Liquid Lip Shine SPF 35 by Colorescience® (4 Color Options)

Application:

• Use 15 minutes before UV exposure, then at least every 2 hours for continued sun protection. Or after 40 minutes of being in water.
• Meant for lips only.

Best for:

• Water resistant, lip UV protection.
• Lip gloss colour enhancement.
• Moisturizing lips.

This is a water-resistant, moisturizing, shiny lip colourant with the added bonus of being a sunblock, too. The lips are an easy place to forget in our SPF routines. But, they are just as susceptible to sun damage as the rest of our skin.

Constant UV exposure can not only lead to sunburn and dry, wrinkled lips, it can also cause labial lentigo – a permanent brown spot on the lips. Sometimes, lack of lip protection can require medical intervention.

So it’s definitely not a small thing to keep the lips protected from UVA and UVB rays, even in the winter, or when staying inside (UVA rays are invisible, and penetrate through windows).

The Colorescience® Liquid Lip Shine SPF 35 contains zinc oxide – a common, mineral sunblock and skin soother. This non-chemical sun protectant is used to avoid skin irritation, which can happen more easily with chemical-based sun filters. In fact, this same ingredient is used in some diaper rash creams!

The formula also contains lip conditioners, so you can use it as a lip balm, too.

It’s an excellent, multi-tasking makeup item, like many other Colorescience® products.

A few helpful things to know about this product:

This product should not be used anywhere except the lips (i.e. don’t try it as an eye shadow or blush!). 

The zinc oxide sunblock adds a bit of thickness to the product, but not too much; many testify that this is not a ‘sticky’ lip gloss. It keeps lips moisturized and adds a sheer bit of colour while doing so. The zinc oxide may even help with a common complaint of lip glosses versus lipsticks: that they don’t stay on long enough. The Colorescience® Liquid Lip Shine is a water-resistant formula, afterall.

SPF should be applied every two hours, to maintain adequate sun protection. However, lips can often be susceptible to product wear off, since they are near our wet mouth, and we wipe after eating, etc. You may want to use this SPF lip gloss more frequently, especially if you are swimming.

Apply SPF to the lips liberally about 15 minutes before sun exposure.

We recommend combining the use of this product with a high-quality, broad spectrum sunscreen, and a good ‘sun smart’ regimen. Examples of sun protection measures you can take include:

• Daily using a base, face sunscreen layer of SPF 30 and above (whether tinted or untinted). Try the ones in our shop, here.
• Using high-quality mineral makeup, if you wear makeup. Mineral makeup offers added sun protection, among many other benefits.
• Reapplying sunscreen every two hours. You can wash your face to do this, or use the Sunforgettable® Total Protection™ powder sunscreen tube and applicator. This product can go over makeup, which makes it very convenient.
• Applying antioxidants in your skin care routine, to help battle free radical damage from the sun’s infrared rays (IR).
• Keeping skin moisturized to help it heal and function properly.
• Not expecting any sunscreen to replace physical sun protection measures such as wearing a wide-brimmed hat, staying in the shade and avoiding outdoors during the mid-day.

Notable skin care ingredients:

This is the SPF lip gloss that keeps on delivering! Below are some of its impressive skin-boosting ingredients:

Maxi-Lip^™ Peptide – a specially-formulated, natural peptide that has been stabilized so as not to break down easily. It helps to keep the lips smooth and hydrated, while also acting as a synthesizer to hyaluronic acid (a humectant). Like all peptides, it is a collagen-inducer. Collagen makes up 70% of our skin, and is vital to our health. Learn more about it, here.

Tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E) – a synthetic form of vitamin E, designed to last longer when exposed to air and light. This way, it can do its job to help to fight free radicals (i.e. our main skin agers).

Sodium hyaluronate – the salt form of hyaluronic acid (HA). This smaller version of hyaluronic acid allows it to penetrate deeper into the skin, for good hydration. Hyaluronic acid is a powerful water-binder (i.e. a humectant).

Phenyl trimethicone, bis-vinyl dimethicone/ dimethicone copolymer – these are liquid, silicone-based skin sealants, used to ‘trap in’ water moisture (this is important when using hyaluronic acid or humectants, which can otherwise evaporate).

Iron oxides – these are micro-sized mineral pigments. They are commonly used as makeup colourants. However lately, they have become popular for their ability to protect skin against the aging effects of blue light (i.e. HEV light). Blue light is often emitted from our modern-day computer and phone screens.

Plus other emollients, humectants, occlusives and skin supporting ingredients. Mica is used as a shimmering agent. No parabens are used as preservatives.

Active ingredients:

Zinc Oxide 6.6% – a common mineral that provides broad-spectrum SPF protection from both UVA and UVB rays.

Note: iron oxides and other beneficial components of this product, noted above, are considered ‘inactive’ ingredients. These are drug terms to describe the activity of ingredients in the way they operate on our bodies.