It’s been boiling in the UK this week, 36 degrees, the hottest days on record. We’ve been in the garden all weekend topping up the tans from the holiday.

My coola organic lip balm arrived from Face the Future in Wakefield with a lovely skincare magazine and a free sample of skincare I’d never heard of which was a very nice touch.

The Coola organic Lip Balm retails for £19 and Face the future are currently offering 20% vat back as they campaign to make sunscreen VAT exempt because it is a vital product for skin health and melanoma prevention, the reason and motivation behind the Coola brand.

A thumbs up for Face The Future too.

I have to say here I paid £37 for both Coola products, the sunscreen and the lip balm and the later found them both brand new on Vinted for a little lower price, £30 including fees and shipping so if you are on a tight budget a search on Vinted might be worth it to save a few quid.

I love the lip balm as much as the sunscreen. It a fat, lipstick style stick with a chocolatey, mocha sweet smell and taste. If you have ever used OGX organic Mocha Expresso shampoo or conditioner it smells exactly like that. It’s a product I stopped using and buying when Johnson and Johnson acquired the brand from its original creator Vogue International. After the baby lotion controversy Johnson and Johnson is a company I avoid completely.

It goes on easy, feels great on the lips, very moisturising and the thing I love the most is the nude tint like a natural nude lip colour so you don’t have to go without that got my lippy on feel.

I use a nude lip liner before applying, I have a great Charlotte Tilbury one that matches perfectly, pillow talk, lip cheat.

I’ve always had a pot of Carmex lip balm handy, I like the watermelon one you can buy in any chemist for less than a fiver that even using every day lasts and lasts but it doesn’t contain the same high sunscreen protection with only 15 spf.

It is an amazing cheaper at £3.59 alternative I absolutely love, always keep handy and have been buying for years.

I am prone to cold sore breakouts, especially on holiday in the heat or the cold. I find if I am diligent with my sun protection on my lips and keep them covered with Carmex they are happening less and less.

I love the Coola organic lip balm The Liplux® Tinted Lip Balm and would definitely recommend it. Much cheaper than a designer lipstick which doesn’t offer protection. If you are happy going aux naturelle and want a budget alternative with no colour just nicely moisturized feeling lips with spf 15 then it’s Carmex watermelon every day of the week.

Both Carmex and Coola are cruelty free brands.

Carmex is a British brand, Coola is American manufactured in San Diego, California