Mentha Lip Cordials by C.O. Bigelow - the Sweet Tastes of Winter on Your Lips

Amid the recent bustle of Christmas shopping, I discovered a new lip gloss by C.O. Bigelow from Bath & Body Works. They had released special editions for the winter and the selection offered flavors that would remind people of their favorite holiday beverages. The flavor variety included: "Vanilla Cream Eggnog," "Hot Buttered Rum," "Warm Spiced Cider" and "Triple Hot Chocolate." My current lip gloss supply maws running low, so I decided to give these a chance since they appeared fun and would be only available for a limited time. I purchased all of them except for the "Hot Buttered Rum" flavor and took them home to try them out.

Each individual lip gloss comes in attractive and festive packaging. I would have to say my most favorite flavors are the "vanilla Cream Eggnog" and the "Triple Hot Chocolate" ones, although my sister has mentioned that the "Hot Triple Chocolate" one gives off an unpleasant smell. The manufacturer claims that this is made with 100% all natural flavor, contains zero calories, and provides a shimmering high shine.

I only have a few complaints about this lip product. One is that it is not completely natural; two, the price, and three this does not stay on long enough. Although the packaging boasts that this product contains all natural flavoring, one can clearly see by the ingredients label that that's about as natural as this lip gloss goes. Also, although it does make your lips super shiny upon first application, the shine and shimmer eventually wear off, and almost much too fast.

Each individual lip gloss retails for $7.50 for a half-ounce tube. However, Bath and Body Works usually offer their lip products on sale for five dollars each or a "Buy two, and Get one free" offer, which is around the same amount that I purchased mine for. Paying $7.50 for each is definitely on the pricy range, and even purchasing these for five dollars can be a bit overboard. I would say that these are definitely fun to at least try out once since they are winter flavors and will probably only be available once a year (although this is the first time I've seen Bath & Body Works offer these). Since they are not made from natural ingredients, I would not recommend whopping out the money for this when you can get something that is less artificial and synthetic and also has great flavors to choose from.