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What a time to be alive for lovers of lip color. Less than a century ago, lip gloss didn't even exist and now the options are seemingly endless—and we don't just mean in terms of brands and shades. In addition to gloss, there are so many lip-color formats: lipstick, of course, but also oils, crayons, stains, balms, and more. We made it our mission to identify the ones that stand out the most in each category.
Allure editors spent months applying every imaginable hue and finish—getting to know each doe foot, gliding on straight-from-the-bullet boldness, and salving chapped skin (because testing-fatigue dryness is totally a thing). When all was said and done (and sloughed off), these 16 products emerged triumphant.
Whether you're the satin, matte, or shiny type (or refuse to be tied down to a single look), your new (and in some cases, very familiar) favorites are right here, ready to prove why they've earned that famous lipstick-red seal.
Best of Beauty Awards 2024: Lips
Shop your favorite category or keep scrolling for the year's best lip glosses, oils, and balms.
Best Lipsticks
Why It Won: The unmatched slip of YSL Beauty Loveshine Lip Oil Stick can be attributed to a generous amount of passion fruit oil and fig extract. As it glides across lips, it builds gleaming color in 20 glamorous shades.
Tester Feedback: "Imagine if a traditional lipstick and lip oil had a love child: That's YSL Loveshine," says commerce editor Sarah Han. "Despite my best efforts, my lips are no stranger to dryness and fine lines, so this formula works wonders and hugs my lips in a blanket of long-lasting moisture."
Why It Won: A single swipe of the beautifully crafted Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Lip Colour bullet saturates lips in plush color. The classic finish of the 15 shades lasts a remarkably long time (through breakfast, lunch, and a 3 p.m. iced coffee), especially considering how comfortable it is on the lips.
Tester Feedback: "I can't remember the last time I wore a lipstick lipstick that felt this soft, smooth, and flexible," says contributing editor Marci Robin. "This may very well break me out of the stubborn gloss phase I’ve been in."
Why It Won: With 69 shades in both satin and velvet finishes, there is a 0% chance you won't find your signature lipstick in the Dior Rouge Dior universe. Peony and pomegranate flower extracts hydrate and smooth upon application for a flawless outcome that feels as good as it looks.
Tester Feedback: "This is my go-to lipstick for pigment quality, the perfect feel, and stay-put-ness," says visuals director Kathryne Hall.
Why It Won: Poems could be written about the eight matte shades of Merit Signature Lip Matte, but for now we'll just say that no shine-less lipstick has ever had the audacity to be this lush. Hyaluronic acid and sesame seed extract are clearly working overtime in this smoothing formula, which never feels tight and scores countless compliments with every wear.
Tester Feedback: "This long-lasting lipstick is surprisingly very moisturizing while still managing to read matte, which is a feat," says creative director Amber Venerable. "My favorite shade in the line is Vermillion, which is a true red. It's so good!"
Why It Won: Although its six shades go on feeling like a gloss, Kevyn Aucoin Beauty Velvet Lip Paint leaves behind an opaque blur of color. And those rich pigments make themselves at home all day long, neither fading nor drying out.
Tester Feedback: "It delivers on the matte lipstick look while also feeling nourishing and buttery, thanks to, well, shea butter," says shopping director Shanna Shipin.
Best Lip Stain
Why It Won: K-beauty brand Peripera has become all but synonymous with milky lip stains thanks to its Velvet Lip Tint. This weightless wonder, available in 31 shades, yields dreamy, just-ate-a-Popsicle color that endures for hours and hours—even through eating an actual Popsicle.
Tester Feedback: "This has been a staple of mine for years," says Han. "Not only is it very affordable, but there are so many colors to choose from and they wear beautifully throughout the day."
Best Lip Oil
Why It Won: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Lip Oil comes in only one shade: a glossy, light pink that's universally flattering, according to our wide range of testers. Also universal: the effects of its jojoba oil and hyaluronic acid formula, which make moisture instantly available to dry lips looking to tap into their pillowy potential.
Tester Feedback: "I wear this oil-gloss-balm, whatever-it-is under lip color for a smoother application, over lip color for a touch of extra sheen, and as a solo act when I just want a wallop of non-goopy moisture and a hint of color—which is very often," says executive beauty director Jenny Bailly. "And though some may disagree, I love that it's free of fragrance or flavor."
Best Lip Glosses
Why It Won: We'd say the adorably retro CoverGirl Clean Fresh Yummy Gloss in Let's Get Fizzical is perfect when all you want is clear shine, but you get so much more than that. There's a richness to the fruit-scented, moisturizing formula that leaves lips noticeably more supple, so they feel soft and nourished both during and after wear.
Tester Feedback: "I love this lip gloss," says senior business director Eilish Morley. "It's hydrating and glossy without being tacky, and it’s a great value."
Why It Won: As soon it emerges from the metal applicator, Refy Lip Gloss drenches your mouth in tons of shine and zero stickiness. The only thing better than the 10 vibrant and neutral colors (like red, mauve-y brown, and soft pink) is its blend of hyaluronic acid, jojoba seed oil, and shea butter, so you get a balm-like effect with each wear.
Tester Feedback: "The Refy Lip Gloss is such an ideal pick for any occasion," says social media manager Bianca Richards. "Whether you're looking for an everyday essential that leans more nude, or a gloss that has a major color payoff for date night, this is it. Not only does this product provide a beautiful range of shades, the metal applicator helps to make the application feel seamless and the formula helps to keep my lips moisturized."
Why It Won: The cherry oil and hyaluronic acid in Dior Addict Lip Maximizer are a one-two punch of moisture that creates a (temporary) plumped appearance. That fullness effect is further enhanced by the next-level luster provided by the 26 stunning shades—in shimmery, iridescent, holographic, and just plain shiny finishes.
Tester Feedback: "So many lip-plumping formulas make you pay for the enhancement with stinging and burning. This one is never uncomfortable and has a great color payoff," says shopping market editor Angela Trakoshis, who adores shade 001, the prettiest sheer baby pink.
Best Lip Balms
Why It Won: When it feels as if your lips' bounciness has, well…bounced, the ingredients like peptides and kokum butter found in OleHenriksen Pout Preserve Peptide Lip Treatment can bring it back for hours. The added bonus: a gorgeous glazed finish.
Tester Feedback: "I'm almost embarrassed to admit the number of tubes of this lip balm I've gone through (it's three, almost four, but who's counting?)," says associate beauty director Sarah Kinonen. "It's just so good. I love it because it's lightweight but thick enough to stay on through multiple meals, isn't sticky, and also comes in different shades if I'm feeling fancy and want to stray from the untinted version."
Why It Won: Glow Recipe Plum Plump Hyaluronic Gloss Balm may technically be positioned as an anytime product with enough shine to transform a matte-lip look, but it's so rich that our testers loved it most as an overnight treatment. With hyaluronic acid, kakadu plum, and raspberry extract, it has exactly what you need to lock in moisture and wake up to significant softness and plumpness.
Tester Feedback: "Even when I skip literally every other aspect of my skin-care routine, I will apply this," says Robin. "It's downright therapeutic for my chronically chapped lips."
Why It Won: There's something so deliciously nostalgic about a lip balm whose tint matches its taste, and Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm is a grown-up version of that. In addition to flavorful colors like Cherry and Iced Coffee, it delivers shea and murumuru seed butters that put dry lips on the path to comfort.
Tester Feedback: "These lip balms are the 2024 equivalent of Pokémon: You'll want to catch them all," says associate features director Dianna Mazzone Singh. "In every flavor, the plush formula feels like a hug for your lips."
Best Lip Scrub
Why It Won: Just seven little ingredients—including coconut, sunflower seed, and peppermint oils—make a big impact on flaky lips. The refreshing, physically exfoliating sugar lifts away evidence of chapping to create a smooth canvas for color.
Tester Feedback: "Finally a lip scrub that's actually abrasive and, you know, scrubs," says senior news editor Nicola Dall'Asen. "A little bit does the job and it doesn't leave an oily residue or sting behind."
Best Lip Crayon
Why It Won: The opacity and staying power of a pencil meets the creamy glide of a crayon in Nars Powermatte High-Intensity Lip Pencil. The 13 capital-C Colors insist on being the focus of any makeup look, whether you wear them alone or underneath another layer of lipstick or gloss.
Tester Feedback: "It's rare to find a crayon that's as precise as this one," says Robin. "It lines and colors in with incredible ease and never, ever drags."
Best Lip Liner
Why It Won: Whether you're overlining or fully filling in your lips, the Makeup by Mario Ultra Suede Sculpting Lip Pencil is remarkably versatile and will deftly handle your lip-defining plans. It never feathers or bleeds, yet it's easy to blend with the built-in brush.
Tester Feedback: "I love the color payoff and the brush at the end to diffuse the liner," says Richards.
Written by Marci Robin
How we test and review products for Allure Best of Beauty
Ubiquitous with the beauty market's cream of the crop, Allure's little red Best of Beauty seal is known worldwide as being a trusted indicator of the year's top products—and we do not take that trust for granted. Each year, we painstakingly test tens of thousands (yes, really) of products across over a dozen categories, including Hair, Skin, Makeup, Nails, Fragrance, Splurges, Steals, Tools, Breakthroughs, and Sensitive. We employ a large group of testers—including editors, top industry professionals, and other experts— to ensure representation for a wide range of ages, genders, skin tones, and hair textures, as well as dermatological sensitivities and conditions.
How we determined Allure's Best of Beauty Lips Winners
For our Best of Beauty winners in the Lips category, we considered each product's performance across the following categories: product ingredients and efficacy, packaging, fragrance (where relevant), and product experience (including texture and wear). We tested over 7,000 products for 24 weeks on different skin types with various concerns. Every product was determined to have excelled in each category by our editorial team, which is composed of in-house writers and editors as well as contributors—along with special consideration from relevant experts.
To learn more information on our reporting and testing processes, read our complete reviews process and methodology page.
Discover more 2024 Best of Beauty Winners:
- Best of Beauty 2024: Skin-Care Winners
- Best of Beauty 2024: Eye Makeup Winners
- Best of Beauty 2024: Base Winners
Watch us test our 2024 Best of Beauty Lips winners:
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