Pucker up for perfect lips…

Parched? Your lips that is… If you’re nodding your head, me too – and we’re not alone. Dry and chapped lips are so common, especially in colder months.

And that’s due to a bunch of reasons from central heating usage drying out the atmosphere indoors and cold weather outside, to licking them too much and general dehydration.

Thankfully it’s a problem that is easily solved…

LOVE YOUR LIPS Hydration hydration

The old adage ‘beauty starts from within’ is not a myth, and one of the most important things you can do to keep your lips smooth, soft and comfortable is to stay hydrated.

Aim for around two litres of water a day.

Scrub a dub dub

Weekly exfoliation will help to slough off any unsightly dead skin. Try the Lanolips Lip Scrub (lanolips. co.uk), which comes in Coconut and

Strawberry and is a balmbased scrub with exfoliating fruit pieces.

Consider SPF

A protective lip balm with SPF will prevent damage from UVA/UVB rays. Top it up with a simple sweep every two hours. Try Carmex SPF30 Tropical Lip-balm (Superdrug), which can be worn alone or over lipstick.

Leave well alone

Repeat after me: don’t touch, lick, pick at, rub or mindlessly fiddle with your lips.

The more you do, the more irritation you can cause - and the worse any chapping and redness will become.

Balm up

Regular lip balm application soaks the delicate skin of your lips in much needed moisture, and also creates a barrier against the elements hell bent on chapping them.

TRY:

■

Fresh Sugar Advanced Lip

Therapy Lip Rescue

Ointment ( fresh. com/uk) contains conditioning sugar, barrier boosting ceramides and upcycled grapeseed oil to soften.

■ The Outset, a new skincare brand co-founded by Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson, have the Botanical Barrier Rescue Balm (theoutset. com), with nourishing rosehip, marula and camellia oils.

■ Fenty Skin Lux Balm Ultrahydrating Cherry Lip Balm with Barbados Cherry + Vitamin E ( fentybeauty.com) smells like fresh cherries and is small enough to fit into any pocket.

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