As an avid snacker, I probably go through lip balm more quickly than people who eat less frequently. Side note: I’m not sure how people go on the OMAD (one meal a day) diet. My stomach would protest too much, methinks. I’m constantly wiping it off before I start eating, then reapplying after I’m done eating, only to have to wipe it off again when I inevitably get a rumbly in my tumbly again. Maybe that’s why I can’t help buying lip balms when I see them in the…

Now that the days are getting chillier, my lips need more hydration and protection from wind. That’s why I seldom leave the house without a lip balm in my handbag—preferably one that includes SPF, because sun protection is always in season. Lately, I’ve been using Blistex Lip Vibrance SPF 15 because it was in the last Walmart Beauty Box I received (along with the Bic Soleil razor I reviewed a few days ago).

Do you ever see something that immediately jolts you back to an earlier time in your life? For me, Carmex Classic Lip Balm’s distinctive bumblebee-yellow metal tin will always be one of those things. The smell of it as well—a strange marriage of wax and camphor/Vick’s VapoRub—is forever ingrained in my brain. Growing up, my family always kept a few tins of Carmex distributed around the house. Carmex used to print the price on the label, and I remember seeing the price increase from…