You’re not imagining it. Your tube of Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm feels… thinner. The old one was a thick, almost waxy hug. The new one slides on like a fancy lip oil that forgot to be oily.
This matters because the internet lost its mind over the original texture. Now? It’s a completely different balm. And nobody told us.
🧴 **What You’re Actually Buying**
Price: $24. The claim: “All-day moisture in a tube.” I bought into the hype for the sheen—that perfect, wet-look gloss without the stick.
1. **Old Texture** — Thick, almost buttery. Stayed put for 4 hours.
2. **New Texture** — Lighter, more slippery. Fades in 90 minutes.
3. **Scent** — Still that vanilla birthday cake. Thank god they didn’t touch it.
🔬 **The Ingredient Shuffle**
The old formula relied on shea butter and castor oil for that heavy cushion. The new one swaps in more squalane and a synthetic ester (diisostearyl malate) to make it feel silky instead of sticky.
– **Shea Butter** — Was the star. Now demoted.
– **Squalane** — Now higher up. Hydrating but evaporates fast.
– **Diisostearyl Malate** — The “glide” chemical. Makes it feel expensive, last shorter.
– **Vanilla Fruit Extract** — Still there. Still delicious.
🆕 **First Touch vs. One Month In**
Day 1: I swiped it on and almost dropped the tube. It melted like warm butter on a hot pan—no drag, no tug. My lips looked glassy. For ten minutes. Then it was gone.
Week 3: I’m reapplying every hour. The old formula survived a coffee and a nap. This one barely makes it through a phone call. The shine is real. The staying power is a lie.
💡 **One Thing** — Warm the tube in your pocket for 5 minutes before applying. The product glides thicker when it’s slightly melted.
⚖️ **The Honest Trade-Off**
My lips feel soft—they’re never chapped. But they also never feel *coated*. The old balm was a shield. This is a whisper.
✅ **Buy if** — You want a glossy, non-sticky lip look and don’t mind reapplying every 90 minutes.
⏭️ **Skip if** — You loved the original’s cushion and want your balm to survive a commute.
💰 **Worth it?** — $24 for a lip gloss that acts like a lip oil? Only if you’re obsessed with the scent.
📉 **Bottom Line**
Summer Fridays quietly reformulated their hero product—it’s prettier now, but it lost its backbone. The new one is a great lip gloss. The old one was a great lip balm. They are not the same.
**7.2/10** — Pretty gloss, weak balm
🛍️ **Where to Buy** — Sephora or the brand site. Try the mini duo first—you’ll blow through a full size in three weeks.