The Hype Machine: By Terry Baume de Rose

The Hype Machine is a series that takes a critical look at well-loved, cult classic, appears-in-every-other-Instagram-photo products and asks: are they worth the hype?

The average beauty addict has a slew of lip balms bouncing around in their bag, clogging up their vanity, and accidentally getting washed in the pockets of their jeans. With so many balms, it's hard to believe that one can ever be an object of desire...but the By Terry Baume de Rose most definitely is. Adored by beauty bloggers and YouTube haulers alike, some have claimed that it's the best and most moisturizing lip balm out there, totally worth the $60 price tag. (I didn't pay that, by the way--this is a sample size pot I got on the kinda-sorta-cheap.)

The packaging for this product is truly lovely and luxurious. While the sample jar has a plastic lid, the full size Baume de Rose is in a glass jar with a weightier lid.  Even the product itself has a high-end appearance: it's soft, glowy, and pink in the jar.

Baume de Rose is definitely a "rose" product, though, and not always in a good way. It smells and tastes strongly of synthetic rose perfume, and to be honest, that never seems to go away, no matter how long I wear this. I know plenty of balms have fake scents and fragrances, but this one is just unpleasant.

The texture of the balm is very sticky and thick, both on the fingers and the lips. This stickiness lasts for several hours, which, yay, the product doesn't fade right away, but ew, it feels truly uncomfortable. And while it looks beautiful and glowy on the lips--see how much it softens up my lip lines?--it never actually moisturizes. In fact, my lips feel slightly more dry after I've been wearing this for a few hours.

I've tried this product numerous times, both during the day and right before bed, and to be honest, I'm not getting much out of it. Yes, it does a nice job of making your lips look softer, but it doesn't actually soften. It's an illusion, and an expensive one at that. No thanks, By Terry; I'll stick with my $6 tube of Aquaphor.

BOTTOM LINE: By Terry's Baume de Rose certainly gives the lips a soft, pretty look, but it behaves more like a heavily-fragranced gloss than a moisturizing balm. I can't imagine paying $60 for that.

The Hype Machine is a series that represents my experiences and opinions. It is not meant to be a personal attack on a specific company, product, or consumer. I always recommend that you try products for yourself and see how they work for you. Everybody is unique, after all!