Lip Balm

Not only does a lip conditioner help soften lips, but it creates a smoother surface, allowing your lipstick to wear longer. This means a reduction in your lip color feathering, caking, and settling into fine lines. And if that wasn't enough, some conditioners are even formulated with SPF. For maximum impact:

1. Think of a lip conditioner as if it were a primer or base coat. And for extra staying power, sweep over it with a lightly powdered brush, which will also help your lip color to adhere better.
2. Use your lip conditioner alone for a subtle sheen. This is especially nice if you're not into glossy finishes.
3. Wear overnight as a hydrating treatment, and wake up with a new lease on life.

Fans who derive joy from almond-scented beauty products, like the highly praised Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap in Almond, will love Lather's Sweet Almond Lip Protector ($7). The paraben-free balm, which glides on like a soft wax, provides broad-spectrum protection with a SPF of 15. But it's the amazing slightly cherry-esque scent that you'll find to be its most excellent quality. Royal jelly helps to refresh and rejuvenate the skin while, pure beeswax shields the lips from the elements. That's it in a nutshell.

If you've always loved the taste of Juicy Fruit gum, but hate the thought of glomming all that sugar onto your teeth, this should make your day. There's a Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Flavored Lip Balm ($3 at Claire's) available, and it tastes exactly like the real, edible thing. Plus, it looks like a pack of gum.

It's a conversation starter, is so very delectable, and doesn't dry lips out, either. It's also perfect for the recovering sugar addict who likes to keep her lips looking healthy.

If you like year-old Reddit memes, you'll get a kick out of this. Sad Keanu is sad, as you'll see in this handmade vegan lip balm. Tinted purple and flavored with blackberry, the balm pays homage to the Sad Keanu meme, which implies that the actor is totally bummed. Keanu, oddly sounding like Sir Lawrence Olivier, addressed the issue in an interview this year — he's not actually depressed. If you like the idea of Keanu on your lips, act fast, because just like the staying power of an Internet meme, the lip balm supply is short-lived.

You know how when you buy a lip balm that's supposed to have a "hint" of color, there's almost always quite a bit more than that when you actually get it on? Not so with Burt's Bees new Tinted Lip Balm ($6), which comes in a range of really, truly sheer colors. I tried the most highly pigmented of the bunch, the bright red Rose shade, and it took a pretty heavy hand to make the color visible. It's also not one of those balms that dries your lips out, forcing you to reapply constantly. It's basically like a lighter, much cheaper version of Laura Mercier HydraTint ($20). Overall, it's a great balm for the season, especially if you live somewhere with a high wind chill factor, and I think it should transition nicely into warmer weather. The only thing I don't like about the product, in fact, is that it costs about two bucks more than the regular Burt's Bees balm. Still, it's an inexpensive color fix and well worth checking out next time you're at the drugstore.

'Tis the season for illness, and unfortunately, a few of us on Team Bella have come down with the common cold in in the past week. (And a never-ending cold it seems to be.) A nasty little bug it is, colds also have a way of causing chapped, red, and generally all-around irritated noses. For tips on preventing and getting rid of the problem, just read more.