Epically Epic: Lip Balm Review ft. Ube Halaya, Grapefruit and Ginger Meringue Pie, Chocolate Passionfruit Custard Tart

During my huge custom order from Epically Epic Soap, I decided that I would pick up a lip balm in Ube Halaya, firstly because, Ube Halaya is widely loved by many people on the r/IMAM sub, and also that I have heard some really good things about this lip balm. I personally don't really use lip balms very often as I've had more than a few reactions (allergies) to some store bought ones, so I was mostly interested in the scents for these ones. Epically Epic usually throws in an extra freebie lip balm for orders over $30, but I was lucky enough to get two extras.

Epically Epic has both an online store and an Etsy store and for those in Australia, Femme Fatale is still stocking some of their products. 

This lip balm retails at $3.75 USD on their website (it is slightly more expensive on their Etsy store, and retails for $7.15 AUD on the FF site.) 

Lip balm formula: 

The ingredients list is available on the lip balm itself, which is great. It consists of :

vitamin e, candelilla wax, flavor, natural sweetener, virgin coconut oil, olive butter, olive squalane, olive oil, shea butter, jojoba, mineral color. 

I really do like this formula, and most importantly, I wasn't immediately allergic to it. There are some lip balms which are absurdly soft and just sit on top of the lips in a thin layer of grease, but this is actually immediately moisturising which I appreciate. I also really like that even with some cracked lips, it won't be the type to immediately cave in on itself because it is soft, it actually holds its shape pretty well. Overall, this is actually a pretty good lip balm formula and I can definitely appreciate a lip balm which immediately hydrates my dry lips during the 15 minutes I apply it before going for a matte lip for the rest of the day. Super effective! I enjoy using this, even if it's not the most price efficient way of hydrating my lips (though it is the best smelling). 

Ube Halaya: 

Okay this scent is WOW. I've never had ube halaya, but ube is a super popular ingredient - I used to eat my fair share of ube ice cream. Ube also has a similar taste to Taro - while they're very different, taro being more like a yam, and ube being more just sweet purple potato, I absolutely love the nutty, rich flavor of both - and this lip balm scent absolutely nails it. The most delicious, deluxe, rich ube flavor is the dominant note in this scent, but there is a good dose of this caramel-esque, palm sugar and coconut cream just swirled in. A Filipino friend of mine also recently made me a palm sugar, coconut milk rice pudding and this actually reminds me a lot of this scent too. I really really love this scent, and I would love nothing than to see this as part of their general catalogue in a perfume oil scent. 

Grapefruit and Ginger Meringue Pie:

This is a pretty simple scent, there's a good sweetness to the scent but it mostly smells like a sweet orange soli-note to me, but with a good dash of sweet meringue with its fluffy shiny whipped peaks. I do wish there was more of the spicy ginger and maybe a bitter grapefruit rind in this, but the meringue note is lovely. 

Chocolate Passionfruit Custard Tart :

I don't mind this one! It's not my favorite but it's definitely what it says on the tin, a little bit of a creamy vanilla, a creamy chocolate topped with a slightly fruity sweetness. It doesn't have all the sharp tangy elements of passionfruit, but it's a cute scent. Full disclosure, I have never been a fan of chocolate paired with fruits anyway (sans bananas, maybe strawberries), so this one just isn't really my speed. 

Disclaimer: I bought Ube Halaya with my own money, and the other two were gifts with purchase. I am not affiliated with the house, and all opinions are my own.