The First Thing I Healed Was My Mouth

I didn’t plan to buy it.

I was in Baguio, walking through Watsons at SM, just looking for tissues — the kind I keep in my bag for emergencies.

It was a practical errand.

But as I passed by the Laneige stand, something tugged at me.

I’d been looking for a good lip balm for months.

My lips were dry — but it was deeper than that. I knew it.

I was supposed to buy only the moisturizer and the tissues.

That was all I had budgeted for.

It was an impromptu trip, all-expense paid by my sister, and I didn’t bring much.

What little money I had, I was saving for Zac.

For tuition. For groceries.

For anything except me.

But something in me stirred.

Louise Hay once wrote that dry lips are often linked to self-love — or the lack of it.

The inability to express yourself.

And in that moment, I knew:

My soul was speaking.

It said, “It’s time to take care of yourself again.”

So I listened.

I picked up the Laneige Dreamy Lip Kit.

And I said yes.

Yes to loving myself again.

Yes to saying no.

Yes to putting myself first — even when it’s uncomfortable.

Yes to filling my cup first before pouring — even for the ones I love the most.

Especially for them.

It was a couple of extra thousand pesos I hadn’t planned on spending.

But the joy?

Priceless.

And still giving.

Every time I open one of those little pots and swipe it gently across my lips, I’m not just softening skin —

I’m softening the places where I forgot I mattered.

I’m not just moisturizing.

I’m remembering.

That I deserve to be cared for.

That I can heal — even starting with something as simple as my mouth.

Read my review of the Laneige Dreamy Lip Kit here.