EOS vs Balmi - Battle of the Sphere Lip Balms!

Tuesday 2 October 2012


When I first heard of a British dupe for the ever popular EOS lip balms, I made a mental note to check them out ASAP.  As a lip balm junkie, I always have several on the go at any one time, so what was one more to add to my happy stash party?  Luckily for my bank balance, I had imposed a spending ban on such balms at the time, so I missed out on the hype when Balmi launched in Boots.  But I knew I was going to get one at some point, and lo and behold, one arrived in last month's Joliebox!  So now I can finally do a comparison review, let the battle of the sphere lip balms commence!   

For this versus battle, I am going to compare EOS (which stands for Evolution of Smooth if you were curious) in Summer Fruit and Balmi in Coconut.

Ingredients: When it comes to ingredients, EOS clearly wins for me.  They are 100% natural, 95% organic, are free from parabens, petrolatum, phthalates and the formula includes Vitamin E, Shea Butter and Jojoba Oil.  Balmis on the other hand are mostly all chemical, and include parabens, petrolatum, liquid paraffin etc, but they do have some natural ingredients like shea butter and jojoba oil.  All Balmis come with SPF 15 and EOS have one flavour (Lemon Drop) that has SPF 15.

Flavour/Scent:  Balmis come in 5 flavours: Strawberry, Coconut, Blackcurrant, Mint and Raspberry.  EOS balms come in 6 flavours: Summer Fruit, Lemon Drop, Strawberry Sorbet, Honeysuckle Honeydew, Medicated Tangerine and Sweet Mint.  I find that Balmi flavours come across as very fake and can be more on the subtle side (though the Coconut flavour is quite strong IMO), whilst the EOS flavours are stronger and obviously more natural.


Packaging & Size: EOS lip balms are packaged in a much more bigger and harder plastic sphere and is more egg shaped, whereas Balmis are smaller and have a smooth, slightly rubberized style packaging. However, looks are deceiving; EOS balms have 7g of product, whereas Balmis have 10.5g. Balmis have an attachment at the bottom (see photo above) where you can put it onto keys, bags etc, but if this attachment comes off, the bottom of the balm is left exposed.  EOS balms have no attachment.

 
Texture & Formula: EOS balms have a harder and waxier texture which gives the lips a smooth, semi-matte base which is ideal for applying lipsticks over.  Balmis are much softer and give the lips a glossy sheen.  Moisturising wise, I find that I have to apply Balmis more often throughout the day than EOS, but like for like, they do have similar moisturising properties.

Availability & Price: Balmis are £4.99 each and are available nationwide in Boots.  EOS are an American brand, but are readily available online in the UK via Cutecosmetics, Naturally Fabulous and Naturismo with prices starting at around £4.75 - £5.95 each.  You can also pick up EOS balms via the usual suspects such as Amazon and eBay but you'll likely be paying a lot more.  I would recommend Naturismo because they have free worldwide shipping (and excellent customer service too!).

Which do I prefer? Definitely EOS, I like the texture and flavour a lot more than Balmi and I love that EOS balms are 100% natural and mostly organic too, so I'm happier to pay that little bit extra for them!


Have you tried either of these sphere lip balms? 
 Which do you prefer?


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44 comments

  1. I loved this post! I was thinking about getting a Balmi, but I love my EOS! xx

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    1. I thought the same, glad I held off now though! x

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  2. I only have the EOS and really like it... Doesn't look like i need a balmi, then. :) great comparison post. Xx

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    1. Yeah you definitely don't need both and I rarely ever say that about products lol! xx

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  3. Definitely agree. I also got the coconut balmi in my jolie box and think the flavour is a bit too synthetic and the ingredients aren't great in comparison to EOS xx

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    1. My thoughts exactly, I'll use my Balmi up but I wish EOS had a coconut flavour instead xx

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  4. Makes me glad I own the EOS - I'm yet to use it though. Great comparison :) x

    mezmadeup.blogspot.co.uk

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  5. Actually considered balmi the other day but always eyeing up eos! now I know which to invest in!

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  6. Great post! I've got a similar style battle post planned for scented lip salve :-)
    I was tempted by the Balmi ones, but decided I'd rather spend a little more and get the original EOS, especially as it's all natural xx

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    1. Ooo I'll be interested to read that :)
      Definitely, I think it's best to spend that little bit extra and get something of much higher (and natural) quality xx

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  7. I've wanted to try an EOS balm for ages, so when I saw the balmi ones I was tempted to pick one up. Glad I din't now cos they don't sound that great! x

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  8. I bought some EOS lip balms from eBay last year and I love them. I actually lost my summer fruits one which i'm gutted about, i'm almost positive my dog ate it :-|. I also received the coconut Balmi in my Joliebox but I don't use it, I don't like coconut scented products (other than hair stuff and body lotion) but I tried it anyway and found the texture to be really awful.

    EOS wins in my book, and I defo need to repurchase the summer fruits one.

    Lx

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    1. I'm not so keen on the texture of Balmi either, I like to be able to apply lipstick over the top so EOS will always win that one IMO. Summer Fruits is delish, I've repurchased it at least three times now :) x

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  9. The EOS Strawberry Sorbet is on my wish list :) I need to get it soon, heard so many great things x

    http://daniellabeautyjunkie.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. I've had that one in the past, it's so lovely :) x

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  10. Amazing Post hun! I haven't seen Balmi yet, really want to try them at some point. Might wait till they are on offer though. £5 for a lip balm seems a tad expensive to me :-(

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    1. Thanks Linzi! I think they'll come around on some kind of offer in Boots again, probably before xmas :) x

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  11. I've not tried EOS sounds great (but enjoying using my Balmi too) x

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  12. The Eos sounds quite nice, I like that they are all organic!

    xoxo Bree
    The Urban Umbrella

    http://www.theurbanumbrella.com

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  13. I have an EOS lipbalm, but i hate it..ugh! Maybe it's just not for everyone..
    love your blog btw, keep it going <3

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  14. I've never tried a sphere lip balm before and I really want to! I wish Australia carried those 2 brands! I'll probably put EOS on my wishlist! Thanks for the review!

    ♡ M.May

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    1. Thanks for reading :) You can get EOS shipped to you free from Naturismo if that helps? x

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  15. Great comparison! I've only ever tried Balmi as it came in Joliebox. I was going to buy another for my fiance to stop him stealing it but might buy the EOS one instead xx

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  16. Glad I read this post, I wasnt aware Balmis contain parabens so for that reason I wont be buying any.
    xo

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    1. Yeah the ingredients lists for Balmis isn't all that appealing xx

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  17. EOS is definitely the better version xo

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  18. I've been waiting for a comparison, I'm glad I didn't rush out to try Balmi, the amount of rubbish that's in it is off putting. Goes to show it's rare to beat the original!

    Lucy x

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    1. Definitely! I was quite surprised by the amount of chemicals in Balmi - I thought they would simply rip off EOS in that way and be all natural too! x

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  19. Thank you for doing this review. I have been trying to decide what one to go for. You did this review in 2012 and it is still coming in handy (forl me) and the fact that you included the website Naturismo which do free delivery is brilliant. Have just ordered my Eos Mint! Thank you.

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    1. That's great! Glad you found it helpful - I love ordering from Naturismo, they are fab! Let me know how you get on with your new EOS Mint lip balm :)

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    2. Just got it today. Very speedy delivery. I love it! It is so nice to have a lip balm that gives your lips a matte finish and not a gloss finish.

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    3. Fantastic! I like that about them too, great for layering under lipsticks as well :)

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  20. I like the strawberry sorbet eos a lot. I had a sweet mint one for years but, due to my dislike for mint lip balms, I left it alone and had to scrape it out because it got really... Just weird. I've never tried balmi, but I'd still like to. The other eos I've tried are pomegranate raspberry (awesome), summer fruit (a little sickening, but okay), and lemon drop (literally the best).

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    1. I love the lemon drop flavour, one of my all time favs :)

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  21. I have both Balmi and EOS and Baby Lips (that's another matter) I agree EOS are by far the winner even now in 2016 but Balmi are ok too they are a little mushy once used for a week or so even when kept in cool temps. Eos keep their shape and close fine every time Balmi's tend to lose their lock closed function.

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    1. Definitely, EOS are still the best! I've stopped buying Balmi as I had one that stopped locking and caused a MAJOR mess in my handbag - never again!

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