19 Of The Best Lip Balms To Revive Dry Lips – Tested By Vogue
Dry, chapped lips? You need one of the best lip balms to protect your pout. Finding lip products that are easy to apply and actually work to repair cracked lips may have once been a task, but in recent years, there’s been a veritable lip balm boom that means we’re now spoilt for choice. Gone are the days when lip balms were relegated to fiddly tins and dust-magnet twist-up sticks: there’s a new breed of lip balms for delicate skin, which are more convenient (and luxurious) than all the ones that have come before.
Vogue's favourite lip balms at a glance:
There are lavish lip oils à la Dior, glassy glazed ointments (see Rhode lip tint), pampering lip masks from Laneige – in essence, all manner of nourishing salves to nurse sore lips back to health. Not sure which is worthy of your collection? Allow Vogue to point you to the very best lip balms for lasting protection and an enviable pout.
How we chose the best lip balms
Every lip balm in our edit of the best has been tried and tested by Vogue beauty editors, who have put the products through their paces over several months and seasonal weather changes. Assessing lip balms for their finish, lasting moisture levels and ease of use, only the options that were comfortable, convenient and conferred luscious lips made our shortlist. Below, the lip balms to have in tow wherever you’re headed this summer.
Shop the best lip balms below
Why we love it:
Summer is right around the corner, so you’d be wise to stock up on lip balms that offer sun protection. Beauty Pie’s is a fine choice – it nourishes lips with skin-identical squalane leaving no greasy residue, and comes in a convenient twist-up tube you can take on all your summer jaunts. On the sun protection front, it boasts factor 30 defence against damaging UV rays: a choice addition considering the pout is the first place to show signs of photoageing on the face.
Why we love it:
You heard it here first: Clinique has dropped a sequel to its smash hit Black Honey lip salve, and it’s just as good. Fans of the original formula will need no primer on its shapeshifting tint, but for the newcomers, the blend of red blue and yellow in its formula is cleverly balanced to look beautiful on every skin tone. Add that to a mix of conditioning plant oils – including skin-similar jojoba, which melts in seamlessly on the lips – and you have a lip oil more than worthy of your rotation.
Why we love it:
Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Phone and lip balm? Check. Rhode’s latest addition to its lineup of nourishing lip treats is designed so you’re never without your favourite flavour. Keeping the brand‘s coveted glossy formula handy – as well as impossible to forget – it’s been selling as fast as the lip tints themselves (in case you haven’t seen, it’s all over the internet).
Why we love it:
The genius of Fenty Beauty’s lip scrub lies in its chapstick format, which makes exfoliating dry lips a simple swipe-on job. Made with plant seeds to gently polish your pout and nourishing coconut oil, it leaves lips smooth, soft and kissable (or at the very least, well-prepped for your lipstick.) Before you go in with any of the very good lip balms in this edit, it’s worth adding this one to your cart for the best results.
Why we love it:
The first decision to make when investing in a Summer Fridays lip balm is to pick from one of the seven tints: Vanilla, Sweet Mint, Pink Sugar, Vanilla Beige, Brown Sugar, Cherry and Poppy. All shades boast a glossy, creamy finish, thanks to the combination of shea and murumuru butters that promise round-the-clock hydration and colour. “Imagine finding a lip balm you love, only for the brand to make tinted versions so that you don’t have to sacrifice hydration when you want to wear a lip colour,” says beauty and wellness editor, Lauren Murdoch-Smith. “I like to fill my lips in with liner – which can make your lips feel and look dry – and then go over it with with either the Vanilla or Brown Sugar shades to keep lips glossy without being sticky but most importantly, to keep my lips hydrated. A winning lip combo.”
Why we love it:
Deftly merging colour cosmetics with high-performance skincare, we’d make the bold claim that Makeup by Mario’s serum is up there with the best lip products ever made. The melting formula glides on lips and quickly boosts moisture, while the sheer pigments add a flattering tint of colour whichever hue you choose. Enriched with peppermint for a mild plumping effect, it won’t enlarge your lips massively, but greatly improves their condition and appearance with a glossy blend of botanical oils.
Why we love it:
If you try one product from K Beauty brand Laneige, make it the viral Lip Sleeping Mask. Like slugging, but for the lips, this balm envelops dry skin in fruit extracts and nourishing oils at night to garner pillow-soft lips by morning. Formulated with vitamin C to boost collagen production and repair damaged skin, it’s one you can count on to completely renovate chapped lips.
Why we love it:
In the event you can actually get your hands on Hailey Bieber’s sellout lip treatment, we recommend stocking up on a few to put in every bag you own. Vogue beauty commerce writer, Tracy Achonwa, is never without a tube: “It melts into my lips when they are dry and leaves behind a lacquered shine, without the tacky feeling you get on a traditional lipgloss. But the best part isn’t how glossy or smooth it makes lips look – it’s the formula itself. Like a rich glaze, it creates a lasting barrier on the lips that keeps moisture locked in, and it’s full of vitamin E and peptides that plump and soften lines.”
