Gay Lifestyle from 365Gay.com

Lip Tips

by Duane Wells, Associated Press

Your lips are your passport and protecting them can be the best way to ensure that your first smooch with a potential suitor is a pleasurable experience. After all, the only thing worse than a bad kisser is a bad kisser with chapped lips. Never forget that though you might be dressed to perfection from head to toe, if your lips are cracked, then your appearance is whack!

One of the best lip balms on the market for any occasion is Kiehl’s #1 with SPF 15. For over a century, Kiehl’s has been perfecting the art of skincare, so it stands to reason that after all this time the folks over at Kiehl’s would know a thing or two about protecting and caring for one’s lips.

Kiehl’s # 1 is a petroleum based lip balm which contains Almond Oil, Shea Butter, Avocado Extract, Wheat Germ Oil, Vitamins A and E and goes on like a dream. The best thing about this lip balm is that it restores moisture without leaving your lips feeling waxy. Available in a cute little tub, this version of Kiehl’s lip balm also comes in a slightly more manageable "squeeze-on" tube and contains many of the same ingredients of Kiehl’s #1. Either one you choose, you really can’t go wrong. Both products retail for around $11.

My new most favorite lip balm, the Sugar Lip Balm, comes from a line called Fresh. First of all, I love everything from Fresh. I love burning the candle, I use the Sugar Shea Butter every morning from head to toe and the Sugar Blossom Hand Cream is like air to me…I need it to exist. I particularly love the Sugar Lip Balm as much for how well it works as for its packaging.

Each Sugar lip balm is packaged in a heavy copper lipstick like tube which makes putting it on fun, although it may be a bit too femme for more butch types. Practically speaking, Sugar Lip Balm is great because it has SPF 15 protection, contains blackcurrant oil which has essential plumping fatty acids, and because it uses real sugar in conjunction with vitamins A, C, and E to give you the most kissable lips on the planet. At $22 a tube it ain’t cheap, but it’s so worth it.

Speaking of sweet treats for the lips, L’Occitane brings a special one from Provence and no it’s not patisserie. L’Occitane’s Creamy Honey Lip Balm, like all of L’Occitane’s products uses nature’s finest ingredients to create great skin care products. Mildly sweet, L’Occitane’s Creamy Honey Lip Balm leaves lips tasty, moisturized and just a tad bit glossy, making them oh-so-very alluring to whomever you might want to attract. It retails for about $10.

One of the great lip balm values is the Aveda Lip Saver with SPF 15. This lip balm combines Brazilian carnauba wax, sunflower oil and vitamin E to protect and moisturize the lips, while adding cinnamon leaf, clove and anise oils to refresh them. It’s not among the most exciting, but it works well despite being a bit too waxy for my tastes and it can be purchased for $8. Value plus utility, now those are the trappings of a winner.

Finally, Origins’ Cover Your Mouth Lip Protector with SPF 8 is no ordinary lip balm. Definitely waxier a la the traditional Chap Stick, Origins’ lip balm does seem to take a little longer to do the job but nothing quite compares to its cool icy, vanilla mint flavoring. Okay, so I really can’t say how well it works, but I can say it sure does feel and taste good. Origins’ Cover Your Mouth Lip Protector with SPF 8 retails for about $8.

You only get one set of lips, so you might as well protect them and do so in style. With dryer days ahead and the summer heat drawing nigh, you’d do well try out some of these great lip balms. Your lips will thank you and so will everyone you pucker up to this spring and summer. Muah!