Dry lips are essential when some flutists play, but I usually don’t play without something lightly coating my lips to keep them flexible and soft and to help fill in any dry, rough patches/ridges so the air can smoothly flow across without any interruption. Lipstick is notoriously waxy and lip gloss in a squeeze tube or with an applicator wand is often too sticky.
I recently tried out Maybelline’s Baby Lips. Very sheer color and slightly thick with a lot of “wet,” but wipes off easily so there’s just enough on my lips when I play. It is heavily perfumed, but has no yummy flavor, which is disappointing. I don’t mind the smell, but wish it tasted delicious. This product will prompt your dead lip cells to want to get “all nasty” faster, so you should exfoliate as soon as you feel a heavy tissue buildup. A tube runs around $3.99.
The colors pictured are Pink Punch (which does give a noticeable pink sheen) and Cherry Me.
Below are several other inexpensive lip glosses that offer the right level of moisture for me. I used Covergirl Lipslicks for a very long time before I found Jordana. Lipslicks offer a good amount of color and is not as thick or wet as Baby Lips. They don’t have any flavor and have a heavier drag across the lips. The cherry colored tube is Daring and the darker shade is Hipster. $3.99
Jordana Easyshine Glossy Lip Color is really fluid and juicy. Sweet Strawberry is my favorite color. The darker tube is Sugar Plum. It looks like a rich, brick color, but is a lighter shade on the lips. A little goes a long way. Not a lot of staying power, but both smell and taste great! $1.99 price point is great. One word of caution. The company doesn’t plastic wrap the tubes and they doen’t come in any protective packaging, so check to see if anyone has tried on the product before you buy it. I’ve had this issue so many times in Duane Reade. Really nasty to see lip and/or finger marks on the product.
Nivea makes a great line of products, but I usually use the clear product at night and not with fluting since it doesn’t have any color.
Lish Lindsey 