Pucker up FOR SUMMER
Four steps to presenting your best lips yet
Self-care is important to help us get through the troubled times in which we find ourselves. What may seen frivolous is actually a necessary spirit lifter. And in that vein, it’s time to think about summer lips — as in how to get our kissers fresh for fabulous new seasonal colors.
There are four steps to fabulous:
Exfoliate: Lips have no shot at being moist and gorgeous if we don’t regularly scrub them to slough off dry, dead skin to reveal the new layers beneath. Boston-based beauty company Fresh has a terrific Sugar Lip Polish exfoliator ($24 on sephora.com) that you can use your finger to apply, or for a quick on-the-go applicator, there’s Tarte’s Sea Lip Facial Scrub ($16 on sephora.com), which comes in a handydandy pencil applicator and goes on smooth and easy as can be.
Moisturize: Truth be told, almost any good moisturizer can double as a lip plumper, but we often just forget to apply it to our smackers. But go one step further with a lip treatment, and you’re well on your way. UZ has a terrific weapon in this mission — 38°C/99°F ($20 at uz.team), a treatment that self-moisturizes and keeps lips moisturized for hours.
Go matte: Sometimes you want a color that sticks around and gives definition without looking like, you know, you just put on a lot of lipstick. For that, matte lipstick is your key to subtle, yet definitely-there color. Rihanna got the formula just right when she created Stunna Lip Paint ($25 on fentybeauty.com) in shades from
Vivid Pink to Sultry Purple.
Get glistening: When you think of fresh, nothing beck- ons like a gloss. It has all the drama a hot summer day needs, but still gives off a natural, unpretentious feel. There are endless great ones out there, but right now I absolutely love longer-lasting specimens, so I don’t need to keep reapplying all day. L’Oreal Paris has a great one in Infallible 8 Hour Pro Gloss ($6.60 on amazon.com), which also does a great job moisturizing. In shades like Barely Nude and Pink Topaz, it does two lovely jobs with one swipe.