASPy wool sweater, for example, super-shiny and possibly shimmery lips just look odd. With a fuzzy turtleneck, glossy lips make me feel like I'm back in junior high ski club, which is not an unambiguously good feeling. That pretty much leaves lip balm.

The greatest lip balm of all time is, of course, Kiehl's #1. A very nice Kiehl's employee at the East Village store turned me on to this product when I was stocking up on Creme de Corps, preparing for a move to Anchorage. In fact, when I told her I was going to be living in Alaska, she threw in the lip balm for free. I made it through an Arctic winter without ever experiencing chapped lips, and I've been a fan of balm #1 ever since.

Recently, Kiehl's introduced a couple of tinted lip balms, thereby offering a solution to my winter lipcolor dilemma. There are two shades. I have hue 30G. Straight from the tube, it's pinky-red. On the lips, it's incredibly subtle—like nature, but a little better. It's got a nice sheen, but it stops well short of glossy. It's wonderfully moisturizing, and it has the same protective powers as Kiehl's original lip balm. It is, in short, proving to be the perfect cold-weather lip treatment.

If you live in NYC, you know where to get Kiehl's. If, like me, you live in Ann Arbor, you'll find it at Bivouac on State St. Otherwise, you can order it from Kiehls.com.