Lip service: How to get the softest, pinkest, plumpest lips ever!

1. Brush your lips

If you want petal-soft, plump-like-a-pillow, cherry red lips, it’s time you introduced them to your toothbrush.

Every night, right after you brush your teeth, gently…and I mean very very gently brush your lips in a circular motion. What you are doing is removing all the flaky skin to reveal healthy pink skin, improving your blood circulation and thereby, plumping your lips.

Do this mini-ritual every alternate night for Jolie-like puckers.

Tip: Use a super-soft toothbrush meant for babies just for your lips. Hard bristles can over-exfoliate your lips, making them raw and bleed. Ouch!

2. Or scrub them. 

If your lips are already too chapped or sensitive, you can gently scrub them instead of brushing them.

You can make your own yummy scrub. Mix your preferred oil (olive, coconut, apricot, almond…) with sugar and gently rub over your lips. That’s it. Easy-peasy!

3. Give your lips an oil massage. 

You heard right! Your lips also need some TLC.

An oil massage is the best thing you can do for your smackers. The oil moisturizes, while the massage plumps up your lips.

Choose your favourite oil (I’m partial to apricot or argan oil – they taste good) and using your ring finger (it’s the weakest finger) gently massage your lips in a circular motion for 1 minute. And just like that, you’ve got softer, pinker, plumper lips!

4. Use a nipple cream for very chapped and dry lips. (This one really works!)

What????????
Think about it. A nipple cream soothes, heals and protects cracked, bleeding, sore nipples. Same rule applies for your cracked, bleeding, tender lips.

Pick a nipple cream that contains 100% natural lanolin (a waxy substance that coats sheep’s wool, making it soft and waterproof). Lanolin deeply moisturizes, heals and protects nipples (and lips). Just pat on a tiny smidge at night and watch your lips miraculous recover – overnight!

The best part, it’s safe for babies to swallow (you don’t have to wipe it off the boob before the baby suckles), so it’s safe for your lips.

Tip: It’s really thick and gooey. So take just wee bit and warm it up between your fingers before patting it on your lips.

Watch out: Lanolin tends to stain fabric, so make sure you’re not too precious about your pillowcases.

Stuff I swear by: Lansinoh Nipple Cream. I use it on my nipples (breastfeeding mommy) and lips. Saves me every single time. Without fail.

5. Apply your anti-aging eye cream on your lips. 

Your lips are very fragile, just like the skin around your eyes. And as you age, your lips shrink and get more lines. So this step is super important to keep them looking younger for longer.

Every night, gently dab your anti-aging eye cream on your lips. And immediately follow it up with your lip balm to seal it in.

6. Moisturize the skin around your lips too. 

The skin around your lips is also thinner, drier and more prone to lines. Which is why it’s one of the first places where wrinkles crop up. So make sure you generously apply your moisturizer or anti-wrinkle cream to the skin surrounding your lips to keep them in tip-top condition.

7. Keep your lips away from the sun.

We all think of protecting our faces from the sun, but happily forget our lips.
Just like our skin, lips too get damaged by the sun’s rays. So make sure your daily lip balm contains SPF 15 or more and keep reapplying through the day, especially after a meal.

8. Make sure your Lip Balm has the most moisturizing ingredients.

When picking up a lip balm, check the label for super hydrating ingredients like beeswax, shea butter, vitamin E, lanolin, petroleum jelly and almond, jojoba or coconut oils. And make a habit of dabbing it on all day for best results.

Tip: Keep lip balms handy so you’re never caught without it. Stash them in all your bags (so every time you change your bag, you don’t have to transfer the balm), bathroom, office drawer and anywhere you can have quick access to it.

Stuff I ♥: Smith’s Lip Balm. They come in many unusually delicious flavours (like Brambleberry, Mocha Rose, Minted Rose, etc) and are super nourishing. They also leave my lips with an unmatched sheen and plumpness. Love!