We Found the 20 Best Lip Balms You Need in Your Life
By now, you know how important it is to use body lotion regularly to keep your skin supple and stick with a derm-approved skincare routine to keep your complexion healthy. But are you also giving your lips the same amount of TLC? They're perhaps the skin that needs it the most. Unlike other areas of skin, the lips don't have oil glands, which makes them extra prone to dehydration, chapping, and flaking. Luckily, the solution is simple: Add extra hydration as much as possible by regularly swiping on a nourishing lip balm or lip oil.
To help you say farewell to flaky, dry skin and hello to hydrated, happy lips, we've compiled a handy list of the best lip balms for every skin type and situation. These Ipster- and editor-approved lip balms are sure to transform your pout. Use these formulas to keep bare lips looking extra smooth or use them as a prep step before applying your favorite shade of matte red lipstick.
1. INC.REDIBLE COSMETICS Jelly Shot Lip Quencher
Best Lip Balm with a Glossy Finish
Dry lips are no match for this lightweight-yet-hydrating lip balm. One Ipster wrote it was “moisturizing and beautiful,” while Ipster yacobil6 said it "made [her] lips super soft and smooth only an hour after using."
Packed with avocado oil, rice bran oil, and vitamin E, this lip balm hydrates, moisturizes, and protects your lips from the elements—and all in one adorable package (yes, that dainty little flower is real!). This lip treatment is made with 24K gold, so it doubles as a natural-looking lip gloss.
2. LA MUSE Deep Color Lip Balm
Best Lip Balm for a Bold Burst of Color
No need to sacrifice a pop of lip color for a refreshing dose of hydration. In addition to moisturizing the lips with ingredients like shea butter, sunflower oil, jojoba seed oil, and olive oil, this formula also leaves behind a rich, rosy color. It's bright enough to liven up a simple makeup look but subtle enough to rock every day.
"I wore this a couple of times at work when I wanted to switch my look up but didn't want to sacrifice the hydration of my lips," writes Ipster LadyMPhantom. "I received many compliments! I would recommend for anyone."
3. TETRIS™ X IPSY Lip Balm
Best Multitasking Lip Balm
The only thing more addicting than a good ol’ game of TETRIS®? The benefits of this limited edition 3-in-1 hydrating lip balm. Featuring three different sheer lip colors, this cruelty-free lip moisturizer is made with jojoba seed oil to instantly soothe cracked, dry lips and lock in hydration.
Ipster riddlea19 writes, “I loved this shade—super bright and something different! Also had a great scent, and feels GREAT. Super smooth and buttery.” Ipster Kr1zt also loved how the lip balm gave her lips a “nice subtle color while moisturizing lips.”
If you missed out on this limited-edition Glam Bag pick, don't worry. Another great multitasking option is COOLA SUNCARE Classic Liplux Organic Lip Balm Sunscreen SPF 30. This SPF-infused balm is made with beeswax, avocado butter, and antioxidants to act as both your sunscreen and moisturizer.
4. LASTING SMILES Lip Balm
Best Organic Lip Balm
This luxurious lip treatment is packed to the brim with ultra-hydrating organic ingredients. On days when your lips are feeling particularly parched, reach for this vanilla-scented stick. Plant-based oils like coconut oil, sunflower oil, and jojoba oil team up with trusted ingredients like shea butter, cocoa butter, beeswax, and conditioning vitamin E to create the ultimate treatment for dry lips. Pro tip: Rub a little bit of this on your cuticles to avoid hangnails during the dry winter months.
5. AWAKE AWAKE BY TARTE™ Lip Therapy Lip Mask
Best Nourishing Lip Mask
Sometimes, even when you're using lip balms on the regular, your lips are still left feeling flaky and dry. When that happens, it’s time to bust out a powerful lip mask like this option from AWAKE. This hydration-packed formula is meant to be applied last during your evening skincare routine, because as you get your beauty sleep, all-natural oils and collagen work overtime to nourish, heal, and plump the lips for noticeable results by morning.
"This is a miracle worker," says one Ipster. “My lips heal and recover quickly and beautifully. The texture is nice and it doesn’t feel overly sticky like some other masks. It’s so smooth to put on and it smells nice."
6. MALIN + GOETZ Mojito Lip Balm
Best Non-Sticky Lip Balm
If you're addicted to the luxurious herbal scents from MALIN+GOETZ, you're going to love this sweet, minty, mojito-flavored balm. It's like a little taste of happy hour, even if five o’clock is still hours away. This moisturizing lip balm is non-sticky and fast-absorbing, so you don't have to worry about it transferring onto your coffee cup or getting stuck in your hair. Plus, it's packed with natural fatty acids for nourishing protection day and night.
"This lip balm is fantastic," says Ipster littlekunz08. "I went to bed with a split on my lip, used some of this, and woke up with it gone!"
7. HEMPZ Ultra Moisturizing Herbal Lip Balm
Best Lip Balm for Oily Skin
While your lips may not have oil glands, the skin around them certainly does. If you have naturally oily skin, rocking a super greasy lip balm can sometimes become problematic (as you're likely to get a bit of product on the area around your lips as well). This nourishing lip balm is a great option for oil-prone skin types thanks to its hero ingredient, hemp seed oil. It's a THC-free plant-based ingredient that’s a powerhouse for both hydrating and controlling excess oil production.
"This is a nice, clean, moisturizing alternative to chapstick," says Ipster kullery38. "Feels light and smooth."
8. ECO LIPS Eco Tint Rose Quartz Lip Balm
Best Tinted Lip Balm for Subtle Color
Is it makeup? Is it skincare? Who says it can't be both? This moisturizing lip salve uses ingredients like cocoa butter, coconut oil, argan oil, and aloe vera to keep your lips hydrated, soothed, and flake-free. But the benefits don't stop at hydration, because with its super subtle pink hue, this balm is ideal for days when you want a touch of color. So if you're looking for the perfect balm to complete your no-makeup makeup look, this should be your new go-to.
9. NOYAH Lip Balm
Best Natural Lip Balm
Sometimes less is more. That's certainly the case with this peppermint-flavored chapstick that features a refreshingly short ingredient list. This sulfate-, paraben-, and preservative-free formula powerfully protects against dry lips using a combination of organic ingredients like coconut oil, beeswax, and olive oil—that's it! Its sweet, minty taste is a combo of peppermint oil and stevia, making it a great swap for anyone with a sugar allergy.
"A nice minty chapstick," says one Ipster. "I use it at night before going to sleep to keep my lips moisturized so that I wake up with soft lips.” Sounds like a win in our book.
10. ADESSE NEW YORK Cupuaçu Butter Lip Balm™
Best Anti-Aging Lip Balm
You don't always need to use lip plumping products for youthful, supple lips. You can achieve similar results by using this deeply moisturizing lip balm that’s made with cold-pressed cupuaçu butter, an ingredient from the Amazon rainforest that delivers both healing and restructuring benefits to improve elasticity and anti-inflammatory activity in the lips. As an added bonus, this lip balm comes with just a touch of sheer lip color. Wear it solo or use it as a hydration-locking lip gloss over your favorite lipstick shade.
"Love the duo–color and conditioner in one," says Ipster Ccsheridan. Another Ipster adds, "I use it all the time. It goes on smooth and I like the natural look. It didn't cake up like most glosses."
11. HUDA BEAUTY Silk Balm Honey Kiss Lip Balm
Best Hydrating Lip Balm
Honey, this is the sweetest treat to lather on your lips if you’re looking for intense moisture that smoothes and plumps your pout. Formulated with a blend of the hero hydrator hyaluronic acid, conditioning organic manuka honey, and plumping licorice root extract, this balm delivers high-level hydration, shine, and nourishment to dry, peeling lips. This balm will have your lips feeling soft as silk and tasting sweet like honey. Now that is *chef’s kiss*!
12. LORD JONES Whole Plant Formula CBD Lip Balm
Best CBD Lip Balm
LORD JONES is known for their meticulously crafted, CBD-infused skincare and personal wellness products that are made from the highest quality ingredients. This luxe lip balm is made extra virgin with olive oil, shea butter, mimosa wax, grapefruit oil, beeswax, and 25mg of premium hemp-derived CBD per tube. Its highly nourishing formula uses full spectrum CBD that contains less than 0.3% THC and is lab-tested for purity and quality. The end result? Seriously supple lips that last all day.
13. ORYZA Glow-Up Lip Balm
Best Scented Lip Balm
What better way to sip in hydrating and healing properties of vitamin C & E and plant extracts than with this peach tea-flavored lip balm that adds a tint of peachy pink to your lips? Just one swipe of this formula provides long-lasting moisture that never feels sticky. Perfect for preparing your peachy puckers for a kiss.
14. RÓEN BEAUTY Kiss My Liquid Lip Balm
Best Liquid Lip Balm
This game-changer is part lip balm, part high-pigment lip gloss. WIth a high-impact glass-like finish, this hybrid balm lavishes lips in a botanical blend that’s infused with mango seed butter, avocado, grapeseed oil, and coconut oil to heal and replenish your lips from whatever wear or weather it has seen.
15. ZION HEALTH Orange Blossom Hydrating Lip Balm
Best Hemp Lip Balm
Watch the health of your lips blossom with this nutrient-rich lip balm that’s made with certified organic ingredients, and features the highly-touted hemp seed oil to penetrate the skin and provide intense hydration and moisture. Rosemary leaf extract provides antioxidant relief from environmental pollution and high moisture, making your lips ultra soft and protected, while sunflower seed oil addresses inflammation and contains an impressively high concentration of omega 6 and vitamin E.
16. PLUM Candy Melts Vegan Lip Balm
Best Vegan Lip Balm
Love the fun and whimsical nostalgia that lip balms of our past call forth, but don’t love the beeswax most of them contain? This candy-themed balm is animal-free without compromising on the protective and softening qualities that beeswax boasts. Plant oils, shea, and cocoa butter nourish lips all day in just one swipe—but the yummy melon flavor will have you swiping way more than that!
17. COMPLEX CULTURE TIME PRESSED Lip Balm
Best On-the-Go Lip Balm
This mini miracle-in-a-tube is a deluxe-size dryness eliminator that’s perfect for our time-pressed muses who want something super hydrating and compact enough to throw in a clutch. Featuring a silky blend of squalene, vitamin E, and jojoba oil, this balm will have your lips feeling smoother than a baby’s cheeks in just a single swipe.
18. RARE BEAUTY With Gratitude, Dewy Lip Balm
Best Dewy Lip Balm
Your lips will be thankful for this hydrating and healing lip balm that treats chapped lips with a weightless blend of shea butter, gardenia, white waterlily, and lotus to deeply nourish your skin in a gorgeous nude shade that is super buildable. Its dewy finish gives your lips a healthy sheen with a subtle shine, for a naturally replenished look and feel.
19. BALI BALM Lemon and Black Pepper Lip Balm
Best Invigorating Lip Balm
For lips that need an extra zing of energy and rejuvenation, this creamy beeswax-free lip balm boasts a blend of zesty lemon and black pepper to invigorate and stimulate your lips into their plumpest, most luscious form. Made from skin-conditioning kukui nut oil, candelilla wax, and cocoa butter, your lips will feel revitalized and saturated in hydration. It’s a perfect pick-me-up to get you going.
20. HANALEI COMPANY Kukui Lip Balm
Best Tropical Lip Balm
Whether you’re hiding away on the sandy white beaches during your summer vacay, or are looking to be transported back to the tropics in the middle of winter, this truly tropical-flavored lip balm will hydrate and protect your lips in whatever weather you find yourself. It’s made with kukui nut oil that’s derived from the Hawaiian kukui tree and rich in restorative essential fatty acids that dry lips love. With this lip balm, every swipe is like a mini vacay.
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