After trying both the Matte Lips balm and brown sugar lip scrub by Not Soap Radio, I decided to expand my collection a bit. When I made a recent order, the only lip product in stock was the Shiny Lips balm, so I started with that. It wasn't my first choice, but I did still want to try it out, since I like a shiny lip look but hate the sticky feeling lip gloss usually gives me.

Shiny Lips is packaged the same way as Not Soap Radio's other lip treatment pots. It comes in a white plastic pot with a black plastic lid. Stickers are stuck on the base of the pot and the top of the lid. Shiny Lips has a bright pink sticker on top with pink lips on it. The bottom sticker states the ingredients and the manufacturer's web site (www.notsoapradio.com). The pot is pretty plain looking and would have benefitted from less cheap-looking stick-on labels, especially for the price. It's approximately 1 inch tall and 1 1/4 inches in diameter, which is about the same size as a Carmex lip treatment pot. The pot contains 1/3 of an ounce of balm. It won't fit well in a pocket, however it's a great size for a bag or purse.

Ingredients:

Petrolatum, Cottonseed Oil, Flavoring.

The ingredient list is very simple, however I feel it is VERY lacking. Petrolatum is also known as petroleum jelly, which is what products like Vaseline are made up of. It's a shiny, greasy ingredient that moisturizes skin well. It's often used on scrapes or cuts to help protect the skin. It works well for dry areas of skin during cold weather, since it protects against burning and chapping. Applying petroleum jelly helps to lock in moisture, since natural moisture in the skin cannot escape through it. Unfortunately, this ingredient is known to clog pores pretty easily, which is bad news for those of us who are acne-prone. I feel I would have liked to see some more natural moisturizers in this, like aloe or vitamin E.

The pictures EdenFantasys provides of Shiny Lips matches the color of what I received. This is a shiny, bright pink balm in the pot. The pictures make it look like there are bits of glitter or something in there, but it's probably just a reflection of how shiny this is. Mine does not contain any glitter. Once applied, Shiny Lips goes on completely clear. Lips will look very shiny, though not as shiny as they would with many lip glosses. I've never really cared for petroleum jelly because of how greasy it feels, so I dislike the greasy feeling of this on my lips. I've used this after exfoliating my lips with the brown sugar lip scrub, and find that this does keep my lips from feeling dried out. How long this will last after application really depends on what you're doing. Any actions with your mouth, like eating, drinking, or kissing, will wear away the balm. If it's allowed to simply sit on your lips, it will last for at least a couple of hours before you need to reapply.

I like the flavor and scent of this. It's sweet and sugary like bubblegum, which matches the color perfectly. It can be tasted lightly on lips after application. The scent isn't too strong, either. It smells wonderful in the pot if you put your nose right up to it. Once applied, I cannot smell it at all.

This can easily be washed off with some soap and warm water. For hygienic reasons, I would make sure to wash your hands before and after applying this lip gloss. Using it with dirty hands can put a lot of bacteria in the pot. If you have longer nails, you may want to use q-tips or something to apply this, as it is easy to get the balm underneath nails.

My feelings on Shiny Lips are so-so. I like the color and flavor. However, the packaging is plain. I think the price for the amount of balm you get is a bit ridiculous. It's $4.99 for essentially flavored petroleum jelly. I think you would be better off buying a small jar of Vaseline or a store brand version, since it would be much less expensive and you'd get more product. It would make an okay gift if paired up with other Not Soap Radio beauty products. While this provides a great amount of shine minus that sticky lip gloss feeling, so will Vaseline.

I use this over another lip balm that I cannot stand the taste of. This other balm moisturizes my lips pretty well, but I've just come to hate the taste of it. Shiny Lips has a good flavor and locks in the vitamins the base lip balm is providing, which seems to make my lips look a bit more healthy. On just my lips straight, the feel of this balm drives me crazy. It doesn't feel so bad if there's something between my lips and this.

My opinion on this lip balm hasn't really changed. It's an okay product to offer shine to lips, but I'm not really liking the heavy, greasy feeling that is typical of petroleum jelly lip products. I do like that it isn't as sticky as the typical lip gloss that comes in a tube.