The dress is ready, the mascara too, but when it’s time to take out your party lipstick, disaster strikes: your lips pull, burn, stick with each pass. The day before New Year’s Eve, seeing your lips become covered in chapped skin can really spoil the fun. And yet, a few targeted actions are enough to change the situation the next day.
Thinner than the rest of the face and almost devoid of sebum, the lips lose water very quickly when the cold, the wind and the dry air from the heating come together. Add salty meals, alcohol, lack of water, and you get dry and damaged lips, covered with small skin that ruins the most beautiful lipstick.
Dry and damaged lips before New Year’s Eve: what really weakens them
The skin of the lips is poorly protected: no strong hydrolipidic film, very little melanin, and reduced thickness. Under the “climatic stresses” of winter, it quickly dehydrates, cracks, then cracks. Tightness, cracking and burning sensations become almost inevitable when you stay outside in the cold and then in overheated interiors.
And then there are our bad habits. Compulsive licking to relieve, biting, small skins torn off in front of a series, too frequent or too abrasive scrubs… all this aggravates the microcracks. Result: the lips become red, can bleed, and the slightest matte lipstick marks every irregularity.
New Year’s Eve, step 1: a gentle lip scrub
Contrary to popular belief, a gentle exfoliation is not prohibited on fragile lips, provided you remain very careful. Once or twice a week maximum, the day before New Year’s Eve included, the idea is only to remove the dead skin that catches the light, not to sand the mouth. We choose a mini-grain lip exfoliant, enriched with oils or honey, or an ultra-simple homemade recipe.
For an express scrub, you can prepare a small paste:
- mix a little honey or vegetable oil with fine sugar;
- apply to clean lips with your fingertip;
- massage in very light circular movements, without rubbing;
- remove with a tissue or lukewarm water, then pat dry.
New Year’s Eve, step 2: night lip mask and party lipstick
Just after the exfoliation, time for the night lip mask. At night, the skin regenerates better and absorbs more active ingredients. Apply a generous layer of a very rich balm, containing for example shea or cocoa butter, sweet almond or coconut oil, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, panthenol, lanolin or vaseline. This fatty film acts as a dressing balm: it strengthens the skin barrier, limits water loss and helps microcracks to repair themselves.
On New Year’s Eve morning, simply dab off the excess with a tissue. The lips are more supple, smoothed, ready to receive a festive lipstick that is more creamy than ultra matte. You can keep a veil of balm underneath for comfort, and renew during the day with an SPF stick if you go out. If, despite everything, the lips remain very painful, with deep cracks or red and oozing corners, it may be perlèche: in this case, it is better to seek advice from a health professional.
Why do I have particularly dry lips on the eve of New Year’s Eve?
The cold, the wind, the dry air from heating and festive meals dehydrate skin that is already very thin and poorly protected, hence these dry and damaged lips.
How often to exfoliate your lips in winter?
A very gentle exfoliation once or twice a week is more than enough, absolutely avoiding lips that bleed or have deep cracks.
What type of balm to choose for a restorative night before New Year’s Eve?
Choose a balm rich in butters and vegetable oils, supplemented if possible with ceramides, panthenol or hyaluronic acid for a real dressing effect.
