The Valentine’s weekend is almost here! No better time to give love and kisses to those closest to your heart. Best to that with soft, kissable lips. Your Valentine’s look will also be so much better with full and healthy-looking lips. If you feel yours needs a bit of help getting to their V-day best, follow our tips below.
Stick to these Habits
The most kissable lips are healthy ones. In fact, dry, chapped lips may be a sign of underlying health issues. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have healthy, hydrated lips. Here are a few steps you can follow to make your lips look ready to kiss.
Drink Enough Water
When it comes to beauty, the opposite of dry is not “wet” — it’s hydrated. Drinking enough water does more good to your body than simply making sure your lips are smoochable. There’s a reason why dry lips are one of the easiest ways to tell when a person is dehydrated. Drinking more than the minimum 8 glasses of water is a great way to make your lips look plump. Aside from literally wetting your lips, having enough to drink keeps your lips from looking dry and cracked from within.
Scrub It Away
Cracked, flaky lips are definitely unsightly. An easy way to ditch dead skin is to scrub it away. Experts suggest exfoliating your lips at least once a week. There are many lip scrubs in the market that you can use for this purpose. Many of them have beads or crystals that work as physical exfoliants. Make sure you wipe or rinse it off well so you don’t ruin the finish of whatever lip product you’re going to wear on top of it. Pick a flavor you like because you’re definitely going to taste it. If you don’t have a lip scrub handy, don’t worry — you can DIY. Mix up some granulated sugar with a bit of honey and use it to slough away. Even easier is to use the bristles of your toothbrush to gently brush your lips after cleaning your teeth.
Use a Lip Balm
Sounds pretty self-explanatory but you’d be surprised how many people skip this step. Applying lip balm should be part of your skincare routine. After all, your lips are made of skin too! Petrolatum is a popular ingredient in many lip balms and a lot of people aren’t sensitive to it. However, some people find that it dries their lips more than usual. If that’s the case for you, find a lip balm with beeswax, shea butter, or another suitable replacement.
Lick It — NOT!
Yes, licking your lips draws attention to them. That’s about all the good it does for you though. Saliva is designed to help digest your food so putting it on your lips is actually breaking it down. Habitually running your tongue over your lips is a sure-fire way to end up with dry and peeling lips. Eww! If you find yourself licking your lips because they feel dry, follow the tips above instead. If lip licking is a nervous habit of yours, being more aware and mindful of it may help you kick it to the curb.
Products for Smooch-ready Lips
There’s always a product out there to help you achieve your beauty goals. If kissable lips are the goal, here’s some advice on what cosmetics you should be looking out for.
Matte Lipsticks are a Don’t
Look, I know lipsticks with a matte finish give great pigmentation, opacity, and longevity. However, it also has the tendency to settle into the lines of your lips and emphasize dry patches. Do you know why there are hardly any true matte lipsticks with moisturizing formulas? Because they’re total opposites. Many moisturizing ingredients have a natural shine or gloss to them. For longevity, you can opt to use lip tints or lip stains instead. If you really must use a matte lipstick on your date, avoid using it before the big day, put it on at the last minute, and wear a moisturizing lip balm under it.
Plump It Up
Full, plump lips are considered by many to be the quintessential sexy lip. If you’re born with naturally full and well-defined lips then lucky you. If you aren’t, it’s all good, there’s a fix for that. There are plumping lip products available to help you get the look without resorting to getting lip injections. Many of these products are infused with a menthol or similar substance to swell your lips a bit. Glossy finishes also add a juicy appearance to reflect light and make your lips look even better. For definition, make sure you line your lips. You can also over-line a little bit to make your pout look bigger.
Ready, Set, Kiss!
Many of our suggestions work quick magic and will get your lips to their most kissable state fast! We hope they work for you. This way, you’re all set to give (and receive, we hope) lots of kisses on this day of hearts. 💋