Homemade Lip Scrub

Credit: LUSH Website

Winter is my absolute favorite season. There's something about the first snow fall, cozy knit sweaters, and rosy cheeks that puts winter far above any other season in my mind. Unfortunately, with the dawn of cold weather comes superbly chapped lips, something that I have always had a huge issue with. I find that no matter how religiously I apply moisturizer to my lips, it never seems to get rid of the flakiness. Dry, flaky lips make it nearly impossible for me to wear any sort of lipstick or even lip gloss, especially nudes or reds - the fashion statements of the winter. After reading a few remedies, I came across what seemed to be a very popular option for getting smooth lips fast: LUSH Lip Scrubs.

Credit: LUSH Website

These lip scrubs have been rated very well, with around 4.5/5 stars from most review websites I have checked. Unfortunately, they retail for $8.95 on the LUSH website which, to me, is a very high price for what seems like a relatively simple product. That being said, rather than spending almost nine dollars on the LUSH lip scrubs, I decided to check out the ingredients listed on the website and see if I could create my own low-cost concoction to combat my dry, flaky lips. Turns out, most of the ingredients are average household findings, and those that aren't can easily be substituted for something common. Below I have listed the LUSH ingredients for the "Sweet Lips" flavor alongside the substitutions I have come up with.

Overall, the ingredients that are mostly substituted for are the oils. However, the oils are used to coat the lips with a moisturizing layer, which the substitutions provide a good alternative for. The cocoa absolute creates a soft, smooth surface to the lips, which the cocoa powder can also do efficiently. Finally, the castor sugar is a finely ground sugar that is used as an exfoliant in the lip scrub, which the pure cane sugar does perfectly as well. It took me a bit of fooling around with the ingredient amounts in order to get the perfect mixture, but below the final steps are listed to create my homemade version of the LUSH "Sweet Lips" Lip Scrub!

1. First, find a small container with a lid that holds about 1 to 2 ounces of liquid. 
2. Add about 1.5 tablespoons of pure cane sugar and 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder to the container.
3. Next add 1 teaspoon of the following: extra virgin olive oil, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil. 
4. Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly - the mix will be chunky. Add hot water to the mixture until it has a paste-like consistency. 
5. Place cling wrap over the top of the container and place the lid over top of this, to be sure that there is an air-tight seal.
6. Allow the mixture to settle for about 10 to 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Only a tiny bit of the mixture needs to be used each time. I find that a dime sized amount covers my whole lips. What I do is place the scrub all over my lips and rub it in until almost all of the graininess is gone. I then take a warm, damp wash cloth and wipe the remainder of the scrub from my lips. After I have removed the scrub from my lips, I add some vaseline to keep my lips even more moisturized. Be sure to place the cling wrap and lid on top of the container after each use so that the mixture doesn't dry out. If it does get a bit too dry, add hot water until it is paste-like once again. 

The LUSH lip scrubs do have an expiration date, but I am not entirely sure that the homemade lip scrubs do as well. I would think that the use of sugar prevents any bacterial growth in the mixture as it is a preservative, but to be safe, I don't plan on keeping mine any more than a week or two. That being said, don't make more than you will use in a weeks time to prevent wasting any products. I generally use this lip scrub about 2 to 3 times a week, just to keep my lips nice and moist so that I have a smooth base for my lipsticks and lip glosses. I hope you guys love this homemade scrub as much as I do! 

 ♥