I'm sure most of us take our lips for granted, including myself. When I was younger (relative term, mind you), I used to wonder why some people's lips were so dry, to the point of cracking! I used to like licking my lips because I thought licking them would prevent the cracked lips from happening. Was I so wrong! Things took a turn for the worse about a year ago. It could probably be due to the air-conditioned working environment? Or it could be due to the slightly dry air in Penang since it's located just next to the sea? But my lips were turning dry gradually!
Of course, licking them further worsened the situation. Once the saliva evaporates, it will evaporate together with what little moisture you still have on your lips, resulting in even drier lips. Therefore, the only smart way to reduce the lip's dryness is by using lip balms. Let me tell you that my lips were beyond dry, they were even beyond cracked. They were so painful at times that I couldn't even smile properly or I'd have risked tearing my fragile lip skin apart! It was that serious! The problem was I tried so many different types of lip balms! I practically tried all the brands that were available in Guardian or Watson's pharmacies.
Vaseline: This was just okay, couldn't really give long lasting results, more of a temporary relief. A bit tedious to apply though, because it is in a tube form and you tend to squeeze out too much or too little. The worst part was, after a few weeks of using, the tube cracked! And there was leakage coming out from the crack, so it was just... messy!
Vaseline lip therapy
Then, I tried Nivea Repair from Nivea, recommended by a friend. It was much better than the tube variant, and much easier to apply. However, the effect was also rather temporary, but probably slightly longer than the Vaseline above.
Nivea repair
After I was out of Nivea repair, I wanted to get another one but it was out of stock. So I decided to try another variant, called Nivea Hydro Care. This was really quite useless. It was similar to applying a layer of water on your lips and it almost dried up immediately after applying. So much so, it didn't give me the moisture effect even after applying lip balm. Bad purchase...
Nivea Hydro care
Then my dear cousin from the UK brought back a Chapstick medicated and I tried it out. It was brilliant! It was similar to Nivea repair, but it has a tinge of menthol in it, leaving my lips feeling cool and hydrated longer. It also scored some points for being able to maintain my lips in good condition with regular usage. You see, with other lip balms, every time they wear off (for example, after eating or drinking water), the lips would become dry almost immediately. Put in other words, you simply just couldn't leave your lips without any lip balm at any time of the day or you'd feel the dryness creeping in. But for Chapstick medicated, the effect was on-going. Even after eating, my lips would still maintain its previous condition, without the dryness feeling. It was really quite cool. Hence, I started to hunt for it in Malaysia, only to no avail! Well, to be exact, I only hunted in Penang and Ipoh. They might have it in KL but I'm not so sure.
So I then asked a friend who has another friend going to the US, to help me buy Chapsticks Medicated. The keyword here is Medicated, not just any Chapsticks, but Medicated types. There are SO many varieties available so I had to be clear in order to avoid mistakes.
Chapstick varieties
I thought I was clear enough conveying to my friend but horror of all horrors, I asked him to get me half a dozen and half a dozen I got! But they're all NOT Chapsticks!!! Apparently Chapstick has become such a household name for lip balms, that people do not even know Chapstick is actually a brand! It's the same with Tupperware. In case any of you didn't know, Tupperware is actually a very famous brand for plastic storage ware since long time ago. But due to its popularity, people have been referring to plastic storage ware as Tupperware even though they're not by Tupperware. Similarly, Chapsticks are synonymous with lip balms now. And out of the half a dozen of lip balms, not even ONE was from Chapstick! *sob* The person had NO IDEA that Chapstick was actually a brand, okay. Look at what I've got now! Blistex:
Blistex Lip Medex
Carmex??
Carmex
Blistex again
Blistex medicated ointment
Another Blistex!
Blistex lip balm
Sighhhh... Next time, I really must take a picture of the Chapstick that I want and send it to the person who's going to US.
Everything but Chapstick!
Half a year later, I had another friend going to the US, and of course, this time I didn't repeat my mistake. I finally managed to get loads of supplies of Chapstick Medicated! *yay* I'm telling you, this is the lip balm of all lip balms! It is my saviour! :)
Chapstick Medicated the great!
Of course, licking them further worsened the situation. Once the saliva evaporates, it will evaporate together with what little moisture you still have on your lips, resulting in even drier lips. Therefore, the only smart way to reduce the lip's dryness is by using lip balms. Let me tell you that my lips were beyond dry, they were even beyond cracked. They were so painful at times that I couldn't even smile properly or I'd have risked tearing my fragile lip skin apart! It was that serious! The problem was I tried so many different types of lip balms! I practically tried all the brands that were available in Guardian or Watson's pharmacies.
Vaseline: This was just okay, couldn't really give long lasting results, more of a temporary relief. A bit tedious to apply though, because it is in a tube form and you tend to squeeze out too much or too little. The worst part was, after a few weeks of using, the tube cracked! And there was leakage coming out from the crack, so it was just... messy!
Vaseline lip therapy
Then, I tried Nivea Repair from Nivea, recommended by a friend. It was much better than the tube variant, and much easier to apply. However, the effect was also rather temporary, but probably slightly longer than the Vaseline above.
Nivea repair
After I was out of Nivea repair, I wanted to get another one but it was out of stock. So I decided to try another variant, called Nivea Hydro Care. This was really quite useless. It was similar to applying a layer of water on your lips and it almost dried up immediately after applying. So much so, it didn't give me the moisture effect even after applying lip balm. Bad purchase...
Nivea Hydro care
Then my dear cousin from the UK brought back a Chapstick medicated and I tried it out. It was brilliant! It was similar to Nivea repair, but it has a tinge of menthol in it, leaving my lips feeling cool and hydrated longer. It also scored some points for being able to maintain my lips in good condition with regular usage. You see, with other lip balms, every time they wear off (for example, after eating or drinking water), the lips would become dry almost immediately. Put in other words, you simply just couldn't leave your lips without any lip balm at any time of the day or you'd feel the dryness creeping in. But for Chapstick medicated, the effect was on-going. Even after eating, my lips would still maintain its previous condition, without the dryness feeling. It was really quite cool. Hence, I started to hunt for it in Malaysia, only to no avail! Well, to be exact, I only hunted in Penang and Ipoh. They might have it in KL but I'm not so sure.
So I then asked a friend who has another friend going to the US, to help me buy Chapsticks Medicated. The keyword here is Medicated, not just any Chapsticks, but Medicated types. There are SO many varieties available so I had to be clear in order to avoid mistakes.
Chapstick varieties
I thought I was clear enough conveying to my friend but horror of all horrors, I asked him to get me half a dozen and half a dozen I got! But they're all NOT Chapsticks!!! Apparently Chapstick has become such a household name for lip balms, that people do not even know Chapstick is actually a brand! It's the same with Tupperware. In case any of you didn't know, Tupperware is actually a very famous brand for plastic storage ware since long time ago. But due to its popularity, people have been referring to plastic storage ware as Tupperware even though they're not by Tupperware. Similarly, Chapsticks are synonymous with lip balms now. And out of the half a dozen of lip balms, not even ONE was from Chapstick! *sob* The person had NO IDEA that Chapstick was actually a brand, okay. Look at what I've got now! Blistex:
Blistex Lip Medex
Carmex??
Carmex
Blistex again
Blistex medicated ointment
Another Blistex!
Blistex lip balm
Sighhhh... Next time, I really must take a picture of the Chapstick that I want and send it to the person who's going to US.
Everything but Chapstick!
Half a year later, I had another friend going to the US, and of course, this time I didn't repeat my mistake. I finally managed to get loads of supplies of Chapstick Medicated! *yay* I'm telling you, this is the lip balm of all lip balms! It is my saviour! :)
Chapstick Medicated the great!
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4 comments:
Wah...you have ALMOST convinced me...I need to try it out to ensure it works first. So do u use it on its own or with lipstick/lipgloss on top?
And what is your superhero fantasy? Chapstick girl?
try Kiehl's. It is the best lipbalm that i have ever used.
giddy tigress: Yes you need to try it out!! I dont' use lipstick/lipgloss on it, just purely lip balm. :) I'm more worried of its availability in Malaysia though... But do let me know if you manage to get hold of it ok! :) Oooohhh a meme! I'm so gonna do it soon! :)
soo sean: Thanks for the tip! Will try that out once I'm out of Chapsticks! :)
Arghhhh!!! Lucky you! I want all your lip balms.
I was looking for "Blistex Lip Medex" in m'sia and that's how I found your blog.
I'm a lip balm freak =P
P/S Ohhh! you're from penang too <3
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