The Easter bunny came early and left us some presents in our basket! š
Eight adorable springtime smackers are hopping into stores in egg capsules, box-sets, and little baggies…
A pile of goodies~
Mallow Chick, Sugar Cookie, Jelly Bean, Pink Chocolate, Carrot Cake, Bubblegum Egg, Strawberry Mints, and Butter Mints.
Love the two mint flavors! And the designs are so cute recently.
OMG cute pics! Love those little robin eggs! Really interested in knowing what Pink Chocolate tastes like. Keep up the good work š
I like the packaging of these! the flavors are good but nothing new or creative. Carrot Cake is the same sour, flat and cinnamon flavor used for Cinnamon Sugar, which is crap.
As a loyal Lip Smacker for fan for decades, I must say I have seen a side to the brand this year that I was hoping never to see. So many disappointing, poorly done formulas and flavors. The vintage party pack was a huge let down as well as the change of the Dr Pepper flavor, which is their #1 seller! How can you change a flavor after over 35 years!? They answered another discerned customer on their Bonne Bell FB page and said the industry standards have changed!? No, truth is they’re selling out and using crap materials to make a product. The only thing good this year is the Black Cherry and the novelties (so far). This was the year I was so excited and eager for so much newness and flavors; and the year I’ve been SO let down from this company. I’m really nervous about future collections and launches from Bonne Bell. Clearly their quality control no longer exists. So much for authenticness. At least I have Lip Smackers from the last couple decades to remember the quality they used to be.
That stinks. It does seem like they are using cheaper ingredients, at least scent wise. I think a big problem would be competing with dollar store type brands. As a consumer, that’s the only competition I really see.
But formula/design wise, they always win hands down. So I’ll always support the company.
Also, if it’s true they changed DPepper, I don’t even know what to say. People who don’t even use any other BB products love DPepper. It’s just iconic. Changing that would be heartbreaking.
Marlene, I 100% agree with you. I bought over $60.00 worth of Lip Smackers from the LS site before Christmas (cringes and cries a little – ugh, I regret it so much)!…I thought I would treat myself since it was the Holidays and I always get extra cash – so that’s what I spent it on. :/
I gave each Lip Smacker a chance to grow on me, but to be honest, I don’t even want to keep them. Most of them burnt/dried out my lips, the scents didn’t smell like the original, or it was weak/gross smelling in flavour. Plus I’m still stewing over the Cinnamon Sugar fail, lol. I wanted it so badly to be like the 90s formula. Too naive of me, I guess.
Although the Easter collection looks adorable, I will NOT be buying them. Lip Smackers to me are just a waste of money and disappointment now…and are basically for the new generation who don’t know the difference between the now and then. And I’m sure it’s been that way with each decade that goes by. I bet people from the 70s who tried the 90s stuff hated it. And they probably hated the block letter logo change also. So you either hate/dislike it, yet continue to buy it….or you move on to another brand that you actually like and is worth the money. I moved on. No matter how yummy the flavour sounds or how cute the packaging is, I know deep down inside that the formula is garbage. The binge I had before Xmas left a bad taste in my mouth….and pocket….literally.
Ouch. That’s especially upsetting that the new ones are burning/drying out your lips. I don’t blame you if that’s the case!
I think they have changed the formula too since selling the company. At least Vanilla. Over the last 6 months, my lips have been continuously flaky and I feel like I have to reapply every 10 minutes! It didn’t used to be like that. Now I am looking at alternatives. It breaks my heart, I’ve been using these since I was in middle school, and I’m 53!
Sounds like others may be having this issue?
That’s not good at all. Sorry that it’s happening to you. Is anyone else noticing any formula changes recently, aside from the dr. pepper?
I recently got a trio of Coke flavors, and the texture and smell of them are different. The scents aren’t as strong and authentic, and it feels glossier than the other ones I have.
Renee does your Cola trio say Markwins on it? If this is the case with the coca cola ones I’m sooo glad I stocked up. I’m willing to do trades as well. I have quite a few backups of certain ones ….
I love them. IDK what everyone else is talking about. I know the quality has gone down and I think they need to know that, but they are still the best in the industry
I am really looking forward to Carrot Cake and Pink Chocolate and I am so happy to see them in the same pack.
The carrot cake smells like a pumpkin spice scented candle. If you like that sort of stuff, you’ll like that flavor. Pink chocolate doesn’t smell like it’s name at all! It smells like sweet flowers to me. I remember a pink chocolate Easter Lip Smacker that came out five years that smelled this way too! I thought Bonne Bell just accidentally switched the labelling with daisy cupcake! I guess I was wrong.
Am I the only one that thinks butter mints smells almost EXACTLY like the Mickey Mouse vanilla mint Lip Smacker that came out around Christmas?
I pick up on a similar scent too
At my local Walmart, there’s a few Lip Smacker sets with a bunny cardboard back. There’s the Easter flavors, Coke, Skittles, Starburst, Original, and even Girl Scout cookie flavors! I got the Coke flavors. Finnally, a Cake Lip Smacker set without the Fanta flavors (I’m allergic to the Fanta flavors, by the way.).
Oh wow, do you run into that allergy a lot? Is it the dye/fragrance or something? Thanks for letting us know where you found everything!
I’m not sure. They’ve always made my lips feel numb. Lip Smacker’s red velvet cake and certain strawberry flavors have the same effect. I can’t use the SPF Smackers because I’m allergic to SPF lip balm. I guess my lips are just sensitive.
What does the Bubblegum egg smell/taste like??
It’s a more sweet bubblegum compared to the original bubblegum flavor. I definitely recommend it.
Bunny Cookie, have you managed to get this year’s Easter collection?
Yeah, all one million of them
Hah. Good one. I found some Roll-it and Layer-it Lip Smackers at Kroger.
I absolutely love Bubblegum so I’m def gunna have to get it.
Does anyone know what Pink Chocolate really tastes like? I saw that one person commented that it smells/tastes like sweet flowers. So this one doesn’t pull a vanilla or chocolate scent at all? :/ THANKS!
Not really. It’s a very floral scent.
Hi Renee! Thanks for the input. The name sounds so yummy but if it’s a floral scent, then I should probably pass, right? š That’s just my opinion without actually smelling it. Does it even pull a pink color?
It’s pink, but it’s colorless on the lips like most Lip Smackers.
ALSO, does French Vanilla taste just like the regular Vanilla? I read one review that said it did. Hmmm…
I’ve never had french vanilla, so I’m not sure. There’s an orange flavor that’s part of the 2015 Easter collection that smells awesome. Jelly bean is good too.
Is it orange creme egg or orange vanilla whip? I don’t have either one but those sound divine! You really nail it on the head when I read your comments. I side with your opinions. š
And thanks a million for your advice. This helps me pick out the ones I don’t have (or don’t care to order).
I don’t think French Vanilla smells like regular Vanilla. To me the French Vanilla is better, it’s richer and sweeter.
Oww! I’m lovin’ this site!! Now that vanilla sounds like the best one, hands down. I like really heavy scented, very sweet Smackers. As far as the Easter Collection goes, aren’t all of them supposed to be on the “heavy” (scented) side? I had a Marshmallow & it now seems to be hiding on me. Any thoughts?
I’ll buy a set of the new Easter ones if I can find them in Walgreens; no more buying from the website for me. I already bought too much! lol Orange cream egg sounds nice. I did already order bubble gum egg from the 2015 set. I also ordered carrot cake, sweet bubblegum and jelly bean. They are all good, sweet bubblegum is kind of a light flavor though.
Orange cream egg and orange vanilla whip smell the exact same, so it’s more of a matter if you like the packaging of one or the other.
You’re very welcome! I know how buying new Lip Smackers can be a little confusing on which flavor to pick. Some are repeats of others while there’s others with similar names but smell different.
Renee, you are truly a DOLL! It’s been hard to find reviews on some Smackers & with Bonne Bell/Aspire turning over the reigns to Markwins, I want to get all of the “originals” before they’re gone (if you know what I mean). š š š
Marshmallow tends to be on the lighter side, while most of the Easter flavors aren’t. Paige, I’m not sure where you’re wanting to order Lip Smackers from, but I recommend getting the flavors from the Easter 2009 collection on ebay, especially candy egg. It’s a super sweet cotton candy type flavor that smells different than the original cotton candy Lip Smacker, plus it’s not as common of a flavor as jelly bean and bubblegum.
Was it Marshmallow Chick or Mellow Mallow? I know the shimmers you’re referring to. I found one of them a bit gritty even though it tasted good. Ultimately I gave it to my niece. I know, a very bad regretful move.
It’s both. They both smell the same.
Another flavor I recommend is strawberry cream frosting from the 2015 Easter collection. It’s different than the other strawberry Lip Smackers that come out around Easter. It’s more fruity in my opinion.
Owwwww! Now that sounds delectable. I smelled Papaya. You were right. It pulls some sort of weird scent. I can’t put my nose (no pun intended) on it. Sorry guava. Sorry papaya. You’re not invited into my collection. š
I also recommend the original coconut or the coconut flake Lip Smacker. It’s amazing. It’s a sweet, creamy coconut flavor that you’ll never get tired of. PiƱa colada, tropical punch, strawberry kiwi, strawberry watermelon, passion fruit, red raspberry, black cherry, berry peach, lemon square, grape jelly, and strawberry coconut are a few others I think you would like.
This is amazing. I have all of the ones you named & you are so right. Nothing beats the original coconut. I love them all! I’m totally in love with chocolate dipped banana. Every time I smell it, I swoon.
I really like the Coconut Snowball from the Frozen collection.
Yes they do, Maria. I have a few older Coca Cola Lip Smackers too.
Has anyone else noticed any difference in the formulas of Lip Smackers? I really hope they don’t screw up every flavor, especially the original ones. Even fans that aren’t huge collectors like the original flavors, so changing the formula for those will probably turn them off of Lip Smackers for good. If enough people are unwilling to buy these, then they’ll either have to make changes or stop making Lip Smackers all together. š
Hearing more than one person experiencing this, I’m beginning to become weary about LS now and even for future balms. It’s one thing for so-and-so to get an allergy to a balm (it’s our “body” rejecting whatever ingredients are in the balm), but peeling, dryness, flakiness, texture and smell are different, and feeling like you have to reapply every ten minutes isn’t good whatsoever. If the complaints continue and get even “heard”, I’ll probably stop buying the new LS and just be happy with the collection I already own. Lord knows I have over two hundred LS.
It just makes me soooo mad that Buddy let this once popular American company go to pot with ruining it under his leadership and then selling it to a corporation who they don’t really care. They may say and reply to people’s comments on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagam saying they “care about the company” (Puh-leaze!) and “they won’t change any formulas and stay with the good ol’ kind” (yeah right!), but us consumers who notice the difference will make those claims false.
They maybe able to pull the wool over other consumers’ eyes, but not mine.
I did some research of cosmetic companies reformulating products and I learned some interesting things from people who actually have to make the products for the companies. I’ve pasted the text below instead of the link because Bunnycookie would have to approve of my comment to be shown.
here it is why cosmetic companies may alter forumulas: 1) A need for media attention.
Yes, with more and more novelties and new brands being launched, itās difficult for brands to stay in the spotlight and keep their position in the minds of the cosmetics addicts, who often almost compulsively look for new hits all the time. I want one, I want one, I want one! (Iām hardly even exaggerating. š )
Itās the same mechanics that make People magazine work, which relies on juicy stories, or paparazzis that look for a new scoop: itās vital to be able to present new stuff that will be covered by the specialised media which often helps to create the new star product.Because cosmetics brands and celebrities alike are doomed to depend on an artificial respirator, in a way; their survival depends on this system, on this perfectly standardised media apparatus that makes the difference between who lives and who ādiesāā¦ either youāre āinā or youāre āoutāā¦ Which side are you on?
Iām exaggerating a bit, but letās be realistic: in that sort of highly competitive environment, in that bloody, Spartacus-esque battlefield, manufacturers donāt have any choice; they have to do something, they have to fight to survive, or theyāll fade out of existence.
And one of their weapons in this battle against oblivion is reformulating products. Products that have completed one ālife cycleā and that have, in a way, lived out their first lives, will then have to undergo some āmodificationsā to remain fashionableā¦ yep, the time has come for their second lives.
2) Reduced costs.
Itās true that in some cases, a manufacturer really does start using new active ingredients in order to noticeably improve a product, give it a better feel, and be able to offer the consumers real added value, but unfortunately thatās still rather uncommonā¦ Often, when you try out one of these reformulated and theoretically improved products, and especially if you knew the original product well, youāll notice unexpected differences: the product seems less effective, it seems to be lower qualityā¦ I often hear people say āoh, it used to be better than thisā, or āhuh, thatās weird, itās not as good as it used to be. I loved this product, whatās going on? I donāt get it.ā No, I can tell you, itās not just you!
For the manufacturers that contact me to have their products reformulated, 80% of the time, their main interest is to reduce the production costs of their product, in order to increase their profit marginsā¦ Of course, some properties that are specific to the brand need to be preserved (scent, feelā¦) but first and foremost, it needs to be cheaper to produceā¦
To them, itās a win-win situation in every aspect:
ā¢The production costs decrease, and their profit margin increases;
ā¢Their loyal consumers get a reformulated product, which gives them a sense of novelty and (non-existent) innovation that makes the brand seem dynamic;
ā¢The reformulation gives them new publicity in the traditional media and online (in magazines and blogs); and
ā¢This publicity allows them to ārecruitā new consumersā¦ and to increase their brand awareness and reputation.
Long story short, the manufacturers hit a gold mine. They get to wake their sleeping beauty and they get a free PR boost to boot.
How do I create a cheaper reformulation? Well, itās simple. I just replace as many ingredients with cheaper ones as I can without changing the feel of the product too muchā¦ But even for the best formulator in the world, itās not always an easy task (considering also the required delays for this reformulation) to end up with a product thatās exactly as effective.
So Iām already happy if the product is almost identical; and if itās actually better, thatās a reason to break out the Champomy ( it is a fake āchampagneā for kidsā¦ I donāt drink alcohol. ? I know, I live a sad lifeā¦) And yet I hardly ever drink Champomy, thatās saying somethingā¦ You might as well ask a 4 star cook to come up with an amazing dish made from mediocre quality ingredientsā¦ Iām sure they could pull it off, but most of the time, the product is inevitably a more disappointing one. And yet, the loyalty of the consumers to that product makes up for the differenceā¦ Love really is blind, isnāt it? (Anyone who can attest to that? ? )
3) Shortage of and increased prices for certain ingredients.
If you have a product thatās mad of certain ingredients, and the availability of those ingredients fluctuates, to a point where theyāre nearly out of stockā¦ then you need to consider reformulating that product with more commonplace ingredients. Usually these are synthetic ingredients that are not or hardly affected, due to their production methods.
For natural ingredients, the supply is more subject to factors like quality of the harvests, demand, climate, etcā¦ And with the rise of organic brands, and the establishing of big names in that sector, organic ingredients are obviously more in demand, but more importantly, theyāre being more and more reserved for the big brands that hog them all. Thatās why itās not uncommon for small brands to end up without any materials, or just some leftoversā¦
Thatās what happened with squalane, which was out of stock for months on end. One of my clients asked me to find him someā¦ and I replied, um, sure, I couldā¦ can it wait for a year?
Itās like with gasoline prices. (2 Euros a litre in Paris right now! At this rate Iām going to have to start taking the bike to workā¦ that should save me some money ? ) Cosmetic ingredients can be subject to price differences that border on the insane, too. The prices soar and as you can understand, that could lead to a lot of problems for the manufacturersā¦ This was the case for jojoba oil, vitamin E and (non-GMO) soybean oil.
4) Media and/or consumer influence.
Brands are also dependent on the goodwill of their consumers. Nothing to complain about there, right? During the paraben scandal, which was a serious turmoil to the cosmetic industry, the great majority of the manufacturers had no choice but to replace parabens with different preservativesā¦ be it rightly or wronglyā¦ and that was all because of pressure from the media and the public, who managed to make the manufacturers revise a sizeable proportion of their productsā¦ based on a believed risk that was dubious at bestā¦
Itās a strong indicator of the consumersā power, which is quite reassuring in a way.
Brands need to bend over backwards to meet every demand of well-informed consumers who demand more transparency and more safety while still valuing that aspect of dreamy glamour that it gives themā¦
Happy, ladies? Well, donāt get carried away, these are still very limited changesā¦ Iām sorry, but cosmetics companies are craftier than that.
5) Changes in the regulations.
Cosmetics regulations have become a lot more strict these recent years, which, in my opinion, is also a good thing in itself. Safety norms and good manufacturing practice are getting close to medical-grade manufacturing standards, which guarantees more safety for the consumer.
Some ingredients are no longer allowed, or their maximal dosages have been reduced. So formulas that donāt comply with these new standards have to be modified to comply with the new regulations.
But these reformulations are usually only an option for brands that can afford them, since reformulation is expensive. The reformulation itself is expensive (thatās most of the budgetā¦ what do you mean, Iām expensive? But Iām worth it! Haha) and then there are stability tests, microbiological tests, tolerance tests, toxicity testsā¦ that take a considerable amount of money, and not everyone can afford that.
So the niche brands, the smaller ones, get in trouble for not having the money to pay for these mandatory modificationsā¦ The little brands, the ones with limited funds but grand ambitions, are often shoved aside like that, wiped off the chessboard thatās being dominated by the big names.
Of course, there are also brands that only mention their new formulas to show off, without really making any significant changesā¦ Just putting ānew formula!ā in a corner on the box, and making only token changes to the formula, just enough to get that claim past the consumer protection peopleā¦ and there you go! Rake in all the cash.
A cheap little bogus modification and it pays off in solid goldā¦ risk-freeā¦ Pretty neat, isnāt it? Itās the very definition of intelligenceā¦ wouldnāt you agree?
You also have to consider the possible backlash from fans when you make big changes. I wasn’t alive when the New Coke came out, but I heard that there was a HUGE backlash against it, and people demanded the old formula for Coke and they ended up getting it. Just because something is reformulated doesn’t mean it’s any better. Sometimes sticking to what’s reliable keeps the fans you already have, along with other people those fans may have introduced or recommended the product to them. Sometimes change IS a good thing, but other times it isn’t necessary.
Yeah, I understand what you’re saying 100%. However, fans that didn’t use the old formulas are now using the new ones, won’t be able to tell the difference
Oh no! I can’t bear the soda balms to change! I must stock up. (Not that I don’t already have 5 coca cola backups alone) but I need more. Anyone have any they would like to trade for Vanilla Frosting or any Easter or Originals? Must be made by aspire.
What I don’t understand is why their changing the formulas. Like the article I pasted above, it’s expensive to change it. Markwins has that much money to blow it out into the wind? I guess so.
I think it’s just the Coca Cola ones I’ve noticed a change but someone mentioned it on Facebook a while back and they said it was changing back. My recent Cherry Cola had a weird waxy gel like texture with not as much shine or nearly as much emollients as the original formula. I think the flavor was the same but the new ingredients made it smell different and it for sure felt different.
When Bonne Bell first launched Skittles and Starburst in 2004 they had a petroleum Vaseline like texture to them, smooth but didn’t last long on the lips. Also Skittles had an SPF that would make my lips burn. Luckily they changed them to the original formula.
None of my newer Markwin’s labeled Smackers other than the Coca Cola have had a different texture, they have been normal.
I think this years holiday will be the last Bonne Bell/Aspire brands doing of the line, since most of those were planned out in advance. Hopefully they didn’t mess with any of those or take any flavors away. I can’t wait to start finding holiday.
I will not let Lip Smackers go down hill without a fight, I know that.