By Terry Baume de Rose SPF 15 Luxury Lip Balm Review

According to By Terry, Baume de Rose is "a lipo-regenerating complex made up of Rose Flower Essential Wax with softening and astringent properties, Pastel Oil to boost cell renewal, and Shea Butter with healing and soothing benefits, supplies strength, nutrition and comfort."

SpaceNK asserts that Baume de Rose is, "Bliss for your lips, this ultra-rich, addictive balm has become a cult classic and must-have favourite of Hollywood stars. In an instant, your lips are smoothed, plumped and protected. With its creamy, rose-scented texture it delivers a shiny yet non-sticky, polished finish. An SOS treatment that repairs, nourishes and regenerates. Its multi-protective formula also doubles as a highly effective cuticles treatment. Lips and nails have never looked or felt so good."

Features:
- The Hydroskin complex, a combination of filling spheres and active ingredients of lipid origin, provides optimal hydration.

- Biotechnological ceramides deliver youthfulness and density thanks to their restructuring and firming action and their smoothing effect.

- Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, and Sun Protection Factor 15 protect the lips against the harmful effects of light and help to fight against aging.

- A lipo-regenerating complex made up of Rose Flower Essential Wax with softening and astringent properties, Pastel Oil to boost cell renewal, and Shea Butter with healing and soothing benefits, supplies strength, nutrition and comfort.

The packaging itself is luxe and gorgeous. It is housed in a thick glass pot, and contains a generous amount of product. It just feels lovely in the hand, and for me it looks like a gorgeous shiny bauble!

Anytime there is so much hype surrounding a particular product, I tend to approach it with considerable trepidation. In fact, I often categorically reject overhyped products because they generally fall short of my expectations. In the case of the By Terry Baume de Rose, which has undoubtedly garnered cult status, it exceeded my expectations. Like a shark, I had been circling this product at every By Terry counter that I encountered for quite a while, and finally took the plunge. This luxurious balm had big shoes to fill with respect to my unmitigated love for the Rodin Olio Lusso Lip Balm (reviewed here), and quite frankly I rather doubted that it was going to measure up to the very high bar that I had set for it. I also, rather unfairly, decided to stack the odds against Baume de Rose by testing it out when I had the worst case of chapped lips that I have had in recent memory. I caught that pernicious cold that has been making the rounds lately, and no matter how much lip balm that I slathered on my lips they remained cracked, chapped, and peeling. My lips felt as bad as they looked, and I limited myself to using up my stock of mostly used up lip balms so as not to infect the rest of my stash. After realizing that my lips needed more help than they were capable of giving, I decided to try Baume de Rose. Naturally this took more effort because I had to disinfect my finger before dipping it into the pot, but what I quickly learned was that was truly worth the effort.

The result, without any exaggeration, was that my lips were completely healed within one day of use. You read that correctly. That alone served to mollify the buyer's remorse that I might have felt given the staggering price tag.

Baume de Rose has a rather thick consistency that thoroughly coats the lips without feeling heavy or uncomfortable. It is not sticky in the least bit, and has the perfect amount of cushion. It has the quintessential By Terry rose scent, which I find delightful, but may be problematic to those who avoid scented lip products. While there are detractors who do not like that this balm contains an SPF, I am not among them. I relish the idea that my lips are afforded added protection from the many environmental assaults that I face in Southern California, and will unflinchingly use it at night despite the fact that it contains an SPF because when I wake up my lips feel like velvet.

Baume de Rose imparts a sheer milky pink hue, and it makes my lips appear more plump. In addition to being sumptuous all by itself- it also makes a lovely base for lipstick.

Do you need to spend this much of your disposable income on a lip balm? The short answer is certainly not. There are plenty of lip balms that will keep your lips hydrated and protected at a fraction of the price. Do I regret spending this much money on what is essentially a glorified lip balm? Not even a little bit! Will I repurchase it once I finish this pot? That is a resounding yes. Any product that could heal my war-torn chapped lips in just one day has earned a place in my Holy Grail hall of fame. It has not supplanted the pride of place that Olio Lusso Lip Balm enjoys in my stash, instead they will happily coexist in the realm of my favored lip balms.

Ingredients:

Overall assessment: What can I say, Baume de Rose has earned a place in my heart, and in my stash! I now understand why this product has achieved a cult following, and is a favorite among beauty editors. I now count myself among the converted.

Have you tried Baume de Rose? If so, are you among the converted? Perhaps you are among the people who just don't get why so many people rave about this product. Do tell!

($54.00 for oz. from Bloomingdale's and SpaceNK) (Affiliate Links).