Chapped, parched, or - shudder - peeling lips are truly the pits, aren't they?
There comes a point, usually at the beginning of January (happy New Year by the way!), when biting weather, coupled with too much dehydration-inducing fun through December, creates such unfavourable conditions on my kisser that even my best lip balm can't touch the sides.
What to do? Not pick, peel, or - double shudder - bite. No, I've got something up my sleeve that's restored precious moisture and put a smile back on my face, not least because it no longer hurts to stretch out a grin.
Why this hydrating lip mask is my beauty buy of the week
I'll start by addressing the first question that I'd have if I were you. How does a lip mask differ from a lip balm? In all honesty, I'd say not that much - they're just a bit richer and more intense.
Like many modern skincare phenomena, lip masks came to save us and our windbitten pouts via Korea. They've been around there for about a decade, popularised by mega-selling celebrity favourite Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask.
Of course, where K-Beauty goes, our market tends to follow. So much like the glass skin trend and the viral TirTir Cushion Foundation, lip masks left Seoul to seek out the bright lights of TikTok fame and are now very much a 'thing' here too.
I use Vital Hydra Solution exactly as I would a balm - keep it in my handbag, reapply whenever the need strikes. The genius thing is, the need strikes about ten times less often than with this than my usual salve. This doesn't just paint over the cracks; it magically heals them. One swipe and my lips are comfy, plump, tinted a bit pink, and left with a cushion-like barrier.
It's got a plush, thicker-than-your-average texture but resolutely ungreasy and untacky finish. I conducted a (highly scientific) 'stick test' by throwing wisps of my hair at my mouth after applying it, and they just breezed right off. This is so important because nobody needs to be picking away at gunky strands on a blustery January commute.
I'll admit I can be a bit curmudgeonly about viral beauty - and cutsey things generally - so this TikTok-coded, bear-shaped, bubblegum-scented buy wasn't exactly calling out to me when it arrived in the woman&home office.
But, reader (and I don't say this often, just ask my boyfriend), I was so wrong. This is grown-up skincare disguised as social media fodder, and I should have known better than to underestimate a product from Dr Jart+ - a consistently excellent skincare brand.
In another surprising development, I'm not hating the hot pink teddy bear pot. It's actually quite cheering, having a cute, colourful little handbag helper to see me through the greyer and more gruelling side of winter. Sounds good? Great! Let's chat next Sunday.
