I like lip essences more than lip balms. Because I don't like to pull my lips with the stick type of balms - rather I prefer to just hydrate my lips with tap, tap method - just like I do with the rest of my face when applying skincare products.
I was looking for a lip essence with sun protection on Rakuten a couple of months ago and this Mentholatum Waterlip Tear Color Essence caught my eye. It contains SPF22 and PA+++. That PA rating is what caught my attention. This is the highest PA ranking lip product I have come across till date.
While SPF refers to the protection from UVB rays which are one of the main reasons for skin cancer in most of the cases, PA ranking refers to the protection from UVA rays. UVA rays are responsible for skin damage, aging, dark spots, hyperpigmention, wrinkles etc. PA ranking is usually recorded with plus(+) symbols. Like PA+, PA++, PA+++ etc. The more the pluses, the more protection it provides you from UVA rays.
Since your lips are also prone to sun damage, and aging you should apply a lip balm/essence which protects you from both UVA, and UVB rays every day.
Claims:Tinted lip essence that contains 3 types of hyaluronic acids with a blend of rosehip oil hydrates, and nourishes lips while protect from harmful UVA and UVB rays.
Volume: 7.5 g (8.2 ml)
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Diisostearyl Malate, Mineral oil, Polyglyceryl-2 triisostearate, Dextrin palmitate, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, 1.2-Hexanediol, DPG, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate (Super hyaluronic acid), Polyglyceryl-4 oleate, Dimethicone, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Hyaluronic Acid, Mica, Rose hip oil, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic acid, Titanium dioxide, Iron oxides, water, CT 15850
Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, and Titanium Dioxide absorb full spectrum UVB rays, and Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane absorb full spectrum UVA rays.
It contains 3 types of hyaluronic acids.
- Hyaluronic acid which is known to have great capacity to hold moisture in the skin. One gram of hyaluronic acid has the ability to hold up to six liters of water, and thus helps in preventing in wrinkles, and fine lines by retaining moisture between the skin tissues.
- Sodium Hyaluronic Acid which has twice the moisture retention capacity than the normal hyaluronic acid and improves the skin's ability to reduce water loss while at the same time helping to soften the skin.
- Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid also called as nano hyaluronic acid which helps in decreasing the depth of winkles, and increases skin's hydration, firmness and elasicity.
Rose hip oil which is rich in Linoleic acid, that helps to keep cell membranes healthy.
Mentholatum Water Lip Tear Color Essence SPF 22 PA+++ Review:The lip essence comes in a pink color tube packaging. The texture of the essence is more creamy rather than watery. It glides well on the lips, and your lips feel immediately moisturized. It has cherry pink color when comes out of the tube, but looks very light pink on lips. It has no fragrance and does not taste bad. Your lips look glossy when applied, and also slightly plumpy. It keeps your lips hydrated for 4 to 5 hours. Reapply every 2 to 3 hours if you are in sun. Also, it has fine shimmer particles but they are not really noticeable unless you look up closer.
You can buy it on Rakuten from the seller Master of Life for $3.65.
Overall, this is a very reasonably priced lip essence with some quality ingredients, and amazing protection from UVA and UVB rays. And don't let your lips show your age 🙂