Love Me Tender

while visiting the MAC counter the other day, i came upon their new summer release of Tendertones Lip Balms. these little glass pots contain a product that combines the thick, smooth feel of a balm with the color and slip of a gloss while having the added benefit of SPF 12. never having tried one until that day, i was really surprised by how addicting the feeling of that balm was! they almost felt like a thicker version of Vaseline on your lips, but in a really good way-- not the super greasy, slippery Vaseline-feel but much nicer and somehow...soothing. i only tried on a few of the lighter colored Tendertones which had basically no color payoff, so i can't speak for the deeper colors, but $14.50 seems pretty steep to me for a pretty much clear lipbalm. i'll stick to Aquaphor for my slick lip needs! and there's always the ick-factor of the lip product in a pot: they may look cute, but most likely you'll be using your finger to apply and then you're stuck with sticky-finger-with-nowhere-to-go syndrome. not good! the only lip product that i've found that is worth having sticky-finger syndrome is NARS Chelsea Girls Lip Lacquer, a gloss that needs to have a full-length post devoted to it (it's THAT good my friends!). if you have money to burn, and don't mind running around with your finger held up in the air until you can find a tissue, then purchase away! i wouldn't mind having one of these to toss in my purse, but i can think of other things i need first.

Tendertones are available in nine (soon to be ten, according to the website) colors and retail for $14.50.