 |
All the COVID19 prevention measures are wreaking havoc not only on my skin, but my lips as well. With all the antiseptic gargling, frequent washing, face masking, and not wearing lip products under the mask to prevent product migration to an already bacteria-breeding humid environment, my lips are cracking, peeling, and sometimes even bleeding.
So I stumbled upon this set of lip care products from US brand, CyMe. I've written about another CyMe product here. Let's see if this set solves at least one pandemic problem.
CyMe Smooth Exfoliating Lip Scrub
Let's start with the lip scrub. Label says, "Exfoliating lip scrub helps cleanse and restore your lips. Brown sugar gently exfoliates while shea butter and avocado oil softens."
The label pretty much says it all. As for the experience... well it's nothing like I've tried before. Which doesn't really mean much because all I've ever tried before to smoothen my lips are toothbrush and towel methods. Toothbrush method is basically "brushing" your lips after brushing your teeth. Towel method is basically rubbing your lips with towel after a warm bath. Both methods loosen dry lip skin, I find using a toothbrush to be gentler and more convenient.
Using the CyMe lip scrub was a novel experience. Because I wasn't sure what to feel about rubbing minty-brown-sugar-paste on my lips. It wasn't doing much, and all the dry skin that a toothbrush or a towel would effectively get rid of are still on my lips. The paste is just too gentle, it wasn't doing much.
My lips still looked unkempt and neglected (do they mean the same?) after using the CyMe lip scrub. A good redeeming quality was how moisturized my lips felt. I checked the label at the back and found that aside from shea butter and avocado oil, the scrub also has the following:
- aloe vera
- sunflower oil
- palm oil
- carbuba wax
- bamboo extract
- raspberry extract
- vitamin E
- mango seed butter
- peppermint oil
- lime oil
- lemon oil
- buchu leaf oil
An impressive list of moisturizers. This product is more of a lip moisturizer than a lip scrub/exfoliator. I would recommend this to people with zero to mild lip issues. Like if you have unsightly, dry, cracked lips, this isn't the product to solve it. It will help with the dryness and maybe a little with the cracked parts, but lips will still look unsightly the first use. I imagine using this long term would fix major lip issues. However, its just one more step to an already complex beauty ritual that I do nightly, so if you have the time, this is a product to try. I don't have the time.
CyMe Hydrating Lip Mask
The label doesn't really say much except that it's perfect for use in dry, cold, or wind conditions to moisturize dry lips.
Like the lip scrub, this product has an impressively long list of moisturizers:
- sunflower seed oil
- castor oil
- ozokerite wax
- coconut oil
- shea butter
- rapeseed oil
- candelila wax
- carnauba wax
- mimosa wax
- paraffin wax
- jojoba seed oil
- vitamin E
- raspberry extract
- blueberry extract
- cupuacu seed butter
- goji extract
- seabuckthorn extract
- vitamin C
- oat extract
- cranberry oil
- peppermint oil
- lime oil
- lemon oil
- buchu leaf oil
I bet you didn't really read the list and just glossed over it. I find that American brands tend to have this looong list of product ingredients with exotic fruit extracts and oils, they tend to just add and add and add random berries and oils from the Czeuchides mountains of the South Wind Tribe. Not that it's a bad thing. Just makes me wonder how much of these are actually in the product and if these make any substantial difference.
Nonetheless, I was surprisingly pleased with the actual product itself. It's kind of like thinned out petroleum jelly with a minty feel and a fruity scent. I woke up with soft, shiny, luscious lips.
Now this I would definitely recommend to people with major lip issues. This is excessively hydrating, I feel that the driest lips in the driest environmental conditions would love this. Also, compared to petroleum jelly, this has more longevity. My lips still had some product on it when I woke up. This can also double as a day balm. However, I wouldn't recommend this for use under a face mask. It can get sticky with all the oils and waxes from faraway mountains which can clog pores.
CyMe Hydrating Lip Balm
Label says, "Hydrating lip balm softens and moisturizes lips with Q10 and vitamin E with a nourishing infusion of avocado oil, squalene and olive oil."
This also has a rather short ingredient list:
- vitamin E
- lime oil
- lemon oil
- buchu leaf oil
It's not as hydrating as the mask, but it does what lip balms are supposed to do. I love that it isn't sticky, doesn't taste like plastic, smells fruity but not sickeningly so, and stays put for a few hours.
I also like that it comes in a dispenser tube. I was never a fan of stick-form twist balms that expose the entire product to air and bacteria. Burt's Bees is my all time favorite, but just for the packaging, this is just about to snatch that top rank.
Bottomline
Recommend? Yes!
Purchase again? Maybe the just mask? And the balm?
Price? Ranges from $7 to $12
Scrub ~ 3 stars out of 5
Mask ~ 5 stars out of 5
Balm ~ 5 stars out of 5
One pandemic problem solved. Please pray for this pandemic to finally be over.
No comments:
Post a Comment