Happy 2012!  To kick off this year, I thought I’d start out with one of the season’s hottest launches, Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Balm ($25.00).  The balm is one of the most advanced of its kind, with a whopping eight different kinds of hydrating oils.  Leading the pack is jojoba oil, which Native Americans have used to protect skin against the elements for thousands of years.  Jojoba oil forms a lipid layer on the skin that is partially absorbed by the skin, granting both protective and softening effects (Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine).

Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Balm also contains a slew of effective antioxidants, including olive oil, grape seed oil, vitamin C, and vitamin E.  Although I usually recommend using only lip products that contain a documented form of sunscreen, it has been proposed in the journal Toxicology that regular use of products containing olive oil, vitamin C, and vitamin E may protect against UV-induced skin damage, making Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Balm an exception to the rule.

What I really love about Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Balm is that it works.  In the cold, dry winter months, full lips become more of a liability than an asset as they expose a greater surface area to the elements, resulting in unsightly cracks and painful splitting.  Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Balm forms a healing barrier over the lips, which soothes existing damage and also protects against future dehydration.  The result?  Beautiful, well-protected lips.  I refuse to leave home without it this winter!
Product Rating:  10/10

• High or optimized concentration of well-proven ingredients: 3/3
• Unique formulation or new technology: 3/3
• Value:  3/3
• Sunscreen:  1/1

Ingredients

Cera Alba (Beeswax), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Olive Oil Decyl Esters, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Glycerides, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Parfum (Fragrance), Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Prunus Domestica Seed Oil, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Passiflora Incarnata Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Commiphora Mukul Resin Extract, Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Seed Oil, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, PEG-6 Isostearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ammonium Glycyrrhizate, Sucrose Tetrastearate Triacetate, Trihydroxystearin, Hesperetin Laurate, Vanillin, Butylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hexylene Glycol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Linalool, Citral, BHT, Phenoxyethanol.