This is part one in the Winter series of posts, covering beauty, fashion and pretty things for your mind and body in the coldest months. Hopefully there will be something in this series to help you cruise through the remaining months of Winter!

I can always tell that winter is here because my lips are super, unbelievably dry. Since I wear lipstick on the regular, this is a real pain in the you-know-what. I know I’m not alone so this winter I went on a mission: winter-appropriate lip solutions.

The first step was a priming solution. So let’s start with a bit of a visit to the kitchen…

Do this last thing cheap auto insurance at night just before you get into bed. Grab an egg cup or small container. Put in 1 teaspoon of ordinary white sugar. Slowly add a very small amount of olive oil (or whatever cooking oil you have to hand) to make the mixture just a little bit runny. You can either rub this on your lips, or add just a single drop of strawberry food flavouring for a more delicious scrub. Don’t buy a lipscrub – this is just as effective and obviously super cheap. If you want, you can get a small plastic container and take this as you travel.

Once your lips have been gently rubbed with the scrub, get a good quality lipbalm and layer that sucker up. There will be no kissing in your evening; oh no, you want that lipbalm to soak in overnight. I love Lucas’ Papaw Ointment, but I also use Maybelline BabyLips in a pinch.

By the time you wake up, some healing and soothing should have occurred. After your morning shower/facewashing, take a dry towel and very gently rub your lips. This will remove any dry skin. Then apply a thin layer of balm to protect your lips.

It usually takes a few days to get my lips from dry disaster back to normal using this technique. In the meantime, I still want the option of wearing a pretty lip colour. This winter several brands have released super-moisturising lipsticks that have a big balm component, so I tactically purchased a few over the last few months and have been trying them out. Comparison review time!

From left to right: Za Plumper Lips, Revlon Lip Butter x2, L’Oreal Nutrishine x2, Maybelline Colour Sensational Shine

To swatches:

I’ll be honest – these are all pretty much the same thing. The Za product was the only one I had a bad time with as it made my lips peel and wasn’t as smooth as the others. I would not recommend this lipstick even though it was less than $20.

The Revlon products are a little bit stickier than the L’Oreal and Maybelline, which didn’t bother me but is worth keeping in mind. The L’Oreal and Maybelline options reminded me of the lustre finish lipsticks from Mac – super shiny and smooth but they don’t last a particularly long time. The brighter colours in all of the brands did have more longevity because they colour your lips, but these are pretty much just a hyper-pigmented lipbalm or gloss.

This means that you use up the product much more quickly than a traditional lipstick. I also feel pretty confident that these would melt in the summer heat, so for me they are a winter-only option.

In terms of lip niceness, these are all great! I can use any of them (even the darker colours,

although several light layers works better than just slathering it on) on my dry lips and they melt in just like a balm. I don’t think they do much to heal the lips but they do keep them moisturised and prevent further drying. The lighter colours like Pretty Peach just add a nice tinted gloss and give you that finished look.

If forced to choose, I’d go with the L’Oreal option. I really like their packaging and they go on beautifully. However, these are kinda pricey* so if you do wear lipstick, and want a dry-lip-day option, I strongly suggest you wait for a deal.

Speaking of which, Farmers is currently doing buy 2 get 1 free on L’Oreal, so might be worth grabbing 2 friends and each getting a little treat (this deal extends to all of their cosmetics) so you can try this out at a significant discount! While you’re there, try the Infallible Eyes eyeshadows – they’re also a great product.

* (I got mine using vouchers, deals and the power of global purchasing via the Internet and so paid nowhere near full price – but it literally took months of spending $10 here and there to accumulate these for this review. This is why comparison reviews are rare!)