Well, you can’t exactly say that Kiss Naturals: DIY Lip Balm Making Kit is a toy. Or a game. You’ll actually find it in the Beauty section–but some girls are still having fun with the idea of making their own lip balm. We figured we should jump on the trend while it’s still lip balm weather. The Kiss Naturals brand isn’t a hard sell, either. They make a big deal out of noting that the ingredients are all natural: shea butter, safflower oil and beeswax. They’re also open to a wide range of users. The official age range for the DIY Lip Blam Making Kit is ages 5 to 15.
That’s also the kind of range you’ll find in people’s experiences with the Kiss Naturals kit. This is the kind of thing where you really have to read the directions carefully–and even if you do, it can be a disappointing experience. For starters, you’ll have to use your own stirrers and containers a lot more than you’d want to when making homemade lip balm. Yes, we know the stuff is natural, but it’s some added cleaning. The containers that you do get aren’t really built like they should be for holding hot mixtures. There’s a delicate balancing act between keeping the mixture appropriately hot and letting it cool enough to pour into the jars. We’re talking about jars that can literally melt if the mixture is too hot.
And, yes, the word “hot” is scary enough. For that matter, the idea of a delicate balancing act that requires careful coordination is pretty scary for a mom. There’s also a recurring problem with the raw materials provided. It seems that these essential oils can evaporate on the shelf. Either that, or the factory needs to work on its quality control. The company could also stand to provide a few warnings (or just instructions) about working with the hot materials. We usually tend to laugh at excessive warning labels, but we’re making an exception here. We’re going to risk looking like nervous moms and concede that we’re just going to let our daughters sit out this fun fad.
