Case 1: Your new non-toxic lipstick (hopefully Pur Lips) has just arrived and the timing couldn’t be better. It’s date night and the babysitter is on the way. Fresh out of the Priority box, you slide the lid off, twist the top to reveal your new fave color and take a swipe at your lips to test it out. That’s when it happens. The lipstick smashes against the inside of the tube, breaking off at the base! You are now staring at a slumping mess of what could have been a lasting relationship. Here’s the deal. Shipping companies are not climate controlled, nor is the mailbox. So the lipstick has been softened to the point it is not ready for immediate use. Remedy? Place your new lipstick in the fridge for a few minutes to firm it up or wait until the tube has had time to acclimate to cooler indoor temperatures where it will firm up nicely on its own.
Case 2: You place your new lipstick in the fridge and multi task your way through the next few hours, forgetting all about it. It’s time to rush off to complete the errands for the day. You snatch the now hardened lipstick out of the fridge, quickly roll it up and swipe. The top half of it slides down your pant leg, coming to rest neatly on your shoe with an audible thud. Oh boy. Here we have a two-fold problem. First, too much time in a cold environment will compromise the strength, contributing to brittle, easily broken lipstick. Second, it was twisted up a bit too far. Best practice is to expose maybe ¼ of an inch or only what is necessary to slap it on.
Case 3: Okay, we all know that leaving your lipstick in the car in the middle of summer is a no-no. So you take the time to dig it out from between the seats where it landed after tossing your bag on the passenger’s seat. Slipping it in your pocket, you head into the as-of-yet unexplored health food store across town. Rounding the corner where the chia seeds are displayed, you run into a family friend who is loving the opportunity to catch up. Eventually, you make it through the checkout line, out the door and back into the car. A quick mirror check reveals you do not have seeds in your teeth from the samplers as feared, but those lips could use a touch up. After rummaging fruitlessly around in your bag, you realize it is inexplicably devoid of the lipstick it should contain! (Psst! It’s in your pocket. You’re welcome) Rolling up the tube just enough to do the trick, you take the swipe and the crayon, though still seemingly firm, comes to rest neatly on the inner parts of the tube, reminiscent of the Tower of Pisa. It’s broken at the base. By now you get the picture.
Temperature and extension play the biggest role in the break up between you and your favorite tube. Even something as seemingly innocuous as body heat can affect this change in the stability of lipstick. Hopefully, in addition to entertaining you, we were able to offer some ‘cool’ advice, and yes, the pun is unabashedly intended.
Author: Shelly Broaderick – Licensed Cosmetologist for Rejuva Minerals
