Not to be a downer, and ruin your day mid-sip of your Pumpkin Spiced Latte, but we've gotta address this. Winter is on the way. There, we said it.

It's nearly the time of year when mother nature literally gets cold-hearted, and your lips are likely to suffer if you don't have a plan of action in place. Not to mention the precision of your vampy lipstick application. Dark lipstick does NOT leave anything to the imagination-so those chapped lips have got to go!

We've got a few tips to help you soften the blow of what can feel like a bitter season. Hey, you might even meet Mother Nature with a smile most days and convince her to bring on spring just a little bit earlier.

Step 1: Exfoliate Your Lips

Those winter months can be dark and disorienting, and in a moment of cold-induced delirium, you might think it's a good idea to try gently buffing your lips with a loofah or something similar. DON'T do it. You've got options. For example, The Body Shop makes an excellent that both exfoliates and moisturizes. It's made of a special formula with crushed fig stone granules that help to remove dead skin, and macadamia nut oil to replenish that desperately needed moisture. We repeat: step away from the loofah.

Step 2: Revitalize Your Lips

Sometimes, simple chapstick can't cut it. Especially after weeks of winter have worn your lips down to a texture between a scouring pad and dry breakfast cereal. You need deep moisture of the sort that The Body Shop Nutritic Lips provides. It's specially formulated to soothe very dry lips and its silky texture is a delight that will make you forget that you've been wearing the same sweater for 3 weeks. Almost.

Step 3: Repair Your Lips

You're almost ready to apply that lipstick and have it look as lush as ever, even in the middle of winter. The last step is to make sure your lips are in peak pucker condition by giving them a dose of deep hydration. This is where something like SkinCeuticals Antioxidant Lip Repair might come into play. We're pretty sure that we legally can't call this a miracle product, but ... it is. And that's enough to make us throw up our praise hands.

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