Pumpkin Cider Lip Balm is one of Molly Rose Balms’s most successful products. Featured in the November 2013 SeasonsBox subscription box, this baby has been by far the most popular seasonal item since MRB was founded.

In September of 2012, about five months before I started Molly Rose Balms, my life was going pretty well. For the first time in my life, I had a steady job, a social life, and best of all, a sense of security. Bills were getting paid, and I actually had money left over for little luxuries, like makeup and otherwise unnecessary but enjoyable things. I say “little” luxuries because they usually were things like travel-sized makeup from Sephora, anew outfit from the clearance rack at God knows how many different stores, or a shopping spree from the gourmet aisle at Aldi. On one such trip to Aldi, I bought half a dozen cases of my beloved Pumpkin Cider. (#notsponsored)

This stuff is seriously life. It’s sparkling apple cider with pumpkin and spice notes, and heavy on the ginger. If you have an Aldi near you, I strongly suggest you get some this fall (unless you live near me because there won’t be any because I bought them all… sorry). Once I tried one bottle, I went back for the six cases because I need it to last all year. Autumn is easily my favorite season, and it was my way of keeping it going.

Just a couple of months later was when I went to the emergency room (go ahead and read About Molly Rose Balms for all that drama) and eventually started Molly Rose Balms. As the fall of 2013 approached, I knew what my inaugural fall flavor had to be. Apples and pumpkins with lots of rich spices. It tastes almost exactly the same to me, though I did tone down the ginger just a touch.

The photo above is my original photo for Pumpkin Cider Lip Balm, and as you can see, it originally contained shea butter instead of cocoa butter, and a higher ratio of coconut oil to butter. The new formula is much smoother and moisturizing, but it still has that gorgeous pumpkin cider scent.

Almost immediately after it was introduced, the now defunct SeasonsBox featured Pumpkin Cider Lip Balm in their November 2013 box of 400 subscribers. It was my largest order to date, and gave me a real boost in business as well as confidence. I have since done many subscription boxes (with mixed success but always much larger volumes), but to this day I seem to get the most comments about this one. I continued to get orders for it way more than anything else for over a year, but by the time Christmas of 2014 came along, I decided to make Pumpkin Cider Lip Balm seasonal only, available every year from September 1st through December 31st.

Pumpkin Cider Lip Balm is still the best-selling seasonal item, though I am pleased to announce… TRUMPETS …debuting October 1st is the GOLD ROSE SALT BOMB! It’s going to be just like the Black Rose Salt Bomb, but obviously gold with gold glitter and scented with the same Pumpkin Cider fragrance. It will probably also be seasonal, though that is dependent on the response from you guys! Seasonal or year-round? Let me know in the comments below!

Alright, I hope this week’s installment wasn’t as wordy or obnoxious as last week’s. Next week we’ll go back to summer (er, winter?) with Winter Kiwi Lip Balm. To be honest, it’s probably one of our least-popular items, but I feel that it needs a little love before it’s gone for the season!

Have you ever tried Pumpkin Cider Lip Balm? Love it? Hate it? Meh it? Let me know!