I’ve already canceled my Birchbox (Canada) after only two boxes, but here is my favorite item—so far—of everything they sent (erm, mostly hotel bottles of body wash and haircare).

I’d heard of LAQA & Co. before, but never tried anything as they seemed to be overpriced. I was reasonably excited to see their Lip Lube Pencil in my May Birchbox, especially in a color that I like but wouldn’t normally purchase for myself.

From the company:

Lip Lube is a light and glossy hydrating lip balm – perfect for everyday wear. The peppermint-shea butter formula delivers an oh-so addictive hit of mint and moisture, with each application. All in a handy twist up pencil. BOOM!

Menotaur (is this a misspelling or just a really bad pun?) is a sheer pinked purple that comes in a retractable fat pencil, much like the Revlon Just Bitten and ColorBurst Balms, and Clinique Chubby Stick Balms. After trying it, I feel like it’s pretty much the same product, except the LAQA has a minty scent and flavor. Considering the Clinique balms are slightly cheaper and the Revlons are much cheaper, I can’t say I’d ever buy a LAQA Lip Lube. I’ll just stick with the Clinique Chubby Stick Lip Balm GWPs, myself.

That said, the LAQA is very pretty, feels nice, isn’t drying, and has pretty good staying power! I actually slept with it on by accident while putting the peanut to bed. I woke up with nice, sheer pinkish purple lips. This is probably better staying power than that of the Revlon and Clinique balms, so perhaps the extra money is worth it. I’ve never trialed the other products for that length of time, though.

LAQA & Co. Lip Lube Pencil is US$20. I believe my product was a sample size at 0.7 oz / 2 g, but I don’t know how that compares with the full sized version. I also didn’t get the pretty box that the full size comes with! It is made in China (really? $20 for a lipstick made in China?).

LAQA & Co. is based in New York, NY, USA.