With the arrival of the warmer weather you are probably looking to update your makeup look. Assuming you have your daily 5 minute face routine down to a science, the quickest and simplest way to freshen your look is with a new lip color. Goodbye vampy lips (deep purples, browns, and burgundy) and hello bright pink, purple, orange and nudes!
The dry winter air does a number on our skin – including the delicate skin on our lips. The best way to relieve dry skin is to exfoliate and hydrate. Most of my clients already exfoliate the skin on their face and body, but every time I inquire about whether they exfoliate their lips they look at me like I grew an extra head. But let’s be real…no matter how gorgeous that new lip color is it will look crusty, dusty and just plain terrible on dry chapped lips. So let’s take 5 minutes to remove all the dead skin from our lips. This will help keep your lips moisturized, plump, and hydrated; and ready for that new color. Think of it as a spa day…for your lips!
What you’ll need: There are several ways to accomplish this step but I’ll share a few of my favorite recipes and tools. I bet you even have a few on hand right now.
Olive Oil/Sugar
Honey/Sugar
Water/Banking Soda
* If you’re feeling fancy you can use brown sugar in place of white sugar.
Each recipe includes a base and an abrasive ingredient. The abrasive component will do all the work by literally scrubbing the dead skin cells from your lips while the base will allow the abrasive component to move around easily and do its job. Mix your combination in the palm of your hand until you form sort of a gritty paste. There are no measurements for this because I have no idea how big or small your lips are. I prefer a mixture with less grit than base and make enough to cover your entire mouth area and you are good to go. Massage the paste into your lips in short circular motions for a minute or two and then rinse with warm water. Et voilà soft lips! Pat your lips dry and moisturize them with your favorite lip balm or Vaseline and go to bed. Gotta get that beauty rest!
Don’t have time to whip up your own mixture or feeling like you want to splurge? Lush has a Sugar Lip Scrub in different flavors (Bubblegum, Mint Julep, Popcorn — ew!) for about $10. You can purchase here.
I was gifted one over the holidays and I loved it! If you’re in a crunch for time, you can also use either a damp face towel or a wet tooth brush in the same short circular motion to get a quick exfoliation.
Once you see and feel how kissably soft your lips are you’ll want to keep them that way. Don’t exfoliate daily because you can over exfoliate your lips and make things worse. Instead, you can add this as the final step of your weekly or bimonthly beauty routine. (If you don’t have a weekly or bimonthly beauty routine, get one!) Also, stay hydrated by drinking water and use a lip balm or Vaseline every night before going to bed. For a more natural approach, you can try Coconut oil instead of lip balm/Vaseline provided you’re not allergic. Another helpful tip is to STOP licking your lips – saliva seems to be a quick fix but it will only temporarily wet, not hydrate or moisturize, your lips which will dry them out more.
Who’s ready to add that new lip color?! My pick: MAC Cosmetics Flat Out Fabulous or Candy Yum Yum: http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/shaded/168/310/Products/Lips/Lipstick/Lipstick/index.tmpl
Lipstick color: MAC Flat Out Fabulous (retro matte formula)
