It’s another happy Sunday and it’s time to share some of my beauty tips. Today I would like to talk about lip care. Here are 5 very simple steps I take to care for my lips.
Our lips are exposed to the harmful effects of various elements every day, but we often neglect to take care of them. They are as delicate as our eyes, and especially if you’re a talkative person like me, they get abused every day, so you need to give them the special treatment they deserve.
Honestly, I didn’t really care about these things, and it’s only recently that I’ve started changing my bad habits. It’s still difficult to do the first step, it’s actually the easiest, but I’m trying my best. 😉
reason
This is the story that changed my bad habit of speaking.
I can’t remember the exact date when this happened, but I still remember the pain I felt that morning, and I still have the effects of it on my lips. It happened one morning after partying all night, and I woke up with a severe hangover because I was beyond dehydrated. I can’t open my mouth…my lips are so dry that they stick together. I know I wasn’t right. Because when I got out of bed to brush my teeth in the bathroom, I forced my mouth open and although my lips parted, I ended up with a big cut in the center of my upper lip.
There was some blood, but it dried up after a while. The healing wound on my upper lip was so noticeable that I couldn’t go out for the next few days. I thought it would heal quickly, but it didn’t. Currently, the center of my upper lip is deeply indented and curved. Oh, at least in this respect I’m unique. lol!
Here are 5 steps you can take to get healthier, softer, and more beautiful lips.
Step 1
Drink up!
Since childhood, we have been told to drink a lot of water (we were taught not only by our parents, but also in classes), at least 8-10 glasses a day. This is very important for our health and well-being and even helps keep our lips moisturized. When you’re dehydrated, such as when you drink too much alcohol (rather than water), you’ll notice that your lips look especially pale and dry. Drinking water will quickly solve this problem.
However, I still struggle with this step because I don’t drink much water. I don’t like drinking tasteless things. I solved this problem last year when I bought a special pitcher for lemon water. There is a divider in the center to hold the lemon slices to prevent the seeds from getting into the water. This pitcher has made my life easier, at least when it comes to making and drinking lemon water.
However, I had stopped drinking lemon water recently because the price of lemons here has tripled. In total, you end up spending about 1,350 pesos a month on lemon water alone. I can use that money for makeup, so I have no choice but to drink clean water. What I’m doing now is that I’m thinking about the benefits I get from drinking water, so I get distracted and don’t notice the tastelessness of the water. Also, it’s not a good idea to drink a lot of water at once, so I try to drink one glass of water about every hour and two glasses of water after meals. 😀
Step 2
Buff away!
Our lips tend to become chapped, flaky, and dry, especially during cold weather when the air is dry. Even on a hot and humid day, turning on the air conditioner dries the air, which can dry out your lips. I used to have a bad habit of pulling at the rough, dry spots on my lips. We do this unconsciously when we are very focused on work. You only notice it when you feel the pain and taste the blood from where it was pulled.
It was last year that I searched the internet and learned that not only my face and body, but also my lips, need to be exfoliated from time to time. I’ve found many recipes for lip scrubs, but the one I’ve been using lately is sugar scrub. I use brown sugar, which is softer than white sugar, and I take about half a teaspoon and gently massage the sugar all over my lips in small circular motions using only my clean ring finger. After about 2 minutes, I just wash it off with water and my lips feel soft and supple enough to be kissable. 😉
I only use sugar scrubs twice a week, sometimes once a week. On days when I don’t exfoliate with brown sugar, I gently massage my lips using a soft toothbrush made specifically for lips (you can even use a baby toothbrush). However, toothbrushing alone is not very effective, so I apply a little Vaseline Lip Therapy and then massage it with a toothbrush. This is the easiest way for me to exfoliate my lips and is the one I often use when I’m in a hurry.
Step 3
Hidden and Shield
5 basic easy steps to more beautiful lips
Just because you’re not a smoker doesn’t mean your lips won’t get darker. Exposing your lips to the sun’s harmful rays without any protection can gradually darken your lips and lead to sun spots or worse, cancer. I also rarely use sunscreen, so I learned this the hard way. Now I have a black spot on my lower lip. It’s also very possible that it was caused by the scar I made when I pulled the lip flake, but still. On days when I don’t wear lipstick, I use Chanel Hydrating Lip Treatment SPF 15 or Ocean Potion Moisturizing Lip Potion SPF 45.
Step 4
moisture allure
5 basic easy steps to more beautiful lips
Most of the lipsticks I use are moisturizing, but I still make it a habit to use lip balm underneath. It helps keep your lips moisturized and prevents them from becoming chapped and peeling. I use Chanel’s Rouge Coco Baume, which I think is an improved version and replacement for Chanel Hydrating Lip Treatment SPF 15. Chanel Rouge Coco Baume is better than the Hydrating Lip Treatment because it’s more moisturizing, but it’s not. It doesn’t contain SPF, so I don’t use it on days when I know my lips will be exposed to the sun. Dior Addict Lip Glow Color Reviver Balm has SPF 10, but I couldn’t use it under lipstick because it changed the color of my lips. You might also pair it with lip gloss! Oh, why didn’t I think of this before? 😀
For matte lipsticks, my go-to lip primer is MAC Prep+Prime Lip. Apply it first, wait about a minute for it to get a little sticky, then apply your matte lipstick. I think this also helps the matte lipstick last longer. I used it last night under my MAC Nouvelle Vogue Matte lipstick (reviewed here). And even after hours of drinking and partying, my lipstick still looked fresh and unblemished.
Another product I’m currently using is the NARS Multi-Action Hydrating Toner. The person who recommended this product was SA at NARS Makati. She said that at the last NARS event in Makati, Jenny Smith (NARS lead makeup artist) used it on the models’ lips before applying lipstick. SA tried it on me and I felt it really smoothed and moisturized my lips. Although this product wasn’t originally made for lips, I now use it as a base for my lips before applying lip balm.
Step 5
Sleep With It
5 basic easy steps to more beautiful lips
I don’t know why, but my lips are fine before I go to bed, but when I wake up in the morning they are dry. I’ve tried a lot of products, including the cute EOS lip balm, Smith’s Rosebud Salve, Chapstick, Burt’s Bees, and Nivea, to name a few. But none of them worked for me.
That’s when I discovered Vaseline Lip Therapy Advanced Formula. I apply it at night before going to bed and I can see a difference in the morning. My lips have never been so supple and soft. 🙂
additional lip tips
- Contrary to what most people believe, licking your lips will dry them out even more, so avoid licking them.
- Avoid pursing your lips, as this can lead to wrinkles in the future. I see a lot of selfies of people, myself included, with pursed lips. They’re really cute, to me they are, and I’ve loved doing it since I was little, and now my lips are wrinkled because of it. Oh, but I don’t care! I still purse my lips. However, if you don’t want wrinkles on your lips in the future, it’s best to avoid them. 😉
I hope this helps you as much as it did me. Do you have any lip care products you recommend? If so, feel free to leave a comment below. Have a wonderful, wonderful and wise weekend.
