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When it comes to the wardrobe of lip products—classic bullets, high-shine glosses, and comforting balms—few can match the best lip oil in checking all the boxes. Turns out, beginning with a base of nourishing, emollient-rich botanical oils gives this formula built-in advantages. “Lip oils in general envelop the lip, creating a seal with a hint of color and lots of shine,” says celebrity makeup artist Daniel Martin, whose celebrity clientele includes Nicola Coughlan and Michelle Yeoh.
Our Top Picks
- Best Overall: Innbeauty Project Glaze Lip Oil, $18
- Best Moisturizing: Haus Labs by Lady Gaga PhD Hybrid Lip Oil, $26
- Best Clean: Merit Shade Slick, $24
- Best Color Payoff: Summer Fridays Dream Lip Oil, $26
- Best Long-wear: Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil, $20
- Best Shade Range: Dior Lip Glow Oil, $40
- Best Untinted: Fenty Skin Fenty Treatz Hydrating + Strengthening Lip Oil, $24
In this article
And while face and body oils may be polarizing for the skin, they’re an equal-opportunity ingredient for the lips, which lack the robust oil glands found on the rest of skin and therefore tend to get dry and chapped quickly. Plus, their innate slick texture simply feels good, and—since lip oils are a more playful makeup category than their more formal peers like lipstick—they often come with indulgent scents to match. With that, scroll ahead to discover the best lip oil for every preference.
Innbeauty Project Glaze Lip Oil
- Why We Love It: Ostensibly designed with the Gen Z set in mind, Innbeauty Project s Glaze Lip Oil is proof that the appeal spans generations. That may be due to the generous shade range, which includes 10 tints in a high-shine finish, as well as the unique formula, which gently exfoliates with fermented pomegranate as you wear it. It also plumps lips over time thanks to a plant-based complex, giving them a fuller look.
- Key Ingredients: Jojoba oil, red root oil, pomegranate seed oil
- Finish: Glossy
- Shades: 10
Haus Labs by Lady Gaga PhD Hybrid Lip Oil
- Why We Love It: Haus Labs has cornered the market on makeup-skincare hybrids, infusing much of its offerings with active ingredients. This sheer lip oil is no exception. It uses a blend of prickly pear oil, squalane, and a vegan collagen to protect and hydrate the lips, and imparts a subtle tint. (It also comes in a clear version to layer over other colors as needed.) For easy application in a single swipe, there’s a wide sponge you can use.
- Key Ingredients: Squalane, prickly pear oil, collagen
- Finish: Glossy
- Shades: 5
Merit Shade Slick
- Why We Love It: Creamier than other formulations, the Merit Shade Slick feels almost like a liquid lipstick—were it infused with fatty acids and jojoba, grapeseed, and rosehip oils, at least. They effectively recreate a skin barrier for the lips (which doesn t have the benefit of the moisture barrier found on the rest of our skin), thereby sealing in moisture. It offers a wash of color without looking overly wet or shiny, making it ideal for those who prefer a subtler effect. You can also choose a gelée finish for a very sheer, stain-like finish.
- Key Ingredients: Rosehip oil, shea butter, jojoba oil
- Finish: Satin
- Shades: 12
Summer Fridays Dream Lip Oil
- Why We Love It: While some lip oils may feel woefully thin, that s not the case with this formula, which has a cushioned, almost creamy texture infused with nine botanical oils—among them avocado, apricot, and raspberry seed oils. That makes this formula intensely nourishing, although it leans sheer in pigment, lending the lips a touch of color versus intense pay-off.
- Key Ingredients: Vitamin E, avocado oil, apricot oil
- Finish: Glossy
- Shades: 4
Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil
- Why We Love It: While not everyone may love the slip of a traditional lip oil, Rare Beauty s version offers a happy medium with its plush, jelly-like texture, which turns into an oil on the lips that then transforms into a long-lasting stain. It feels slick but not sticky, thanks to a blend of jojoba and sunflower seed oil, and offers buildable covering. Worth noting, however, is that it does contain fragrance.
- Key Ingredients: Jojoba oil, sunflower seed oil, squalane
- Finish: Glossy
- Shades: 8
Dior Lip Glow Oil
- Why We Love It: Martin often layers this balm-like oil onto clean, dry lips “to get that added hint of color,” he says, noting that he also appreciates the shade range. Still, the resulting color appears a little different on everyone, as the formula reacts to moisture on the lips and adjusts the color.
- Key Ingredients: Cherry oil, vitamin E
- Finish: Glossy
- Shades: 11
Fenty Skin Fenty Treatz Hydrating + Strengthening Lip Oil
- Why We Love It: This formula—which Fenty founder Rihanna intended to complement skin- and body-care—goes all-in on antioxidants with a blend of cherry oil and extracts. Its oversized applicator allows for a juicy, protective coat in a single swipe. It comes in two scents, both of which are so sheer that they simply appear like a transparent gloss when applied.
- Key Ingredients: Jojoba oil, rosehip seed oil, cherry oil
- Finish: Glossy
- Shades: 2
Clarins Lip Comfort Oil
- Why We Love It: This lip oil offers as much—or as little—pigment pay-off as you might want. With a single swipe, it offers “a your-lips-but-better tint that works on every skin tone,” says Tonya Riner, a celebrity makeup artist who tends to Kate Upton and Simone Biles. However, additional layers impart a more opaque color with just as much shine. Also noteworthy is its unique curved applicator, which is meant to hug the lips for a comfortable (and precise) application.
- Key Ingredients: Jojoba oil, rosehip seed oil, hazel seed oil
- Finish: Glossy
- Shades: 8
Kaja Juicy Glass Lip Oil
- Why We Love It: Glass skin has come for the lips with this formula, which lends a sheer wash of color that s not at all sticky. Fruits serve as the inspiration for the shades as well as the formulations, which slightly differ depending on the respective fruit; the Apricot Allure, a soft coral shade, contains apricot oil, while Grape Glowtini is infused with grape seed oil and eggplant extract. What they do have in common is their moisturizing feel and playful, juicy scents.
- Key Ingredients: Jojoba oil, camellia seed oil
- Finish: Glossy
- Shades: 5
Guerlain Kiss Kiss Bee Glow Lip Oil
- Why We Love It: An ode to the humble bee, this lip oil harnesses elements derived from the hive—like honey, propolis, and royal jelly (which encourages skin s own production of hyaluronic acid)—to deeply nourish dry lips. (They also give the formula a thick, plush texture.) You ll find the usual assembly of actives, including squalane, sunflower seed oil, and rosehip seed oil, to deliver instant shine and immediate fullness. While the scent is reminiscent of honey, it dissipates quickly.
- Key Ingredients: Honey, propolis, royal jelly
- Finish: Glossy
- Shades: 6
Hèrmes The Hermèsistible Infused Care Oil
- Why We Love It: Fragrance may be polarizing, but it s the reason to be for this lip oil, which has a different scent by Hermès performer Christine Nagel for each of the six shades—a nod to the fashion house’s playful side. A blend of vitamin E, apricot oil, and sunflower seed oil delivers moisture and keeps dryness at bay throughout the day. The color payoff is light, but still noticeable across a range of skin tones.
- Key Ingredients: Vitamin E, apricot oil, sunflower seed oil
- Finish: Glossy
- Shades: 6
Yves Saint Laurent Loveshine Lip Oil Stick
- Why We Love It: An update to the brand s iconic Rouge Volupté Shine Lipstick Balm, this is the rare formula to come in a convenient stick format, allowing you to uncap it, twist it up, and swipe it on with a single hand. The solid texture transforms into an oil in contact with the body s warmth, where it delivers a creamier color, intense shine, and hours of hydration—thanks in part to a base that s 60-percent fruit oil and fig pulp.
- Key Ingredients: Passionfruit oil, vitamin E, fig extract
- Finish: Satin
- Shades: 20
Ami Colé Lip Oil Treatment
- Why We Love It: Some tinted lip oils aren t pigmented enough to appear on deeper skin tones, which is where this formula comes in. Striking a balance between nourishing, enhancing shine, and imparting color, it does so effortlessly with a trio of deeply moisturizing, antioxidant-rich oils (baobab seed, camellia, and passionfruit seed). That said, the shades are both buildable and universal—and the formula, notably not sticky or greasy.
- Key Ingredients: Baobab seed oil, camellia oil, passionfruit seed oil
- Finish: Glossy
- Shades: 6
Gisou Honey Infused Hydrating Lip Oil
- Why We Love It: Instead of the average oil, this decadent formula uses nutrient-dense botanical oils—grape seed, meadowfoam seed, and evening primrose oils among them—that have been tended by the bees found in founder Negin Mirsalehi s bee garden in the Netherlands. They re supplemented with additional hydration from honey harvested from the same garden, as well as hyaluronic acid for immediate plumping. The sheer formula also comes in glossy and shimmery finishes.
- Key Ingredients: Honey, grape seed oil, evening primrose oil
- Finish: Glossy, shimmer
- Shades: 5
What to consider when buying a lip oil
Ingredients
First, consider the ingredients. Martin recommends looking for those that won’t make the lips feel sticky or overly greasy. Jojoba oil is a good option here, as it’s close in its molecular structure to the skin’s natural sebum—as is squalane, a stabilized version of the squalene naturally found in the skin barrier.
That said, emollients and oils don’t necessarily sink into the lips (rather, they coat them to create a smooth surface), so Martin recommends exfoliating and treating the lips ahead of application, since “lip oils don’t necessarily hydrate the lips as one might expect,” he says.
Shades
Lip oils come in a plethora of shades—and can be a low-risk way to experiment. “The color payoff is more like a stain, adding depth and enhancing your natural lip color,” says Riner. Thinner formulas tend to be more sheer, she says, whereas hybrids—like the Merit Shade Slick, above—have more color payoff, acting more like a gloss.
Feel and Finish
Most lip oils offer a shiny finish, which “looks healthy and fresh, but can get messy if over-applied,” says Riner. For that reason, a single swipe will often do the trick, but there are some buildable formulas that can be layered to increase the coverage. The texture varies, with some formulas offering a cushioned feel and others, a thin slip—so it’s ultimately a matter of personal preference.
Longevity
Lip oils aren’t known for their longevity, although there are some exceptions (like the Rare Beauty, which acts a bit more like a lip stain once it dries down.) To maintain color, Riner uses a gel-based lip liner ahead of the lip oil, which also lends definition and prevents feathering. However, expect a lip oil on its own not to last through lunch; layer it over a lip product to create an anchor.
Meet the experts
- Daniel Martin is a celebrity makeup artist whose A-list clientele includes Nicola Coughlan and Michelle Yeoh.
- Tonya Riner is a celebrity makeup artist whose clients include Kate Upton and Simone Biles.