Must-Have for Fall and Winter: YBF Define Lip Cream

I am posing with YBF Lip Cream. Top by Caché. 

After using YBF Lip Cream.

After hearing that its customers were using its eye creams to improve signs of aging on their lips, the creators of YBF, Darrell and Kimberley, responded with Your Best Face Define Lip Cream ($70, FutureDerm.com/Shop), a state-of-the-art lip cream that was designed with all of the potency of eye creams. Your Best Face Define Lip Cream utilizes a unique combination of ingredients meant to smooth and brighten crinkly, rough lips, but the question, as always, remains: How well do these ingredients work?

Olivem 1000

This is a patented combination of cetearyl olivate and sorbitan olivate, both of which are (you guessed it!) derived from olive oil. Olivem is an emulsifier made from the esterification of fatty acid groups found in stabilized olive oil, and is considered to be a great moisturizer. It works by forming liquid crystal structures to create oil-in-water substances. This suspension allows its polar and non-polar ends to go into the water and lipid substances, respectively (Cosmetic Science Technology).

It is this formation that allows it to be very hydrating; studies have shown it to increase skin’s hydration capacity both short- and long-term (Cosmetic Science Technology). Unfortunately, there is very little published information regarding its use in clinical trials.

Pentavitin

Your Best Face Define Lip Cream is one of the only products I’ve found with Pentavitin.

Also known as saccharide isomerate, this is a plant-derived ingredient created by DSM Personal Care. It is an emollient that binds to free amino groups of lysine found in the keratin located in the stratum corneum (DSM). Because of this, it cannot be washed off easily, hence its marketing as an ingredient that hydrates for 72 hours (Cosmetics International). According to HAPPI (Household and Personal Products Industry), clinical studies have shown a 50% improvement in skin smoothness and softness as well as a 50% reduction in flakiness and itchiness after two weeks of application.

White Tea Extract

Many products contain white tea extract, and for good reason: White tea extract is a great antioxidant because of a polyphenol known as EGCG. This allows white tea extract to prevent oxidative stress and increase antioxidant enzymes after UV exposure (Carcinogenesis). When applied to the skin, it also acts as a photoprotector and boosts the skin’s immune function after UV exposure, thus helping it to fight against environmental oxidation (Science Daily). Additionally, white tea has been found to have more anti-mutagenic and prohibitory properties than the buzz-worthy green tea (Mutation Research).

Syn®-Coll

One of my favorite things about Your Best Face products is that they include unique ingredients like Syn®-Coll. The ingredient works by upregulating a cytokine called TGF-β, which helps to lower inflammation in the skin (Syn-Coll). In a controlled trial, sixty volunteers tested a 2.5% Syn®-Coll cream versus a placebo and a pamitoyl pentapeptide-3 cream twice a day for 84 days; by the end of the trial, users of the Syn®-Coll cream experienced significant inflammation relief ((International Journal of Cosmetic Science). 

In addition to being an anti-inflammatory, Syn®-Coll also promotes collagen production by mimicking the thrombospodin I tripeptide sequence, making it an effective anti-aging ingredient (International Journal of Cosmetic Science). 

Bottom Line

Your Best Face Define Lip Cream has a minty smell and it isn’t sticky once it’s applied to lips, making it good for both day and night use under lipstick, gloss, or alone. It leaves your lips a little fuller and reddened, thanks to the mint extract, but it’s in low enough concentration with enough hydrators to keep the mint from drying out your lips, unlike many other lip plumpers.

In short, I’m a huge fan of Your Best Face Define Lip Cream! What are your thoughts? Let me know in Comments!

Product Rating: 9/10 (High concentration of proven ingredients: 3/3. Unique formulation or new technology: 3/3. Value: 3/3. Sunscreen: 0/1).

Ingredients: reverse osmosis water, xylitol, olivem (cetearyl olivate, sorbitan olivate), Pentavitin (saccharide isomerate), ethehexyl palmitate, white tea (reverse osmosis water, white tea), Syn-Coll (glycerin, palmitoyl tripeptide-5), Hilurip (isohexadecane, BIS-PEG/PPG-14/14 dimethicone, ethylene/propylene/styrene copolymer, butylene/ethylene/styrene copolymer, cyclopentasiloxane, sodium hyaluronate, xanthan gum, tripeptide-1),vitamin e, meadowfoam seed oil, alpha arbutin, licorice root extract, Syn-Tacks (glycerin, palmitoyl dipeptide-5, diaminobutyroyl hydroxythreonine, palmitoyl dipeptide-5 diaminohydroxybutyrate), niacin, lipochroman-6 (dimethylmethoxy chromanol), sodium hyaluronate, spin trap (phenyl butyl nitrone), superoxide dismutase, peppermint oil, lemon oil, blue tansy oil, blue chamomile oil, paraben