Lip Scrubs: The Lip Scrub by Sara Happ vs Lip Love Sugar Scrub by Ophelia's Apothecary

I'm not a "lip" person. I don't have fantastic, luscious lips and for that reason I've pretty much ignored them over the years, and it's only been as I've gotten - ahem - older and they've started to thin and wrinkle a bit that I've paid them any attention. The last time I had a lip scrub was some Body Shop lip scuff thing about 15 years ago. I used it maybe three or four times and then after that I couldn't be bothered. Not only am I not a "lip" person, I'm hella lazy.

However, as I said, the years are finally beginning to catch up with me, so I've been making myself use lip balms regularly as previously mentioned, and recently I've been trying to incorporate a lip scrub into my routine. A few months ago I bought The Lip Scrub on a whim, and let me tell you internets - what you get there is a $30 jar of Vaseline with some sugar and cocoa in it. The cutesy packaging doesn't justify the ridiculous price.
Then a couple of months ago, on one of my Etsy binges, I had a bit of a look around for lip scrubs that weren't based in mineral oil, and found Lip Love Sugar Scrub from Ophelia's Apothecary. As far as I can tell it only comes in one flavour - Buttercream Frosting, a sweet vanilla cream. The base is almond oil - it's not solid like The Lip Scrub - more of a thick oily paste, I guess (hard to describe).

In my opinion, Lip Love Sugar Scrub comes up the winner for several reasons:

1. It's more of a "natural" concoction. I don't go in for all of this oogedy-boogedy science-in-cosmetics-is-bad nonsense,  but I do have a bit of a thing against Vaseline. Don't know why, but I always have. It's just... yuk.
2. The Lip Love Sugar Scrub is a smaller jar - about half the size of The Lip Scrub, but it's also about four times cheaper.
3. The Lip Love Sugar Scrub is more gentle, probably because it's not in a completely solid base.
4. The Lip Love Sugar Scrub tastes better.
5. And finally, I like supporting the little guys on Etsy. I love that so many of them go to so much trouble - the cute packaging, the little business cards, the lovely scents in the products. It's nice to have something that you know every Joe Blow doesn't have.

In conclusion, I really like the Lip Love Sugar Scrub, and I'd definitely buy it again (though it will last for ages, so I won't need to for a while). I'd also consider trying other products from this seller if I weren't on a No Buy at the moment. She's on my future shopping list for sure.