Keep your lips looking lovely
Pat writes:
We all have that dream about walking along a deserted beach, ideally with a lovely person by our side. Maybe that won’t happen, but chances are you will be spending some more time outside in the next few months.
Many of us know how important it is to look after your skin in the sun, but do you always remember your lips?
I recently purchased a selection of 3 lipsticks, and found that each had good properties.
MAC Lustre
Lipstick.
The packaging doesn’t promise anything! But, this is seriously nice lipstick – not drying and not too soft, and it comes in a huge range of colours. As this does not contain any sun protection, if using it this time of year I would layer with a lipsalve containing SPF15.
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick. Based on the famous eight hour cream, this does a very good job of moisturising lips. It comes in 6 colours – I choose Plum, which looked very dark, but on application was nicely translucent. It offers SPF 15 to protect against UV exposure, so I think it’s better than average for wearing outdoors. It does carry the very distinctive scent of Eight Hour Cream, which may help you to predict whether you would like this product. It is softer in texture than a conventional lipstick, and therefore more prone to damage. I managed to break mine, rendering it unusable. This calamity occurred before I’d used half the product, which was disappointing, particularly as it did keep my lips really moist.
Clinique Long Last Lipstick. As the name indicates, it does last for a long time. It is 100% fragrance free: always a positive feature in my book. It comes in a good range of colours. In common with many long lasting lipsticks, this is not moisturising, and in my opinion is not a good choice for days when you will be outdoors a lot. Clinique also sell a Moisture Sheer Lipstick with SPF at £12, which may be a better choice.
All 3 can be purchased on-line – prices at May 2008.
Mac Lustre Lipstick £11.00
From www.maccosmetics.co.uk
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick £16.00
From www.debenhams.com
Clinique Long Last Lipstick £12.00
From www.clinique.co.uk
You may prefer to use a clear lipsalve, and here are 2 good products:
Body Shop Vitamin E Lipcare SPF 15 (cost £4.00)
Boots Lipsalve with UVA and UVB filters (cost 79p)
Both products perform well. In my opinion, the Body Shop product feels richer (and so it should, given the price difference). I have tried applying both salves to the hands of various people, without showing the label, and asked which they prefer on the basis of how they feel on the skin. Some say the Body Shop product feels ‘greasy’ and favour the Boots lip salve. I think that if you regularly wear lipstick, you will prefer the Body Shop product, but if you are normally ‘au natural’, the Boots product will suit you better.
Body Shop Sheer Lip Colour
This lipstick contains avocado oil to moisturise the skin, plus vitamins A & E. It glides on easily, giving a lovely sheen. The colours are rather delicious too. I find that it does need frequent re-application, but it’s such a pleasure to use that’s not a problem. The Body Shop advise blotting the lipstick with a tissue, dusting lightly with face powder then reapplying the Sheer Lip Colour. I couldn’t see any mention of SPF on the Body Shop website, hence you might wish to use it in conjuction with The Body Shops vitamin E Lip Care stick SPF 15, which you can apply underneath your lipstick.
Price £9.00 as at May 2009. Looklovely Four star rating.
Boots No 7 Moisture Drench Lipstick.
A great practical standby, this lipstick is good value for money. Application is easy, hence it’s brilliant when you are in a hurry. I find that the colour lasts well, so will often wear this when I know I will be unable to check my makeup for several hours. The lipstick is a good daytime workhorse, but I find it needs a little gloss to add shine if I am wearing it to an evening function. The Moisture Drench Lipstick is hypo-allergenic, fragrance free and contains SPF 15. Price £9.30 as at May 2009. Looklovely Four star rating.
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