Dr Smith's Rosebud Salve review - Best lip balm ever

Yet another nostalgic post on a long-time-loved product, in the countdown to my blogoversary tomorrow.
Dr Smith's Rosebud Lip Salve has been my absolute favourite lip balm since 2010. I stock up on these like no tomorrow whenever I am abroad, and am probably on my third or fourth tin, and now have six unopened tins in stock. And that's not counting all the tins the rest of my family has stocked up. I believe there's enough to go around in the likelihood of armageddon.

Here is my review of the amazing Smith's Rosebud Salve.

Packaging of Smith's Rosebud Salve:

Why does tin packaging always look more vintage and classier than plastic? Ban all the plastic, I say.

They have brought out tubes of this as well. I much prefer the tin for the vintage feel - normally I prefer tubes for hygiene reasons, but if the product lasts for 30 months after opening in both cases.... Minted Rose, Mocha Rose and Strawberry are available in tube packaging as well. I feel the tube formula is just ever so slightly runnier than the tins.

Formula of Smith Rosebud Salve:

Formulated in 1892 by Dr G.F. Smith (a Maryland-based pharmacist), the Rosebud Salve's formula remains a "trade secret" - all they'll tell you is that it is a blend of aromatic essential oils and cottonseed oil in a special petrolatum base. It was intended to solve "skin irritations" right from the start. Smith's is owned by the Rosebud Perfume Co.

Smith's salves come in six fragrances. Of these, Brambleberry Rose, Mocha Rose, Strawberry and Mint Rose are lip balms. The Menthol and Eucalyptus balm and the Original Rosebud Salve are all-purpose balms.
No parabens anywhere on the ingredients, as you can see.

The beauty of this formula is that you can use up the product within 30 months of opening the tin. That's a very decent margin! There was this Figs and Rouge lip balm I got in a beauty box that began reeking of stale lard and hardened up in a month, and I now use it to remove rust.

The product comes across as a tinted balm, but there really is no colour - it goes on entirely transparent, as you can see below and has a mild sweet, rosy fragrance.

Uses of Smith Rosebud Salve:

It looks thick and greasy, but blends into a soothing, silky cream finish. The original salve can be used on chapped lips, dry elbows and knees and cracked or dry heels - wherever you have reptilian or dry skin - and on burns and scratches. I find it works especially well on burns and stings.
During the dry months, or whenever my lips need TLC - I tend to chew on them when I'm reading - I reach out for one of these salves and the very next day, all is well. The lips stay hydrated for hours. You can get the assorted round tins in larger "Luscious Layers" and "Lavish Layers" square tins of three.

This salve is, without a doubt, the best lip balm I've ever tried - ahead of EOS, Balmi, CherryCulture, Baby Lips, Vaseline, Burt's Bees, Nivea and Neutrogena (some other favourites that I've tried).
You can get these in Sephoras around the world. I'm not sure if there are any websites other than Amazon that ship it worldwide, but you can get a list of international distributors here.
Tomorrow, My Beauty Junction turns a year old, so do watch out for a special post, featuring something very rare and close to my heart.