I have to give credit to The Makeup Archives on YouTube for this purchase after she mentioned these balms are comparable to the Lisa Eldridge Baume Embrace Melting Lip Colours. I purchased the shades Kaya Fig, Dear Apple, and Pecan Brew. I believe the first is from the main collection whereas the latter two are Dusty On the Nude Editions.

These have a lot of ingredients my lips like, but they’re closer to the bottom of the list, and are therefore in smaller amounts than the bulk of the formula makes up. The list also has some ingredients that have the potential to dry my lips depending on the amounts, so I didn’t expect them to condition my lips over time when I bought them. I would be satisfied if I could at least wear them comfortably and have them not make my lips worse at the end of the day, so that was my goalpost for them. Plus, I was curious how similar they truly felt to Lisa’s considering I bought 3 Glasting Melting Balms for less money than a single Baume Embrace.

Before we get into the review, I feel it’s important to talk about how I acquired them. I always want to know if there’s anything I need to watch out for regarding shipping times, customer service, etc. So, I assume most people are like me and want to know as well.
I ordered these from YesStyle. I’ve had an account with them for years, but this was my first time actually purchasing. My full order exceeded $55 USD, since I added extra items to my cart, so I was eligible for free shipping. I was allowed to pay with US Dollars instead of Euros and still have it shipped to Germany with VAT included. My order was “shipped” within two days, but the warehouse is in Hong Kong, so it took 9 days to be in possession of the carrier Hermes. Therefore, tracking was unavailable until it reached the hands of Hermes, which was by then when it was in Germany. The following day it was scheduled for delivery. So, it took a total of 12 days to arrive. According to information I found online, some people get their orders fast (in under 10 days) whereas some people could get it after nearly a month. For those saying it took longer, I’m not sure if they bought items that had the “Usually ships within 24 hours” marker on them or if a longer time frame was written. My Oden’s Eye and Kaleidos orders usually take between 2-4 weeks to arrive, as well as anything I order from Ebay or Amazon listed as coming from China (no matter if it’s going to the US or Germany), so it’s possible that’s just how it can be sometimes via YesStyle. Because my order went smoothly, I had no interactions with customer service.

Also, the packaging says “Rom&nd,” but the descriptions all say, “Romand.” I guess that’s to avoid it looking like there’s a typo and keeping it easier to find or to use hashtags and whatnot.

The first thing I noticed when putting this on my lips is that it’s not a lightweight feeling formula. It’s very emollient feeling, but not full-on oily. It’s got a bit of tack to it. When I first apply it, it feels like my lips are heavy and speaking is a bit difficult because of the partial stickiness. The benefit though is that this feels very much moisturizing and hydrating. My lips feel conditioned after wearing it.

These are quite pigmented for balms, though Pecan Brew has probably twice the amount of pigment. It’s not easy to get a sheered out look with that shade. I love that the other two look quite natural. The downside to the pigment part of the balms is that it clings to every dry and peeling patch. I have to pull off strings of color to get it to look smooth and not textured. It’s evident in the swatch picture how building up the color didn’t go on my arm evenly and I had to use my finger to smooth it out. Also, the top layer of product is so easy to transfer, but the closest layers on the skin having a clinging quality that lasts a pretty good amount of time as long as drinking and eating aren’t in the equation. I’m able to apply this before bed, like an actual lip treatment, and there’s still some on my lips in the morning.

Fragrance is listed in the ingredients, and I can smell something, but it’s not a clearly identifiable scent. The closest I could describe it as is vaguely fruity.

These are actually nourishing, which makes them instantly worth me buying! The downside is that my husband hates kissing me with them on. They’re too goopy for his liking. This is why I still prefer the Lisa Eldridge Baume Embraces, though I will definitely keep using this product for the makeup qualities. I don’t often wear lipsticks because of my dryness issue, so to be able to have colors that will actually improve the state of my lips is a very welcome option. I plan to keep using Dear Apple and Kaya Fig, but I prefer how Lisa Eldridge’s Red Curve looks on me over Pecan Brew. Based on photos I’ve seen online, I assume Scotch Nude is more similar to LE’s Sweet Fig, which is why I didn’t buy that one.

Colors aside, Lisa’s formula is less emollient and a little less nourishing. They end up lasting the same amount of time on the lips as Romand’s during the daytime, but can’t last through sleeping. The LE lippie’s color applies much more smoothly. My lip lines look smoothed out, whereas with the Glasting balms they have a slightly pruned look to them the way fingertips look when soaked in water for too long. I feel the Baume Embrace has a more sophisticated formula in terms of being a makeup-skincare hybrid. Romand’s feel more like a treatment, even with the amount of coloring agent used. I also like being able to put on the Baume Embrace and forget I’m wearing it because it’s not so heavy on the lips. The comfort from not having the sensations of needing to wipe off the edges of my lips every so often makes me more willing to wear LE’s over Romand’s.

I can see why the YouTuber said the Romand Glasting Melting Balms reminded her of the Baume Embraces, but the way they feel on the lips is too different for me to consider them dupes. There are a lot of other melting type tinted lip balms on the market (Tarta Maracuja Juicy Lip, Makeup by Mario Moisture Glow, Nivea Melty Lip Balms, etc.). I even saw plenty of other “melting balms” on YesStyle.
The amount of color, the ingredients used, and texture/consistency are the qualities that differentiate one balm from another. I think the Baume Embraces stand on their own enough that they were worth it for me to buy. However, for the lip conditioning aspect and having additional shade options, I’m also glad to have bought these from Romand. They’re a third of the price as well!

That’s all for this week! Have a good one, and thanks for reading!

-Lili ❤

DISCLOSURE: Apparently, I have a referral code with YesStyle which is available for all customers to share. I don’t really know much about it, but I figured I would just link it anyway. The reward code is G9UHT8. I did not sign up for the official YesStyle Influencer Program though. As my love of beauty revolves mostly around makeup, but I never buy makeup from YesStyle, it didn’t seem like the right fit for me. Sunscreens, Hair Care, and Skincare are what I like to use YesStyle for now, but I rarely post about those topics. Anyway, thanks for reading!