By Alison McGill
With the return of the glossy lip has come a whole new beauty product category: lip oils. While we love traditional gloss formulas, they can be sticky and goopy which can leave your lips feeling…weird. They can also create a look that’s too shiny. A patent finish is not always what you want, especially when easy, breezy summer style is the vibe.
Lip oils entered the chat in 2020 when Dior launched its Lip Glow Oil. It became an instant cult classic and almost impossible to get your hands on (thank you TikTok). It’s often still sold out, and there’s also a new hero lip oil product that’s entered the chat. When Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty line dropped a lineup of six sweet shades last month at Sephora they were snapped up in seconds; at press time, online supplies were still being replenished.
There are so many reasons to love lips oils. They hydrate; smooth and soothe lips; and deliver a fresh hit of shiny, sheer colour. If you want to create more of a statement, pre-line lips, they layer a slick of lip oil over top.
Here’s seven lip oils we love right now.
Rare Beauty Soft Pink Tinted Lip Oil
$26, sephora.com
All eight shades of Rare Beauty’s new lip oil lineup are beautiful, so it will be hard pick just one. This long-wear formula feels light-as-air on lips and has a mild minty tingle to it that gives a slight plumping effect.
NYX Fat Oil Lip Drip
$14, nyxcosmetics.ca
Cloudberry oil, raspberry oil and squalene are the magic ingredients that give these an ultra-hydrating, high-shine finish. NYX lip oil comes at a super accessible price point too which means it can be hard to land one (so if you do, by two!).
Dior Lip Glow Oil
$50, sephora.com
The one that started it all. This nurturing oil comes in eight shades and imbues lips with a slick of soft colour. It’s formulated with Dior’s Color Reviver technology which helps bring out your lip’s natural pigments.
Kosas Wet Lip Oil Plumping Treatment Gloss
$28, sephora.com
A TikTok brand favourite, this lip oil from Kosas is your choice pick if you want an ultra-glossy finish. Packed with peptides and hyaluronic acid this formula also delivers an amazing plumping effect.
ILIA Balmy Gloss Tinted Lip Oil
$34, iliabeauty.com
It’s no surprise our favourite clean beauty brand has one of the best lip oils. We love how it melts into lips to create a smooth, moisturized finish. Available in seven shades that range from a soft to saturated.
Fenty Skin Cherry Lip Condition + Strengthening Oil
$31, sephora.com
A clear oil that’s perfect for when you want an au naturel lip finish. This is one of Riri’s go tos, so you know it’s a 10/10. The sweet cherry scent is the icing on top of this hydrating formula.
ColourPop LUX Nourishing Lip Oil
$14, colourpop.com
This formula gets it nourishing kick from a blend of antioxidants chamomile and calendula oils. All nine shades are extremely subtle and wearable with the pearlized pink shade Reign Check being a fan favourite.
