Beauty Tips for Ministers
Because you're in the public eye, and God knows you need to look good.
SPF Products: Lips And Face
April 29, 2008 on 9:10 am | In Lips, Make-Up And Skin Care, Product & Catalog Reviews |As a self-described lip gloss addict, I love, love, love my “lippy.” I own two or three MAC lip lacquers (the very best!), a small stash of Smashbox glosses (in the same color, now defunct, that I had to research and track down to buy so the tragedy of having that color unavailable would lose its sting over time), and a little army of Rimmel Vinyl Glosses, three of which live in my car. I probably eat pounds and pounds of lip gloss every year, an unappealing prospect but probably better for me than that Reese’s Pieces sundae SweetieBang and I both had last night while watching “The Orphanage” (a very creepy, good flick but watch closely or you’ll miss what actually happened to the little boy and think it was the ghosts who did it, as I did at first).
ANYHOO, as the sun waxes stronger in these here parts, a girl starts to think about SPF products for the lips (and fellas should, too, since your lips are tender little darlings and shouldn’t be left out there all alone to bake unprotected). Turns out that most SPF products are just dull, though; waxy Chapsticky things that don’t slide easily over lipstick or Covergirl Outlast All Day Lipcolor (PeaceBang’s daily product), which is what *I* certainly want them to do. I would think that even men seek a lip product with ease of application and a decent taste (not overly minty or medicinal or herbal or fruity).
(Incidentally, there’s a lip balm called, no kidding, Chicken Poop out there. I wanted to recommend it but it has no sun protection factor. Darn.)
I did find a tropical-flavored lip balm during my January trip to Florida that has good SPF coverage, but it makes my lips taste like a shirt Don Johnson would have worn in “Miami Vice,” so it’s a choice of last resort. I want something sophisticated with little or no flavoring, thank you very much. A cruise around my local CVS yielded nothing interesting (and did you know that Burt’s Bees lip products don’t even have SPF in them??? I just assumed that they did!). A girl can’t smear Carmex all over her mouth, for heaven’s sake: have you tasted that stuff?
So I did a little googling around online and discovered that the good people at Revlon have a Super Lustrous Lip Gloss that looks to have not only nice, glossy color coverage but SPF 15. Has anyone tried this stuff? It’s expensive, so I’d rather not purchase it without having some advance word on it. It may be that getting SPF coverage into a gloss form is a costly process, which is why so few companies are doing it.
If you’re looking for a subtle hint of color, or a clear lip balm with SPF coverage, Kiehl’s makes a very fine product that lasts and lasts, and that comes in a tube, which I love. This would be a great gift for the guy in your life. I mean, isn’t that packaging positively MANLY? Kiehl’s has its own web site and is also available at upscale department stores. This lip balm costs about $9 but again, it last for a long time even if you use it every day.
Oh, and this advance word to you, my doves: do not ever rely on make-up to provide full sun coverage for your face. If you really want to protect yourself from all the ravages of the sun (and you should), it is wisest to apply your sunblock of choice before any make-up. After much searching and many flare-ups of red blotching on my face (curses on you, Neutrogena tinted sun block! Because I love your other products so much!), I am sticking this year with Alba Botanica Facial Sunscreen for Sensitive Skin.
I was using a Juice Beauty Organics product but it smells kind of yucky and I had a devil of a time getting the product out through the pump dispenser. I like that it’s entirely non-chemical and mineral based, but they’d do better to put it in a tube so a girl or guy can actually get the stuff out of the ever-lovin’ container.
When applying sunscreen, don’t forget to get your chest, your neck, the back of your neck, the edges of your face at the hairline (wherever that hairline may be), and your ears. Let’s not be worrying our dermatologists and requiring snippings of suspicious moles and bumps this year. Be safe out there and for heaven’s sake wear a hat when we’ll be in the sun for any prolonged period of time. And just this once, I’ll give you a pass: it doesn’t even have to be particularly fashionable or attractive, it just needs to keep your skin and scalp protected. Extra bonus for those who color our hair: wearing hats is a big deterrent to fading. So go get you one! They’re always on sale at TJ Maxx or Marshall’s and places like that.
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Here is a question: Where in the order of the morning facial regimen do you put on the sunblock?
I tone, moisturize, then put sheer, sheer makeup.
After toning? After moisturizing?
Thanks for tips on sunblocks. My beloved had a basal cell cancer removed last summer, right under the eye,with an incision from inside corner of her eye out past the browline, so this is all too real. [Good question, honeybun. I wash, then put on an anti-oxidant serum, then moisturizer if necessary, then sunblock, then my sheer tint make-up or just a little touch-up of Mac Stick on blotchy spots. I skip the separate moisturizer in the summer. We’re supposed to apply sunblock 30 minutes before going into the sun but unless I’m going to the beach or something, I rarely remember to do that. - PB]
Comment by karla — April 29, 2008 #
While not directly linked to today’s blog, I happened upon this image (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-pod-pix,0,4750920.photogallery) when I went to check the news after checking out BTFM (my usual order of importance!). Anyway, seeing this image made me think of a basic message I’ve gotten from this site since I’ve been reading for the last year or so: whether you got a little or a lot, you’ve got to take care of what you got. Hope that summary fits the message you feel you’ve been trying to get across and the picture makes you smile. [Nicole, which photo did you mean? The link took me to a series of recent news photos, and I’m sure you didn’t mean to reference pictures of a car crash or unrest in China. Was it that smiling female priest with the really chopped off hair and cool glasses that you were pointing out? Help! - PB]
Comment by Nicole Farley — April 29, 2008 #
I love my Burt’s Bees lip balm.
Comment by Charlotte — April 29, 2008 #
What about putting on the SPF stuff first, then the gloss or lipstick? On the rare occasions I do lipstick, I put the lip balm on first and the lipstick goes on much more smoothly.
My wonderful spouse uses Carmex - I can’t stand the stuff. I like finding the non-petroleum lip balms when possible at Whole Foods, etc., but I depend on Chapstick Ultra with 30 SPF. It has very little taste - more lemon italian ice if anything. And CVS usually carries it.
Comment by jinnis — April 29, 2008 #
Don’t you think the covergirl stuff blocks the sun? I mean, it’s like paint. And paint blocks the sun. Maybe it depends how thickly you apply???
Comment by Jeannie — April 30, 2008 #
OK, you’ve got me using anti-wrinkle retinol-containing eye cream (not to mention my brief foray into under-eye concealer makeup, which I don’t so much need anymore thanks to the former product), and now you think I should be using tinted lip gloss? Horrors!
BTW, Burt’s products don’t have chemical SPF in them, but some of them do contain titanium dioxide, which is a physical sunblock (I know the Lifeguard’s Choice in the red tube has this, but doesn’t claim SPF…). I’m not sure why they don’t translate that to an SPF number, though. It’s a mystery.
[Titanium dioxide is great stuff, but can leave a white glow on the lips or face. Bummer!! I think a Chapstick with SPF should be fine for the boyz. - PB]
Comment by Michael — April 30, 2008 #
I keep chicken poop in my desk drawer at work. Love it, as my office is very dry.
Comment by Linda — April 30, 2008 #
Alba Terra Tints have a SPF 18. It goes on okay. Colors are a bit limited, though.
Comment by Dalia — May 1, 2008 #
Just so you know, Chicken Poop lip junk is coming out with a version with SPF. I believe they are calling it Outdoor Poop.
Comment by Patty — May 7, 2008 #
a delicious but expensive chappy is fresh’s SUGAR, with 15 SPF. i usually put it under other varieties of lippy. [ SO yummy and we LOVE!! - PB]
Comment by claire — May 12, 2008 #
Another one I just re-discovered is called UNpetroleum tangerine lip balm, SPF 18.
Comment by PeaceBang — May 14, 2008 #
UnPetroleum lip balm is great. Much better than chap stick. I have the vanilla.
Comment by Karen — May 25, 2008 #
I love Dermatone. It’s a Swedish product, very little taste/scent, but the slight whiff is pleasant. It comes in little tins or in chapstick form. When I used to spend winter weeks backpacking with kids, I’d smear it all over my whole face. It was especially nice on the windburned nostrils. Now I limit myself to a nice swipe of the lips.
Comment by Nikki — May 28, 2008 #