Contrary to popular belief, Petroleum Jelly, is not the best thing to be putting on your lips. While it is thick and coats many things, it's not the best thing for your skin.
To maintain your lips in peek condition in the winter, you should do three things.
1. Exfoliate.
2. Treat.
3. Seal.
The first step is to exfoliate. While I typically am against home concoctions, this is a very simple ones that can't possibly go wrong. Wet your finger tip, put it in the sugar bowl and rub your lips. That will take all the flakes off.
Then you need to treat the lips. You can use something that's designed to heal and help the skin recover. Blistex is good for this.
Later you need to seal the lips in. You can use Burt's Bees Wax for this. Since its thick it will help protect the lips from the cold weather.
This should cover you.