Back in July I had to travel for business. Around the same time, A was on a mad hunt for Milani liquid lipstick, but we couldn't find it at any of our local Walgreens. I took the trip as an opportunity to find some for her. I was able to find a few for her, not the ones she really wanted, but that's another story, and on my way down the makeup aisle, I spotted a few Maybelline Balm Balls. At first I thought they were the the Baby Skin Cheek Flush, but they were indeed the Balm Balls. I grabbed one because I was under the impression these were limited editions that I thought I had completely missed out on.

Now I love Baby Lips Crystal. But really, that's the only Baby Lips I really like. I don't know if it's the scent or the formula, and I'm not even sure if the Crystal has anything different other than the color from other Baby Lips, but I like that one over the others.

This product has a nice consistency. I compared it to EOS lip balm, which is probably what Maybelline was going for with this large ball of balm that you rub across your lips, but this has a much better slick and moisturizing feel than EOS. However, this has color, obviously, and when you are rubbing a large ball of balm across your lips, it's really hard to not end up looking like a little kid playing with mom's makeup. As you might be able to see in my picture, I definitely felt like I had a layer of slick well outside of my lip line, making me feel like I just looked like I had eaten something greasy. 

If this product wasn't limited edition, I would have wondered what Maybelline was doing using the same packaging as for the Cheek Flush. A even tried warning me once that I was using blush on my lips. We looked at the label, and no, this clearly states it's a Balm Ball. I've heard other reviews that hint that what has actually happened is that this product was turned into the Cheek Flush. I'm going to buy one to compare the product and see if I think it's the same formulation. I wouldn't recommend the Balm Ball if it reappeared though unless you are going to apply it with a lip brush, which to me, defeats the purpose. I think I'll just stick to the Crystal.