1. Use Sun Protection
Image provided by Coola
This isn't a quick fix, but it is a long-term investment to your lips and the skin around them. The sun causes wrinkles, period. So, make sure your lip balm has SPF in it. And don't forget to apply sunscreen around the lips to help slow down wrinkling around your lips. No matter if you 20 or 60, this is a must.
One of our favorite lip balms with SPF is Coola's Liplux. They have an SPF 15 and an SPF 30 to choose from.
2. Hydrate Your Lips
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If you have dry lips, they probably look scaly - not full and plump like we all want. Hydrating them from the inside and the outside will help get the desired look.
Drink water! It is the easiest way to hydrate your body. Although the jury is still out on whether it will actually help our skin's moisture level, I tend to gravitate to thinking, it can't hurt! And possible will help, so drink away!
If plain water isn't your thing, cut up fruit and put it in a pitcher. Add water and store in your refrigerator. The juices from the fruit will enhance the water's flavor. If that's too much work, try a natural flavored water like Hint's Pear Water.
3. Exfoliate Your Lips
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Nothing's worse than someone with dry chunks of skin on their lips. (And I'm not immune to this - Even I have been guilty of this numerous times.) Exfoliating your lips is an easy and effective way to keep your lips looking younger. If you've never exfoliated your lips before, we have easy step-by-step at-home instructions for you.
But if you want to splurge on a product, we recommend Smashbox: Emulsion Lip Exfoliant.
4. Plump Your Lips
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Lip Plumpers are a gift for those of us with thin lips. They typically use ingredients such as cinnamon or ginger to slightly irritate your lips and transform them into a gorgeous plump kisser. But we'll warn you, for most lip plumpers, you'll have to embrace the tingle they leave your lips with. And with results that are almost immediate, it's not hard to do.
Probably the most well-known and fast-acting lip plumper is DuWop's Lip Venom. It's going to give you great results fast. But if you're not a fan of the tingle, try Josie Maran's Plumping Lip Gloss, which has more gloss and less tingle.
5. Use a Lip Liner
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Do you have a hard time keeping your lipstick from feathering out to the edges of your lips? Lining your lips with a lip liner is a quick and effective way to ward off lipstick feathering. But don't make the lining obvious. Either use a color that matches your lip stick, or use the liner for all over color and use a clear or sheer gloss over the top.
And you'll be happy to know that a lip liner is not a product you need to splurge on! You can pick up a great one at your drugstore. Try L'Oreal's Crayon Petite, which comes in a good range of colors.
6. Add Color
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Along with thinning unfortunately comes lack of color. But this is the easiest fix of all. Simply by adding color to your lips, you can take years off of their appearance. And a lip stain is the perfect way to do this.
A lip stain will temporarily stain your lips, and won't come off with eating or drinking like lip sticks and glosses do. Straight lip stains do not add any extra shine or dimension, so it's good to add a gloss over the top. But the majority of lip stains will last all day. And an added plus, most of them can be used for a cheek color, too!
Our favorite is Stila's Lip & Cheek Stain in Yumberry Crush.
