Review: The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Dessert Lip Balm #1 Strawberry vs F21 Love & Beauty Fruit Lip Pot

Hello all! I had been eyeing this The Face Shop lip balm for a good while mostly for its cuteness but I was interested in the colour and how it may wear on the lips. I had found a number of sites selling the honey and orange versions for cheap but were out of stock; the strawberry often was out of stock or at an inflated price due to limited quantities. I saw it on Amazon (months after purchasing the knockoff version) for a decent price, and pounced.



Since my last review of this kind was pretty bloody popular, I thought I'd continue with another comparison review. This time, I'll be comparing The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Dessert Lip Balm, in #1 Strawberry, to it's knock-off, F21 Love & Beauty Fruit Lip Pot. Mentions in this post of The Face Shop (TFS) will be in pink and on the left side of the photos while Love & Beauty (L&B) will be listed in blue, and on the right-hand side. Enjoy, under the cut!







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TFS

L&B

TFS

L&B

L&B lip gloss



Let's evaluate the glosses individually! 💪💪





the face shop lovely me:ex dessert lip balm, #1 strawberry



If you inhale deeply, the scent of The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Dessert Lip Balm is like sweet strawberries and sugary sweet candy combined. Sometimes, it's just nice to unscrew the lip and smell it The lip balm swatches on the skin as a clear with a cranberry red tint, and spreads easily across the skin, as shown in my pictures below.



On the lips, it spread easily and evenly. The balm appears glossier than expected--my lips are more pigmented so the tint doesn't show up as well as it did on my forearm. I tested this at work for about a week and while I did have to apply after about 3 or 4 hours (between drinking water and talking), my lips did stay soft. Let's evaluate the glosses individually! 💪💪If you inhale deeply, the scent ofis like sweet strawberries and sugary sweet candy combined. Sometimes, it's just nice to unscrew the lip and smell it The lip balm swatches on the skin as a clear with a cranberry red tint, and spreads easily across the skin, as shown in my pictures below.On the lips, it spread easily and evenly. The balm appears glossier than expected--my lips are more pigmented so the tint doesn't show up as well as it did on my forearm. I tested this at work for about a week and while I did have to apply after about 3 or 4 hours (between drinking water and talking), my lips did stay soft.









f21love & beauty fruit lip pot

When I went to swatch the L&B lip balm on my forearm, it didn't spread cleanly and instead, balled up and clung to the top part of the swatch. Yikes!





Applying on my lips was easier but the balm felt waxy and was hard to spread the balm on both lips. It appears clear but shiny on the lips and lasted for about an hour, tops. I tested it across a week at work, using a tiny amount each time and would have to re-apply. I instead would apply another lip tint. I didn't like the scent or tasting the balm in any way.

The scent of L&B's version of the Lovely Dessert lip balm definitely leans strongly to the artificial side. It does smell sweet but like Vaseline and Dollar-Store level kids makeup combined with plastic.



final verdict

Fruit Lip Pot

F21

Otherwise, I recommend offering your support to The Face Shop and enjoy the original version, for a couple dollars more and in two additional flavours (Orange and Honey). Order online from Amazon, RRS or eBay if there is not a physical The Face Shop near you.

where to buy

The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Dessert Lip Balm, #1 Strawberry

₩5,250, originally

₩7,000

F21 Love & Beauty Fruit Lip Pot

First, here's a jam. Yixing/Kris Wu came out a solo track, JULY and I'm digging the song and MV. 👌👌👌👌So let's compare!!!At first glance, the two lip glosses look very similar but there differences. The body of both lip glosses are the same colour but the lids and the miniature honey wands are different.- brown lid, orange-yellow honey dipper- black lid, brown-yellow honey dipperWithout too much eye strain, you can see a; the original on the left is a cranberry wine red while the right is a blood-orange red with pink undertones.The placement of the seeds differs: the originalversion (left) is a fairly spaced-out, even design while theversion (right) has each seed rotated in a different direction. Also, thehas "fruit lip pot" printed across the pink portion of the body of the gloss while the original has hat area blank, but prints "dessert lip balm" below, on the gloss pot portion, in a less conspicuous place.I'd recommend this cute balm to those who like minimal makeup. It's ideal for a simple, effortless look, especially if you are a beginner to makeup and do not yet have a good collection (AB and Western products), or say, do not like loud lip products. Of course, to Korean beauty product collectors and cute stuff aficionados, too.A bit of joke to be honest, but F21 seems to be cleaning up its act as of late by selling actual Korean beauty and skincare products on its online store front. Whether the company plans to branch out and offer the same products instores (replacing the knockoff with original versions!) is another matter, but something to look forward to.Bothcute and if you still see theat your local--if you don't have access to buying things online and are younger--buy it.You can enjoy a better scent and a longer lasting lip balm, with maximum cuteness!- previously available on f21.com and in some stores.Thanks for reading!