Winter lips aren’t always the most kissable. Winter air can dry your lips out and even make them flaky. Ick. You can have kiss ready; or pout ready (depending) lips by Valentine’s Day though.

1. Exfoliate: Try one of the following treatments…

• You can use a small, soft, and slightly damp washcloth to rub your lips about twice a week.
• Take a dab of honey and a dab of white table sugar and gently use this to exfoliate your lips. I did this by accident once (I was doing a honey skin pat) but it works well for lips.

• Use an organic lip scrub treatment such as Natural Lip Scrub in Organic Cinnamon (organic, no petroleum – no parabens) or try NVEY ECO Organic Lip Exfoliator which sounds awesome – a blend of cranberry seeds and organic oils that help refine and smooth your lips.

2. Treat: Some people think using lip balm will dry your lips out more than using nothing; however, I think that using a bad lip balm might, but if you use a nice one, it can only help your lips. At least, that’s my experience. Grab a nice super rich lip balm, such as…

• I’ve noted before that I like the Burts Bees bees wax lip balm, but have been looking for a new brand. I’m thinking of trying Red Bee Real Lip Balm. Red Bee sound pretty nice; it’s handmade in small batches with only plant-based ingredients. No pesticides, alcohol, paraffin waxes, or preservatives and it’s available in peppermint, watermelon, strawberry and lemon.  At just $5 a pop, it seems insane not to try this balm.
• A reader here suggested All Good Lips – which I still need to try, but it sounds nice and soothing. Made by Elemental Herbs, All Good Lips is a combo of 100% natural essential oils and is available with or without sunscreen and in original flavor, tangerine or spearmint.
• Try some Homemade Natural Cranberry Lip Gloss.

3. Top your lips off: Of course choose a color that suits your skin, but go for a satin shine or rich glossy finish, not matte, not in winter when your lips need brightening, and absolutely not on Valentine’s Day. The general color rule is that darker, deeper red shades – raspberry and burgundy are good for very pale and dark skin, while bright reds and light berry (think strawberry) are good for medium skin tones. That said, I’m not much for rules. I know what looks best with my skin tone because I experiment and you can too. If you need instant tips, read Choosing Lip Colors, which is short and seems on target.

I was looking for a honey scrub, but found this great holiday lip gloss instead at the National Honey Board. Perfect for the season! I’m way excited to try it.

You’ll need to gather:

1. 1 Tablespoon sweet almond oil
2. 10 fresh cranberries
3. 1 teaspoon honey
4. 1 drop vitamin E oil

I’d use organic everything, if you can find it.

To make your lip gloss:

1. Mix all your ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Microwave for two minutes or until just boiling. If you don’t own a microwave, heat your bowl in a pan of water on the stove.
3. Stir well and gently crush the berries.
4. Cool your berries for five minutes. Strain with a  fine sieve until there are no fruit pieces left in your mix.
5. Stir and set aside to cool completely.
6. When cool, transfer into a small portable plastic container or tin.

Awesome recipe! This would also make a cool holiday gift.

There are all sorts of other natural beauty recipes offered like:

• Foaming Vanilla Honey Bath
• Green Honey Glow Mask
• Harvest Pumpkin Exfoliating Mask
• Honey and Oat Exfoliant
• Honey Cleansing Scrub

+ Cranberry Lip Gloss via the National Honey Board

If you’re going to use flowers or herbs in a homemade beauty product, follow these safety tips…

Basic flower and herbal safety tips:

• Use organic herbs and flowers when possible.
• Know your herbs and flowers. Get a good guidebook so you can recognize types. If you grow yourself, clearly label the plants.
• Using the wrong herb in a soap could be bad news if you’re allergic. Read Homemade Organic Beauty Safety Basics to learn about dab tests.
• Herbs and flowers work slower than essential oils because they’re less potent, depending on how much you boil them down. If you create a homemade product that also has healing properties it may take longer to work than products made with essential oils. Also, it may take longer for an allergic reaction to appear, so wait your dab tests out.

Also read:

• Essential Oil Buying Guide
• Essential Oil Safety Guide

Basic essential oil buying tips:

If you’re using essential oils in your homemade beauty products, you’ll want to follow these tips… for therapeutic, not just fragrance reasons, than follow these tips…

1. Essential oils can be therapeutic, but only if you purchase pure essential oils. You can easily tell if you’re getting a pure oil based on the oil price. For example, various oils, when pure cost various amounts. Orange, lavender, and geranium oils for example, differ widely in cost. If you see a shelf of essential oils that are all prices $9.99 skip it. These are likely just fragrances, not pure oils.
2. Purchase organic essential oils when possible.
3. Reputable sellers bottle in dark glass to protect the essential oil from sunlight.
4. If possible, take blotter paper with you when you shop for essential oils. Oils are not all that oily (odd but true). Most pure oils will quickly evaporate when dropped onto a bit of blotting paper, while a fragrance (fake oil) tends to leave an oily mark.

Also read:

• Homemade Organic Beauty Safety Basics
• Essential Oil Safety Guide
• Flowers & Herbs Safety Guide

Basic essential oil safety tips:

• Never use straight essential oil drops. Essential oils must be diluted in a carrier oil (often called the base oil in recipes). I like sweet almond oil as a carrier but if you’ll need to use a different carrier oil if you’re allergic to nuts. Apricot oil is a nice choice. Look for a light carrier oil that won’t clog your pores. In a pinch you can use olive oil as a carrier oil, but don’t use cooking oils (you’re not a turkey that needs basting!).
• Before using essential oils in a homemade beauty product be sure to read Homemade Organic Beauty Safety Basics to learn about dab tests.
• Hopefully you won’t be drinking your homemade body wash or toner, but just to be on the safe side, you should know that The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA) recommends that you never ingest essential oils when another application such as massage may be just as appropriate. There are some recipes with essential oils, say for a sore throat or mouth rinse that do involve swishing oils, and some health remedies involve essential oils in teas, foods, or other drinks. If you’re going to ingest an oil, weigh the risks, and make sure you know what you’re doing.
• Keep oils out of the reach of little ones. If your child (or even an adult) accidentally ingests an essential oil, treat it like any other medication or household product, and call poison control.

Also read:

• Essential Oil Buying Guide
• Flower & Herb Safety Guide