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2 February 2014

Let Them Eat Cake Lip Balm



A few years ago, when myself and my best friend had left our Christmas shopping to the last possible moment, we popped into the Lush store on Kingston High Street - enticed by the colourful displays and beautiful smells that were wafting out onto the street. It was getting late, the rain was pelting down and our muscles were weary with excursion, and with a few presents still to find, we thought Lush was a good a place as any. As it turned out, this was the first time that either of us had ever been into a Lush store, and we were instantly bowled over by the colourful products and wonderful fragrances that greeted us - it was like something we'd never seen before.

We browsed for a bit, lapping up the experience; sniffing and caressing a large majority of the products before each deciding on a couple of purchases we were going to make that evening. However, it was while I was paying for my products that I noticed a jar of silver tins in front of me, filled to the brim with something called 'Let Them Eat Cake'. Upon seeing the word 'cake'  I was instantly transfixed, and couldn't help but snatch up a couple on the whim - promptly leaving the store before I was enticed by anything else.
What started as a compulsive decision, turned out to be one of the best purchases I have ever made from the company. Simply put: this lip balm is like everything Christmas packed into a tin. Packed full of oranges and lemons, currants and sultanas, vanilla, sherry and treacle, this balm is a feast for your chops, and one of the tastiest lips balms ever (should I really be eating this?)

The main reason that I rate this lip balm higher than other variations, even though I don't think it is anywhere near as moisturising as many of Lush's other products, is because of its potent and very gorgeous smell. With a sultana and raisin infusion being one of the main base ingredients, LTEC is very reminiscent of mince pies dusted with icing sugar - a sweet, fruity scent with the tartness of the sherry and the zest of the citrus elements. 

What gives this lip balm its creamy, foody smell is the inclusion of both shea butter and vanilla absolute. Together, these two components bring all of the fruity elements together and wrap them in a warm blanket of vanillary goodness. You can smell every ingredient present here, which gives it incredible depth and longevity - it's a product that dominates over other fragrances in a room, so if you're not a fan of something that'll turn heads, this might be one to avoid.

One of the difference between this product and nearly every other Lush balm I've tried, is the consistency. Let Them Eat Cake is far oiler than any lip balm I've ever tried, probably due to the large list of different components that have been combined to make this product. You only have to touch the surface to realise that it doesn't set into a hard balm like you would expect it to - it's almost like a tin of semi-melted butter in that way. For this reason, you need to be very careful when handling and using LTEC because it would be very easy to use too much and waste the product. This is a lip balm that doesn't fare well being carted around in a handbag either, as the product will run when left tilted. For this reason, I would be very careful if you choose to carry this around with you, and I certainly wouldn't recommend that you expose it to any form of heat or bright light. 

Despite these disadvantages, I found that it left my lips feeling really soft and well-nourished. When I first applied it, I was disheartened to discover that it didn't feel particularly moisturising when I compared it to the likes of Buttered Brazils or Eggsnog. The product tends to coat the surface of your lips and create a shiny, slightly greasy wall. However, unlike other lip balms, Let The Eat Cake doesn't feel as it penetrates and absorbs into the skin, even though it does very effectively. However, I was surprised to find that within a matter of hours, my sore and chapped lips appeared to have healed quite noticeably, and within a matter of days, they were replenished enough that I could stop using the lip balm.

What I will say is that this is a product for those who don't appreciate heavy lip balms, or ones that are too glossy and rub off at the drop of a hat. Once LTEC has been applied, the oils and butters nourish the lips immediately and you're left with lips that look slightly shiny and feel instantly smooth, but don't feel as if there's lots of product sitting on your skin.                                                                                                   

Overall, while I do tend to prefer the thicker lip balms, Let Them Eat Cake smells far too good to ignore, and it's one I will always go back to, time and time again. This is one that I would recommend you use after applying a tint or lip stick, to keep your skin soft without adding on a thick layer of unwanted grease. While this will never be able to replace actual cake, it's still mouth-wateringly beautiful, and easily one of the best 'foody' smells from Lush.

Quantitative Ingredients: Organic Olive Oil (Olea europaea), Currant, Sultana and Raisin Infusion (Ribes rubrum), Japan Wax, Fresh Lemon and Fresh Orange Peel Infusion (Citrus limonum, Citrus Aurantium dulcis), Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Plum Kernel Oil (Prunus domestica), Flavour, Sherry, Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Cognac Oil (Vitis vinifera), Glycerine, Organic Black Treacle, *Cinnamal, *Citral, *Eugenol, *Gernaiol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Limonene, *Linalool, Methylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £6.75 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2008.


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