Chapstick, anyone?

The Santa Anas are blowin' here in sunny SoCal, and that means the dry. Dry air, dry skin, dry lips, dry hair. DRY. Painful, itching, burning, stinging dry. And as luck would have it, the chapstick I love and have managed to nurse through the last 3 years got down to the very last bit and then I forgot and left it sitting in the car in the heat, and it melted. So I went online to order more, and...

THEY DON'T MAKE IT ANYMORE! So my soul cried out with The Sound of Ultimate Suffering. You may have heard it. It was pretty tragic.

Because I am sensitive to a lot of the stuff they put in lip product. Carnuba Wax? Worst sore throat EVAR. And beeswax? Just makes my lips feel supercoated, tight, and sealed, which is just unpleasant. Actually, a lot of the stuff they put in lip product makes my throat hurt, which, frankly, precludes using a lot of stuff, because who wants to walk around with a sore throat all day? Carmex doesn't do that to me, but it *does* make my lips feel shellacked. The stuff I had that I loved was a sample someone sent me that never made my lips feel shellacked or my throat hurt. What it did do was make my lips feel a lot better. I had to reapply it more often than I would have preferred, but that's a small price to pay for soft, moist lips. Plus, it didn't taste weird or like food, which is a big plus in a chapstick, in my book. And, it was all natural.

So I went down to Whole Foods and stood in the beauty section, forlornly looking for either chapstick or someone to help me, neither of which were at all in evidence. So I asked a fellow shopper if she liked her chapstick, and she does (eco sensual balm, by peacekeeper), but tho' she got it at WF, she got it at a different one, and I couldn't find it there. :( So I ended up with two others, once I finally found the chapstick display: Shea Butter Vanilla Lip Balm by Mode de Vie ($5.50), and Pineapple Quench lip balm ($3.50)* by Alba.

* yes, that's right, $9 on chapstick. ::sigh::

The Alba brand has 3 different waxes in it, but I was desperate, so since none of them were carnuba wax, I tried it.

Meh.

Smells like a pineapple Life Saver, tastes lightly of bubble gum with a hint of pineapple. Goes on smooth, but still has enough of a shellacked feeling for me not to be crazy about it. It will do in a pinch, but I would prefer something else. Lasted for a decent chunk of time, though. Around 3 hours, even after eating and drinking right after I applied it.

Sadly, the Mode de Vie stuff will not do at all. It goes on super smooth and feels pretty good at first, but despite reading the ingredients over 2x in the store, I missed carnuba wax, second from last. Within 2 seconds of application, I had a sore throat, dry and scratchy at the back and near my esophagus and with the extra added bonus fun of the feeling of having tried to swallow a sticker which has now lodged in the left side of my throat. AND I feel like coughing. So definitely a no on the Mode de Vie, which would have been no anyway, because I just put it on 10 minutes ago, and my upper lip already feels tight and shellacked. No thank you.

I did a search for the PeaceKeeper stuff (no wax!) and found out GNC carries it. There's one near my house, so I'll try for that this weekend and let you know how it goes.

Actually, I make a skin & lip serum myself that's awesome, but since it's all oils and some glycerine, it doesn't stay for a long time. It works awesomely, but by the time you let your lips really chap, it's not enough in the wear department. It gives you awesomely soft lips, however. At least anywhere the skin hasn't died. Once the skin is actually so dry it's basically dead, it won't help you at all. I wear it under chapstick, and it helps combat the shellac feeling AND lends added moisturizing repair power.

Aside from that, the fires have finally died down, and we have cleanish air to breathe once more. I might even be able to breathe again soon. I really feel for people here like Em's hubby, who has asthma. I don't know how he's been managing the largest part of this week. Poor guy. :(

So um, that's it for me. I really wish I had fun, exciting stuff to report, but wow, is it boring since June. The fun events like Jon's wedding are awesome, but mostly it's really yowza in the lame department. Day to day, I mean. The Big Chain Bookstore offered me a seasonal position - 7-11am Tuesday - Saturday. I'm considering it, but only because it's not unemployment, and one of the reasons given for why I'm such a loser the other day is because omg, I'm taking unemployment. In addition, unemployment is going to run out a mere $4K from now, and if I don't have a job by then, I'm screwed. So yeah, I'm probably going to take the job, despite all the schedule upheaval it's going to cause for all the other occupants of my house. And on that note...

Peace out,
Katie