Softlips situation

For those unaware, BIG problems arise when I am without my Softlips (lip balm). And even more specific than that, I want only the mint kind ... none of this cherry, strawberry, raspberry or vanilla crap. Especially not vanilla. Disgusting. And when I'm turning down something raspberry ... come on ... that's a situation.

Anyway, I was informed Christmas 2005, when my Gram tried to get some for our stockings, that mint Softlips could not be found anywhere in the stores. I thought, "Surely that's just a weird oversight ... It has to be somewhere. It's mint. Isn't mint a logical flavor for something mouth related?" But alas, no. It was nowhere.

Lucky for me, I had a stockpile at the time, so I didn't have to worry about it that much when my cousin, Sarah, told me that you could find the mint kind on eBay. eBay for goodness sake! I mean, I have purchased a lot of stuff on eBay ... some of it wonderful, like the Wendy's table, but lip balm? No. I didn't feel even I could do that.

So, I went about most of 2006 seeing my stockpile dwindling dangerously close to none, when I got a package in the mail from Sar. Inside, six tubes of mint Softlips. With the stash I had practically gone, I was delighted to see them ... even though I knew they certainly came from eBay. But what can you do? Desperation was calling.

This morning, I broke out my last package of non-eBay Softlips. It was like the end of an era. After my Chipotle Thursday lunch outing, I open the cap, screw the bottom of the tube, and the inside comes popping up at me. There was only about a quarter centimeter of lip balm in the thing. The last, normally-purchased package ... faulty! (Nevermind that this was most likely bought in 2004 ... I'm sure that had nothing to do with it. Yeah, yeah. I know how that kind of sounds. Who's grossed out now?? :) Hehe.)

Yep, my co-workers got a pretty good laugh out of 1) my ridiculous obsession with this stuff; 2) my disgust that this had happened even though it was likely more than two years old; and 3) the fact that I'm now going to be using Softlips off of eBay. I might be getting shit about this for awhile.

Oh well. A new chapter begins ... here's to hoping the eBay Softlips is everything Sar has talked it up to be. :)

UPDATE: I received the following e-mail from the company that makes Softlips today: :(

Dear Angie,

Thank you for taking the time to contact us at The Mentholatum Company regarding the availability of SoftLips® Mint Lip Protectants.

As you may know, we have recently stopped producing Mint. While we realize many consumers did enjoy this flavor, overall it did not sell as well as other products in our portfolio.

Please know I will be sharing your comments regarding the discontinuation of this product with the appropriate individuals here at headquarters.

Again, many thanks for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate your friendship and support.

Regards,

Consumer Affairs Administrator
The Mentholatum Company, USA
Toll Free: 1-877-636-2677

2.2.07 - 2:18 p.m.