Lipstick Diaries: Lip Care

As I mentioned in my first post in this series, I very rarely put on lip products, and I have far too many! There are so many gorgeous colors out there, and I think that's why I've managed to collect so many lip products lately. I didn't understand why I never wore them, but after I purchased La Mer Lip Balm, I think I've figured it out!

No matter how beautiful the color or formula, the colors are just not the same with the poor state of my lips year round.

Before Rosebud Salve, I suffered from some terrible cracked or dry lips in middle school & early high school. (Rosebud Salve is perhaps the only lip product I've finished, though sometimes I wonder if many of my tins are just lost.)

During a PR internship in college, I discovered Befine Lip Serum, which moisturizes & heals my lips beautifully at night, when I remember to wear it. (As you can imagine, wearing it was rare.) Somewhere along the way, perhaps many years ago, I developed a terrible habit of picking at my dry flaky lips. Ew, I know, but I just can't stand that feeling on my lips.

No balms could ever really repair this, and I have tried many. A good exfoliation and the Befine Serum was a great temporary fix, till a blast of cold weather brought my lips right back to where they were before. This was not a process I had time to repeat in a day.

So my lips have suffered, year round. Many great balms have offered comfort temporarily, but none have fought the texture or moisturizes so deeply as my new discovery: La Mer Lip Balm.

It is pricey, but to me it's worth it. I've had it for about 2-3 weeks now, and my lips are hardly peeling (only when I haven't used the balm for a few days!) Not only are they moisturized, but I have fewer lines on my lips AND richer color. It's amazing! I didn't even know that my lip color could be so bright...!

What are your favorite lip balms? Here are a few of mine!

lip care

La Mer the Lip Balm $50 - nordstrom.com

Fresh Sugar Honey $23 - barneys.com

C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lip Cream $7.50 - bigelowchemists.com

BeFine Lip Care $25 - birchbox.com

Fresh Sugar Lip Polish $23 - barneys.com

Lipstick Diaries

I have never been a lip product addict. Eyeshadows and eyeliners yes, but lipsticks and gloss have always been on the bottom of the list. But somehow, in the middle of all of this, I've managed to collect 15 lipsticks and numerous glosses. On my beauty inventory spreadsheet, the lip products are #81-143. My first reaction is YIKES though upon closer inspection many of these are from gifts with purchase and combination sets. (PHEW)

And of course, since I didn't specifically purchase many of these, I always forget what I have or even what shades they really are. (Please, if you have any ideas for remembering, let me know! I'm going to try swatches on paper at some point...) I decided that some reorganization was in order to keep my products in view so I would use them more often.

I laid out my small samples, hoping that I could make a dent in some of these. I placed lipsticks in a organizer on my vanity, hoping that their presence would be a constant reminder to put some color on my lips. This week, I'm showing you my attempt at organization, but every week will be another installment on my lipstick adventures. I hope you'll hold me to it! :)

Look at how organized this drawer is now! And look, now I can actually see some things in my Nars product drawer! What do you think??