Tropical Punch
2005 Tropical Punch Biggy with the Original 1995 label |
Tropical Punch arrived onto the Lip Smacker scene in 1995 as part of a new wave of tropical treats Bonne Bell was working hard on. Tropical Punch was a brand new juicy delight to smack our lips too but not the first punch flavor from Bonne Bell. The Fruit Punch Lip Smacker first came a long in 1977 but Tropical Punch offered a new tropical take on the classic party beverage.
Tropical Punch came at us in a gorgeous hot pink tube with a stunning ocean blue color script that looked ready to jet off for a vacation in the islands. That's not all, Tropical Punch was one of those Smackers that left lips kissed with a hint of tint too. It gave lips a juicy sheer hot pink stain, just enough to liven up your natural lip color, like you just drank the punch.
Tropical Punch was an exotically fruity punch to the senses with many layers! A juicy mix of tropical flavors that of course is hard to pinpoint thanks to Bonne Bell's expert chemists who perfectly crafted the formula. I've always detected the ripest tropical fruits with definite papaya, citrus and possibly even cherry and a very soft coconut to my nose. However Bonne Bell did it, its never been duplicated! While Hawaiian Punch was big during it's 90's release, I always thought it reminded me more of the blue Maui Punch Pixy Stix flavor that was also very popular in the same timeframe.
An Oz exclusive! Tropical Punch single from 1995 |
Tropical Punch first arrived as a single for a limited time and shortly after was only available in a trio and the Tropical Treasures 6 pc. necklace set, then later came the Original & Best Party Pack.
Tropical Punch came with Mango and Kiwi exclusively for many years. Trio design from 2004 era |
Despite it being an original it was never technically a Smackersville character, although it was offered in this limited Friendship Collectibles set that came with adorable fruit shaped erasers and stickers.
As long as Tropical Punch was around we of course saw many label changes to the tube design over the years. You can see the World of Smackers design mentioned below, above.
Tropical Punch label designs from 1995-2015, missing the World of Smackers label (back). |
In 2005 Bonne Bell solidified Tropical Punch as a Lip Smacker flavor staple when they introduced it in the classic, beautiful Biggy size.
2005 Tropical Punch Biggy |
In 2011 Tropical Punch was introduced as a Liquid Lip Smacker, further solidifying (or liquifying rather) it as a staple. The glossy, shiny version was just like the original stick but punched up a little more. I'll always love the clear glossy shine Liquid Lip Smackers provided lips.
Tropical Punch was later paired with Bonne Bell's fun exclusives for Justice in the early 2010's that donned limited edition labels and new names, despite being the same Tropical Punch we all knew and loved. There was Tropical Splash and Tropical Mix in both the classic stick and liquid gloss in two new limited edition label designs. For Holiday 2012 it was even disguised in a limited edition Little Mermaid set featuring both Sebastian and Flounder as Tropical Treat.
Justice Tropical Splash stick & liquid |
Justice Tropical Mix and Disney Tropical Treats |
Bonne Bell always delivered the punchline after Tropical Punch and gave us so many new perfectly punchy flavors in their other lip collections over the years. We even started seeing punch flavors in holiday collections, starting with Holiday 2002 and many unique ones after, keeping our puckers pleased as punch!
I have a tropical punch in the biggy size but my while there are definite similarities my packaging looks a little different than your 2005 image. It also has a different number on the top of the front of the package which says 357. Do you know if this could possibky still be from 2005 then? Or maybe a different year?
ReplyDeleteTropical Punch is one of my all-time favorites! I just pulled it out last week as my go-to 💗
ReplyDeleteI had the original Fruit Punch. Not to be one of those old person types, but it was better. (And I’m a BB junkie.)
ReplyDelete