Confession time: When it comes to my skin-care regimen, I tend to ignore my lips. I’ll forget to apply a lip mask before I go to sleep and wake up with dryness or heed the advice makeup artists have given me, which is to keep a lip treatment on while I do the rest of my makeup and wipe it off right before I apply lipstick. It all sounds easy enough, but I just end up forgetting!
Maybe all I needed was a new lip-care holy grail, something that would keep my lips soft and hydrated, but with additional benefits—perhaps something that will plump ‘em up and give me some of that Angelina Jolie/Scarlett Johansson-esque, bee-stung lips energy. Even better, it would have ingredients that are particularly helpful for my personal concerns, i.e. over-40 skin, baby! I’ve found just the one: Mutha Pucker Lip Butter ($28), the brand’s shiny new lip treatment, which ticks off all my boxes, and some. And lucky for you, it’s 15 percent off for W+G readers with the code WELL+GOOD15.
Originally $28, now $24 with code WELL+GOOD15.
Key ingredients: palmitoyl tripeptide-1, pineapple enzyme, squalane
Size: 0.28 oz
Pros:
- Moisturizes
- Plumps and shines
- Nourishes and protects
- Suitable on all skin types
- Vegan, cruelty-free, and pregnancy-safe
Cons:
- Pricey
How it works
What drew me to Mutha Pucker Lip Butter was that it wasn’t just your average lip care treatment; it is formulated with ingredients that help stimulate collagen, which is something that I’m reminded is dwindling from my body every single damn day as I get older.
Mutha founder and CEO, Hope Dworaczyk Smith, developed Pucker Lip Butter for everyone, but she personally thought about how the lips change from our 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond.“One doesn’t usually think about how their lips age until the vertical lines in their lips are deeper or their youthful color has faded,” Smith tells W+G. “I wanted something that was plumping without the buzzy, burnt feeling of the past.”
Smith had a few requirements: it had to be clean and pregnancy-safe (Mutha’s whole ethos), especially since it’s on the lips, and had to be effective. The brand settled on a peptide that’s clinically proven to plump, pineapple enzymes to exfoliate, ceramides to smooth, and a blend of squalene, shea butter, and avocado for hydration. “To me, this is more than a lip butter, it’s a true lip treatment,” says Smith.
Any skin-care fan knows that peptides are important for collagen and elastin production, but I was curious as to how they work to specifically enhance lips. Ava Shamban, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Beverly Hills, describes it, interestingly, as “a bit of a magic trick, or a quick fix trick of the lips that is part illusion and part true function.” She goes on to explain how each peptide type has a function within the skin cells. For example, palmitoyl tripeptide-1 (the kind in Pucker Lip Butter) functions as a messenger peptide with its ability to deliver materials into the cells and trigger “tells”, like reducing damage, wrinkles, or other signs of aging. “For lips as an example, it can tell the tissue how to alleviate chapping and cracking which can make lips look dehydrated, dry, rough, and less plump,” she says. And because palmitoyl tripeptide-1 is a rich fatty acid, it smooths the skin’s surface, automatically making lips look better.
Plus, the lipid peptide chain creates a moisture barrier protecting and correcting with a deeper, more intense hydration to stop TEWL (trans-epidermal water-loss) from happening. “Therefore, the lips, in essence, will retain more hyaluronic acid and water to look healthier, plumper, and fuller,” she says. “In that sense, it will help the appearance of the lips and give a plumping effect in a variety of ways.”
My honest review
Like many aughts-era trends, lip plumpers are back in, but some of us might not want that burning feeling that Dworaczyk Smith mentioned, which so many of them had. I was curious how this would compare to the old-school plumpers.
Before I even put it on my lips, I was immediately impressed by Mutha Pucker Lip Butter. Housed in a cute, frosted jar, it has a delicious vanilla-mint scent, which is one of the best combinations on the planet (why don’t we have a ton of ready-made beverages in this combo, btw?).
I applied a pea-sized amount on my lips, slathering them evenly, and loved the instant glossy shine. My lips looked plumper right away and felt incredibly juicy. There was no stickiness or tacky feeling. A few hours later, I still loved how it felt, so much, in fact, that I didn’t even wipe it off to replace it with red lipstick (my signature). I feel like my lips have been waiting for a product like this. I can’t even see myself forgetting to use it like I did with other lip treatments in the past. Get this stuff, then get some for your friends. It’s seriously heaven in a jar. Buy here and save 15 percent off with code WELL+GOOD15.