I discovered these lip butter balms through a beauty event by BlushPretty last May (2013). What initially suckered me into buying one was the all natural ingredients list and the amazing flavours they had to offer. Seriously, there are only 3 flavours; Peaches and Dream, Chocolate Peppermint, and French Vanilla, as well as an unscented 'Original' flavour, but they all smell delicious enough to eat! I actually enjoy The Original and French Vanilla the most as they smell the most yummiest to me.
If you haven't already heard of KonaKare, it is a small company focused on natural lip and body care run by a couple, Mikayla and Nadim, right out of Toronto. Their balms and other products are all hand crafted, and hand poured, they've actually poured well over 10,000 balms with just the two of them! Products are made in small batches to ensure your purchase is fresh, and only natural ingredients are used -meaning no harsh chemicals, and they are also cruelty-free! You can take a look at the simple ingredients list below..
Ingredients:
Sweet Almond Butter, Mango Seed Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, Candelilla Wax, Beeswax, Monoi De Tahiti Oil, Organic Argan Oil, Vitamin E, Flavour and a Whole Lot of Love.
After purchasing the French Vanilla balm at the Beauty Board Event and receiving another in my Swag Bag for attending the event, I was so in love with these balms that I purchased another bundle of 4 from their website. It arrived quickly and included a personalized note on a hand decorated card which I thought was a really cute and thoughtful touch. Including personalized notes are definitely a great way to show customer appreciation :)
Kona Kare's tubes actually used to look like these (above), but were recently changed to slimmer tubes and also (sadly) I think includes slightly less product. I prefer the older packaging, in the 'regular' black tubes rather than the new skinny tubes and I hope that they will think about bringing them back! The older tubes were basically just a standard lip balm tube, but it was just easier to remove the lid and apply quickly than the newer ones. Along with the packaging change, the formula was actually slightly altered and Argan Oil was added to the list of ingredients.
So what do I really think of them? Well since discovering these a year ago, I've been using them daily because they feel so smooth on my lips. Glides on like butter, and absorbs into my skin and is long lasting which surprised me considering they are such slippery and buttery balms. It feels light on my lips, and completely non-sticky which are huge factors to me when purchasing any lip products, so I was really pleased about that. My lips feel relieved from any dryness after applying. They are moisturizing and as I mentioned before, smell (and taste..) delicious! 'The Original' is again, flavour and scent-free, and I love to wear it to bed when I don't want to smell or taste any specific flavoured balm (it just makes me hungry). Also like to mention that the taste does not bother me like some lipsticks or balms do. The balms are a bit pricey at $12 each or $40 for a pack of 4, but they are currently on special for $8 each or $20 for a pack of 4 which is a much better deal ;)
KonaKare Lip Balms are available on their website with free shipping within Canada! However, if you are international, they do ship worldwide, but shipping costs vary from $8 to the US to $20 to the UK, which might only be worth it if you intend on making bit of a larger order. I am happy to have found this local and natural company and will continue to purchase their balms in the future.
