Lip service

Around 92 per cent of women use lipstick each day, but the truth is we’re still more likely to apply an eyecream at night than to reach for a specialist lip product. However, there comes a time when this much-overlooked area needs special attention, especially in winter. Thankfully, there are now hundreds of products that allow us to lavish love and attention on our mouths.

The best way to kiss dry, chapped lips goodbye is with a little gentle exfoliation and moisturising. Make-up artists tackle models’ dry lips by rubbing them gently with a toothbrush topped with a lip cream. Then they sweep on lashings of Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream, and leave it to soak in for 15 minutes or more while they apply the rest of the make-up.

For a relaxing, at-home boost to your lips, beauty expert Josephine Fairley suggests mashing a quarter of a ripe papaya until it makes a juicy paste. Then, lie down on a towel and apply a generous amount to the lips and the skin around the lips. Leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes, rinse it off and apply lip balm. Papaya contains exfoliating enzymes and can help to soften and refine lip lines.

If your lips are prone to dryness and cracking, check out a daily maintenance product like Blistex Revitaliser, which has been shown in trials to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles on the surface of the lips in one month. Available at most chemists, it contains AHAs (skin-exfoliating alpha-hydroxy-acids), moisturisers, vitamins A and E and an SPF 15.

Lips are one of the most exposed areas of skin, yet they have an extremely thin outer layer and few sebaceous glands. Centrally heated offices (which can be particularly dry) and whipping winter winds both take their toll. If you are going skiing or to hotter climes, remember that lips contain no melanin and can quickly become badly burnt without protection.