My Favourite Lip Prepping Combo

Nivea Lip Butter: £2.10 // Zaza and Cruz Lip Polish: £10*

Lipstick and dry lips- ughh, not a good combination. Have you ever applied your lipstick, looked in the mirror and thought 'nope, that's not happening today'? Despite regularly applying bucket loads of lip balm this used to happen to me all the time, especially during winter when dry skin in general is an ongoing battle. I've given up on some of my lipsticks for months on end before where the shade acccentuates dryness, and seeing as most of my favourites are light pinks and nudes (which are notorious for showing up flaws and imperfections) it's even more of a problem. But since I've been using sugar lip scrubs this hasn't been an issue at all, and they're something I couldn't be without now. They're able to gently remove dry patches on lips, so you're not simply whacking a load of lip balm over dead skin (eeek, gross).

The lip scrub I'm currently using is this one by Zaza and Cruz, if you've ever used Lush's 'Bubblegum' scrub you'll know the drill as this is very similar. A fruity smelling sugar mixture bound together with oils that help to moisturise the lips as you scrub. Personally I could live without the pink colouring in things like this as it does get around your mouth slightly as you use it, but it doesn't stain and easily comes off with a tissue once you're finished. Unlike Lush, Zaza and Cruz suggests wiping off the excess rather than licking it off- but I've always wiped it off anyway, I don't know about you but I don't like the idea of eating raw sugar that contains bits of dead skin.

After I've used the scrub I follow up with a Nivea lip butter which are my all time favourite balms. They're not greasy, absorb well and unlike most lip balms (which only seem to taste nice) I find these actually make a difference to the condition of my lips. I've photographed the Caramel Cream one here, but all of the flavour variations smell gorgeous and I honestly can't decide which one I like best. Once the lip butter has absorbed I'm left with a perfectly blank canvas and I'm able to wear any shade of lipstick that I fancy, and don't have to constantly skip over my favourite lighter colours!

What products do you use to prep your lips for lipstick?