TL;DR so right, just not right for me

---

---

A Deeper Look

For those of you who missed my Black-Owned Beauty Brands post, KNC Beauty is one of the four purveyors of fine skincare products that I was really excited to discover and even more excited to support. Their product line currently consists of only four things and both their selective focus and the object of their focus (lips, duh) definitely endeared me to the brand from the get-go. [Another gold star on their report card: Supa Balm is vegan, cruelty-free and petroleum-free, among other things.]

My first impression of Supa Balm was: this thing is teeny. In reality, at 10.5g, the amount of product is either on par with or considerably greater than most brands I’ve reviewed thus far. The packaging is so lightweight that it actually conceals how much product is inside, which, right off the bat, gives Supa Balm major points. I’ve been using it nonstop for the past four days but I’m pretty sure the tube looks the same as when I eagerly opened it on Friday.

Moreover, I WANT to use it. OG Supa Balm both smells and tastes like I’ve been assaulted in the face with Mashti Malone’s Saffron Rosewater ice cream (which sounds terrifying but would actually be a dream, especially now that it’s 90+ degrees in Los Angeles every day).

The problem is that I taste it a little too often. The tube doesn’t come with an applicator (e.g., like Lancôme’s Juicy Tubes) but rather a small opening that requires you to squeeze a just-right amount onto your fingers and then apply to your lips. This is because the formula itself sit somewhere between a liquid and a scrub, meaning whatever doesn’t dissolve on your lips remains in a solid crystal state until you either a) wipe it off and try to stuff it back in the tube or b) accidentally eat it (this is me).

Putting aside the nagging fear that my body is slowly absorbing concerning amounts of moringa oil, this balm is pretty dang awesome. My lips feel hydrated. I don’t feel compelled to constantly rub them together to check if it’s having any effect or not. The moisture-rich shine that the lip balm leaves behind lasts quite a while, and though my lips don’t necessarily look plumper (as promised), I feel like they do — and isn’t that what really matters, in the end?

Unfortunately, manual application, especially when it requires such attentiveness, is not my vibe. But for those of you out there who are more deft and practiced makeup artists than I — try it out! (And try not to ingest too much kokum and shea butter in the process.)

Important: Contains Shea Butter, Vegan, Cruelty-Free, Black-Owned Brand