Take Care of Your Lips in the Winter!

Disclaimer: this post is not sponsored and I bought everything myself!

I did a post earlier about what I do in the winter to take care of my hair and my skin when the air is cold and dry. But you might have noticed that I didn’t mention anything about my lips! That’s because I take extra precautions. My lips always seem to be affected by the change in weather first. And when your job depends on you talking nonstop, well, you want to make sure that your mouth isn’t in pain! So here’s what I do to avoid dry, chapped, cracked lips in the winter.

-I apply a lip balm first thing in the morning. I don’t shower every morning, but I always clean up my face and follow the steps of my morning routine to take care of my skin. The last step is always to apply lip balm. Lately I’ve been using the Maybelline Baby Lips in Quenched. It has SPF, which is super important when you work outside all day like I do. The formula is thin and slick but absorbs fast. Plus the smell is reminiscent of my favorite Fresh Sugar lip balms (which are great, but a little too pricey for my wallet for everyday wear.)

-I apply lip balm at work too. I keep a squeezy tube style lip balm in my work backpack. I learned pretty quickly in my Disney career that a normal lip balm in a tube will melt like nobody’s business (I had a pretty catastrophic lip balm eruption in my bag when I worked at Star Tours). I’m currently using the Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus. It’s supposed to “revitalize and nourish,” which is really what I look for in the winter. It’s a very thick formula and takes a little while to absorb, but it’s great for when I’m driving the truck and chilly winds are blowing through the open windows (especially at the Savannah Overlook!)

-I keep lip balm in my rehearsal and performance bags. Singing and speaking also dry out my lips faster, so I make sure there’s a lip balm in my bag. Inevitably I lose my lip balm, buy a new one at Target, find the old one, lose the new one, lose the old one again, repeat the cycle (anyone else do that? Just me?) Usually I stick to the Eos lip balms since they have a wide variety of scents, and the round shape is easy to find in my bag. I also have a Lip Smackers Tsum Tsum balm that I adore (it’s Tinker Bell and scented like Pixie Peach Pie, so like…what’s not to love?)

-I exfoliate at night. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always do my night time routine, but I try to stick to it, and when I do I always exfoliate. If I need just a little bit, I use a dry washcloth. My sister got me a couple of the magic Disney Princess washcloths from the Disney Store a while back, so I use those. If I need a little more, I use the Lush lip scrub. My favorite is the Popcorn one- it’s salty and sweet, and it wipes off easily. My lips always feel so soft afterwards.

-I use Vaseline. Yep, good ol’ Vaseline. The skincare favorite for Hollywood starlets in the 30s and 40s is a favorite in the winter for me. The Vaseline lip balm can come in a tiny tub or a round tin, and it’s usually pretty inexpensive. It’s thick and creates a protective layer over my lips, and at night time that’s plenty of time to let it sink in and do its thing. One of my major issues is the corners of my mouth; the skin tends to crack and even bleed sometimes. Putting Vaseline on at night seems to be the best thing for me to heal the skin.

So that’s what I do on a daily basis to keep my lips healthy in the winter! Do you have a favorite lip product to keep your lips healthy? (Anyone else still have a soft spot for Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers?)

Look of the Day: I’m Gonna Wreck It!


I am seriously in love with this shirt. I searched all over Disney World when I was there in March for a Wreck It Ralph shirt, with no success. So where do I find it? Walmart. For five dollars. I BOUGHT IT THEN AND THERE.

I typically wouldn’t wear jeans and a graphic tee to work, but I’m just in outservice now and cleaning my classroom, so I don’t gotta be fancy or nothin’.

Hair and Makeup: Katie’s Everyday Routine from A Beautiful Mess


Have you ever seen Katie on A Beautiful Mess or on her blog, Skunkboy Creatures? She is perfect. Absolutely flawless. Her life is perfect and beautiful and her husband is gorgeous and her daughters are beautiful and she dresses wonderfully and her house is filled with perfectly curated vintage finds and her hair. HER HAIR. Her hair is the most glorious shade of red imaginable.

Excuse me while I go eat jellybeans in the corner.

Anyways. I don’t look nearly as ethereally lovely (the Walmart Wreck It Ralph tee kind of negates any attempt at looking perfectly hipster twee), but I think it’s a sweet, simple look. I’ll probably try it again…if I can convince my hair to stop being so fluffy. That’s the only way I can describe my hair. It’s fluffy.

Also, I bet five bucks my hair ends up in a ponytail before the end of the day.

Hair:
#1: Wash it, spritz on detangler (I use Dove), and let it air dry. I don’t think I even own a hair dryer…

#2: Spritz with Tresseme heat protectant, attempt to curl, and despair over hair’s stubborn fluffiness.

#3: Comb through gently, add Moroccan oil, shrug at your reflection, and stick a hair tie in your pocket.

Outfit:
Tee: Walmart
Jeans: Old Navy
Shoes: Skechers

Face:
Covergirl and Olay corrector
Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch in Ivory
Physician’s Formula powder in Peach Nude
theBalm blush in Hot Mama (Birchbox sample)

Eyes:
L’oreal Infallible shadow in Bronzed Taupe (brows)
L’oreal Infallible shadow in Iced Latte
Maybelline Master Duo liquid liner in Blackest Black
Maybelline Mega Plush mascara

Lips:
Fresh Sugar balm in Rose (Sephora sample)

Perfume
: Bath and Body Works Hawaii Coconut

Nail Polish: OPI I Juggle…Men (from the Femme du Cirque collection)

Outfit of the Day: Hello, Sweetie

Item one: for the love of mercy, someone teach me how to take pictures. All I hear is “use natural light!” but as you can see…I CANNOT TAKE A PICTURE THAT MAKES ME LOOK LIKE A DECENT HUMAN. So…yes.

I was in a big hurry, so scrunched waves it was for the day. Everything else I just sort of grabbed. I had a yellow belt to match my headband, but the stupid thing has a broken clasp, so my sister let me borrow her beloved Doctor Who belt (with a seatbelt buckle clasp!). I put it on and she stared at me for a minute before going “OH MY GOD YOU’RE RIVER SONG.”

So there we are.

Outfit:
Top: Cole Street Flat Blouse via Modcloth
Skirt: Forever 21 (thrifted)
Shoes: Blowfish Hortons (thrifted)
Headband: eBay
Belt: borrowed from my sister

Face:
Covergirl and Olay corrector
Maybelline Dream BB Cream
Physician’s Formula Conceal RX
Physician’s Formula translucent powder
Physician’s Formula Happy Blush in Natural

Eyes:
Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barley Branded
Covergirl Shimmering Sands trio
Urban Decay in Last Call
Ben Nye eyeliner in brown
Sephora Electro Glitter Eye Pencil in Copper Electro
Almay Blue Eyes shadow (brows)

Lips:
Fresh Sugar lip balm in Rose

Perfume: Harajuku Lovers Super G

Nail Polish: none! (I need to fix that…still…)