FOUR OF THE BEST: LIP BALMS

Having soft, hydrated lips is lovely. It's a small, specific kind of comfort, knowing you are delightfully kissable at any moment, not a flake to be seen.

Not quite to this level but you get the idea.

Unlike the rest of your skin, lips don't have oil glands, which means they can dry out easily, get irritated, and go flaky. And flaky lips are... not a good look, if you can help it. No one wants a mouth that looks like it's been dusted with finely shaven parmesan. It says: help me I am dehydrated! To which I say, have a tall glass of water, do a gentle weekly exfoliation and reach for a reliable lip balm. Look for ingredients like humectancts which hydrate (hyaluronic acid and glycerin), emollients to soften (oils, butters, squalane), and occlusiveS, which seal moisture in (petrolatum like Vaseline, Lanolin, Beeswax).

I like the way budget lipbalms can be just as effective as an expensive ones, it just depends on what you're going for. Do you just want a lipbalm that does the job, no frills, bells or whistles? Or do you need an emotional support lipbalm that delivers comfort literally and metaphorically.. Do you want a luxury balm that makes you feel expensive, or a trending product that gives you status? There's something for every want, need and wallet, equally good, for different reasons. Want plumping? Line smoothing? A hint of colour? A twist of gloss? A gentle exfoliation? A hit of SPF? You really can have it all. But the thing I care about the most if you are a lipbalm, is 1: Do not be sticky. And 2: Don't you even dare contain supposed lip volumising irritants that make my mouth and the back of my throat feel like they are on fire. Yes, I am looking at you, Szechuan, cayenne and other varietals of spicy pepper. Stay the hell away.

I am a person who is relatively easily pleased, and even more so when I am served up a product with an extra twist of whimsy or delight. Here are four of my favourite lip balms, that truly satisfy the brief.

1. This JellyKo Gelato Glaze Lip Mask

Will never get over the tiny gold knife.

I will never forget my first time opening the box of this Korean-made lipbalm, to discover that it came with a reassuringly heavy, miniature gold knife. Like a fancy, little butter knife. The type a mouse might use, if the mouse was wearing a little dress and apron and bustling about the kitchen Beatrix Potter style. As someone who has always loved miniature things, The JellyKo lip mask applicator is certifiably one of the cutest additions to a lipcare product I have seen. This one I keep on my bedside table and apply at night. Every time I use it , it not only moisturises beautifully, with its combo of oils, butters and amino acids but it leaves lips with a silky glaze that’s very... I want to say glazed doughnut, but it could just as well be sweet marmalade.

2. This Round Lab Birch Juice Lip Mask

How cute is the applicator?

This K-Beauty lip balm is one of the fifteen million (haven’t actually counted) interesting things you can find at Korean-, Japanese- and Chinese-Beauty wonderland, W Cosmetics, which seems to be popping up all over the place and bringing Asian beauty innovations to the masses. It’s fun but can be overwhelming if you don't know what you're looking for. I discovered this lipbalm at a Round Lab product launch. When I got home with this, I saw in its box that there was a pot of lip balm and also this confounding tool. Was it anther lip balm? I tried to open it, to no avail. "That’s the applicator mum," said my 11-year old with the eyeroll of the disdainful and eternally knowledgeable tween. The applicator is tactile and smooth and it’s so nice smoothing this soft, bouncy plastic dome over your lips. 'So nice' is a boring way of putting it I guess, but it's sensorial and juicy and I reach for it again and again.

This super cute Pixar x MINISO Disney Collection Moisturising Lip Balm

A Miniso x Pixar lip balm with a delightful piggy lid

Is it stupid that a lipbalm that looks like it should be for a child gave me so much joy? No, it is not. Because we are in an age of bandaiding over our problems and pretending that the world isn't on fire by buying little things that spark delight. You only need look at those 3am queues outside PopMart, and grown men getting into punch-ups over Labubu scarcity, to know we are living through special times. This is a hydrating balm with a waxy texture that adheres well and has a little Pixar piggy on the top to make you smile.

This By Terry Baume de Rose

Well loved, well used. Third pot.

This one is firmly in the ‘makes me feel special’ category. Every time I use it, I feel like a queen with her life together. I am a long-time lover of By Terry’s luxe brand which you can find in Mecca. I could not be without her Tea-to-Tan liquid bronzer or Hyalupowder which blurs skin to perfection and mattifies my perimenopausally sweaty face while still retaining a certain level of natural glow with zero powder-related cakeyness. But the lip balm is also just a beautiful object I enjoy having close by at all times. A gorgeous, frosted glass pot with silver lid. The palest blush-pink, creamy, rose-scented lip balm that really feels like a treatment. It lightens my lips ever so gently with its uber hydrating, satiny texture, but rather than making me look deathly and pale I feel like the vibe is more ethereal and pretty, even on days when I am troll-like. That’s by Terry. At $93, it is an expensive lipbalm, but it will make you feel expensive, too, and your lips will look and feel delicious .

Budget Bonus: Dermal Therapy

Just three Dermal Therapy Lip Balms I found in my immediate vicinity. Well squeezed, well loved.

If you want a lip balm that just does the job, I can never fault a Dermal Therapy Lip Therapy anything. I probably have fifteen of their lipbalms rattling around the house, in the car, handbag, probably one or two have rolled under the couch. The Original formula is $6.99 and it's the one I hear being most often recommended by dermatologists. It really is extremely good.. Got any other favourites to share? Let me know!