When I tell you I have the driest lips in the world, I mean it. They're constantly chapped—a combination of chronic dehydration (I know, I don't help myself) and regular long-haul flights between London and Melbourne. It's certainly not for lack of trying— over my many years as a beauty editor, I’ve tried hundreds of lip balms, from £40 luxe viral hits to £3 cheap-as-chips supermarket bestsellers. And I’ve found some great ones, but I've still never found that one product I can turn to to keep my lips hydrated and smooth in the long run.
So when I heard about lip essences, I knew I was the intended audience. Anything that’s born in the K-beauty space automatically has me hooked (Korean skincare is simply elite), and the premise of a lip product that acts as a skincare essence (an extra hydrating prep step between cleanser/toner and serum) felt very appealing. Here’s what you need to know about this product category, and what happened when I—the perfect reviewer for lip hydrators—gave one a go.
