Review: Flourish Bath & Body

Before Ordering: Flourish had been on my to-try list for quite some time, specifically for the lip balms. I realized that I had very little lip balm on hand and decided to place an order.

What I Ordered: Three perfume samples (pomegranate rose, lemon blossom, and applewood), a tube of vanilla mint lip balm, a tube of asian pear lip balm, and a tube of rhubarb glossy lip tint.

Shipping Time: I placed my order on January 25th. I received a shipping notice on January 31st, and my order arrived on February 3rd. It was shipped out of the New England area, which many of you know has been hit repeatedly by snowstorms this winter, so I consider the timeframe to be just fine.

Packaging: Everything arrived in a bubble mailer. Inside, the lip products had been wrapped in tissue, while the perfume samples were placed in a little plastic bag, which was then tucked inside a little paper envelope. The lip balms were shrinkwrapped, but the lip tint was not; my guess is because the oval tube the tints come in is too big for the shrinkwrappers. A business card with a thank you written on it was tucked somewhere inside my order.

Ingredients: Each item on Etsy lists ingredients in the description, which sometimes includes a “may contain” list. The lip products also list ingredients on the tube label, with a “may contain” list on the lip tint.

The Product:

The lip tint leaves a very subtle wash of color on my lips. Being lipcolorphobic, I’m happy with this. The formula is on the firm side due to the waxes, which I also find fine for a tint; if it were too soft, I’d be more concerned about the color migrating onto my face.

Another plus about the tints is they are unscented and unflavored. Most lip products have flavoring or scent added, if not both, so these are definitely worth consideration if you have sensitivities (or just like a plain lip product).

I opened the asian pear lip balm first and couldn’t stop smelling it; a bit pear, a bit apple, all fresh. I tend to have a very hard time tasting the flavor in lip products so I didn’t notice much, but the little whiffs of scent I get while it’s on my lips are delicious.

Admittedly, I ordered the vanilla mint to see if it was an alternative to my favorite lip balm, Coola’s Vanilla Peppermint LipLux. LipLux runs significantly higher in price, not to mention my only way of getting it where I live is to order it online and pay for shipping, easily bumping the price to $16+ USD for a single tube. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the scent is actually stronger in Flourish’s take; Coola’s scent is very subtle and easy to miss. Being that I love peppermint (and too much is never enough for me), I consider it a success.

The balm formula is once again on the firm side, however, it’s made up of very different ingredients from the tint formula, and feels buttery on the lips as it warms up. I keep the asian pear tube at my desk most of the time, and it’s almost half gone. Tip: the shrinkwrappers are perforated, so if you take the top portion off carefully, you’ll be able to keep the tube nice and sleek.

The perfume samples come in standard tiny glass vials. They are tagged with the company and scent. While I’m personally not a fan of tagged vials (I prefer smooth labels), I do like that the tags are very slim (versus the large ones from BPAL, for example).

Pomegranate rose: the pomegranate is dominant at first, but the rose comes out more on the drydown. On me, pomegranate is the main note, but the rose smooths it out a bit and gives it something extra.

Lemon blossom: don’t go by a bottle whiff on this scent; once this starts to warm up it’s lovely. It’s sort of like a sugared lemon, not tart or sour, but slightly sweet. I was afraid the lemon would be too strong but it totally isn’t, in fact, lemon isn’t even the first thing I think of when I smell this; I smell the vanilla floral, and then the lemon notes creep in.

Applewood: I can’t even describe this one. It’s warm in an unfamiliar sort of way, but a little fruity. It morphs a bit on the drydown; it’s easily apple-woodsy when wet, but then it gets a little spicy and everything melds together. This one’s a full-size candidate for me.

Customer Service: I always consider it a good thing when I have no need to contact the company or shop, because it means that all my questions and concerns have been anticipated and answered already. On that note, the “thank you” gets points, of course.

Final Thoughts: