5 brilliant lip masks to banish chapped and flaky lips

The skin on the lips is very thin, making them particularly susceptible to dryness as they battle to adapt to changing winter conditions between scorching indoor heating and frosty winds. Keep these gentle lip balms and lip masks in your pocket, at your desk or by your bedside to avoid flaky, chapped lips this winter.

Kiehl’s Buttermask For Lips Overnight Lip Treatment, €25

Leave a thick layer of this mask on overnight and wake up to hydrated, softer lips. Fairly traded coconut oil and wild mango butter work to reinforce the lip moisture barrier and nourish your lips while you sleep. Smells good enough to eat too.

PS…Beauty x Alex Steinherr Sleep Spa Overnight Lip Mask, €5

No doubt at this stage you’ve heard about the incredible 20-piece skincare collection created by Glamour‘s ex-Beauty Director Alex Steinherr, available at Penneys. There’s a range called Sleep Spa, designed to perfect the skin while you sleep, as your skin naturally heals and repairs itself of damage while you’re sleeping. The PS…Beauty x Alex Steinherr Sleep Spa Overnight Lip Mask, €5, is created with hyaluronic acid, willowherb and chamomile, nourishing and protecting the lips overnight. It has a pretty pink tint and sheer coverage so it makes for a lovely daytime lip balm too for secretive daytime masking.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Limited Edition Lip Protectant Stick SPF15, €23

Elizabeth Arden’s cult classic Eight Hour Cream has had an artistic remake. Eight Hour is celebrating its 88th anniversary this year and they’ve partnered with British muralist James Goldcrown to decorate Eight Hour with colour and hearts in the Love Heals x Eight Hour Collection. Eight Hour Cream is a renowned soother and healer of damaged skin and the Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant does exactly that — protecting and soothing chapped and cracked lips thanks to intensive moisturisers and Vitamin E.

Eucerin Acute Lip Balm Intensive Lip Care, €7

If you suffer from extremely dry and cracked lips in winter, this is the one for you. It’s free from fragrance and colourants and the skin’s natural barrier is regenerated with natural evening primrose oil (often used for treating eczema) plus the healing and anti-inflammatory Chinese liquorice root.

Max Factor Miracle Prep Lip Scrub, €7.49

Don’t be put off by the word ‘scrub’ — this isn’t gritty so it won’t strip your skin of natural oils. Max Factor’s new Lip Scrub is infused with coconut and vitamin E, soothing the lips while gently removing any flakiness. A good one to keep by your toothbrush to use in the morning.

Featured image by Max Factor.