I heard lip oil is the new lip gloss, so I put four best-selling lip oils to the test.
This piece was originally published for cherie.com on 2/10/2020.
There's a high chance that I purchase a new gloss every week. I am so incredibly happy that lip glosses have come back into style because this whole matte lip situation was not a friend to my dry, flakey lips. Now, we love lip glosses for their high-shine impact, but they do tend to be a bit of a sticky situation—literally. We also love lip balms for how moisturizing they are, but they don't always give us that 'oomph' in our look (read: they're kinda boring). Enter lip oils, the latest trend that combines the best of lip balms and lip glosses. What makes a lip oil?Lip oils' main claim to fame is that they provide both a lasting shine AND soften your lips. So you can replace your lip gloss and balm duo with just one, high-performing product. Lip oils also contain, well, oils, which most glosses do not. So, to see which lip oil really lives up to the hype, I tried out four best-selling lip oils at Sephora. When testing these lip oils, I rated each product for four main points; shine, stickiness, hydration, and overall look. A winner in my eyes is a lip oil with high shine, very little stickiness, leaves my lips moisturized so I don't need lip balm, and, of course, looks good on me!
The Lip Oils, Rated
Kosas Wet Lip Oil in Malibu
The Claim: "100% treatment, 100% gloss". Plumps and hydrates lips with Hyaluronic Acid, Peptides, and Evening Primrose Oil.Shine: 3/5 STARS. This gloss isn't incredibly shiny BUT it is incredibly pretty! I think since this is a pretty pigmented lip color, some of the shine is sacrificed.
Stickiness: 5/5 STARS. Not sticky at all! Throughout the day and even through reapplication, this product stays soft on the lips.
Moisture: 4/5 STARS. This lip oil does keep your lip hydrated and soft, but I wouldn't say it's a treatment. I wore this when my lips were a bit drier than usual, and I wouldn't say this helped them. They didn't dry them up even more which is much appreciated, but they didn't treat them either. Four stars because in any other situation (AKA lips not so dry) this would be wonderfully moisturizing.
Overall Look: 5/5 STARS. This color is incredible! Malibu is such a perfect pink and I love how it works with my skin tone.
Dior Glow Lip Oil in Pink
The Claim: Cherry oil nurtures and protects lips while Color Reviver Technology enhances lips natural color.Shine: 4/5 STARS. Lovely shine! It's glossy enough to look good on a night out.
Stickiness: 3/5 STARS. Not super sticky at first, but once I started reapplying, my lips got sticker. I think it might be because it never dries off fully, so the product continuously compiles. The wear is really comfortable though, and it doesn't feel heavy even when it gets sticky towards the end of the day.
Moisture: 4/5 STARS. Come through, cherry oil! I loved that this did a great job hydrating my lips, and even when it wore off at the end of the day, my lips stayed soft. In comparison to Dior's Hyaluronic Acid Lip Maximizer, this lip oil is sooo much better.
Overall Look: 5/5 STARS. I was kind of obsessed with applying this lip oil. First, the wide applicator is amazing; it feels so luxurious going on my lips! Second, the color is perfect! Because Dior's glow line is meant to adapt to each person's pH balance, you always get your perfect pink.
Artist Couture Diamond Lip Tease in Sugar Baby
The Claim: Hemp seed oil moisturizes lips while diamond-like pearls add a luxurious shine.
Shine: 2/5 STARS. This gloss was NOT poppin'. The shine is non-existent, and I just want to know... where are these diamond-like pearls??
Stickiness: 1/5 STARS. I did not want to keep reapplying this lip gloss because it was so sticky! I honestly was ready to reach for my lip balm after using this :/
Moisture: 0/5 STARS. Hemp oil didn't seem to do much. My lips shriveled up pretty quickly, not to mention the wear on this was not a thing. I want to say I had this on for about an hour before I needed to reapply again. Plus, at the end of the day, my lips were noticeably drier than it was that morning.
Overall Look: 2/5 STARS. The color I got (Sugar Baby) is super pretty in the component and when I swatched it on my hand. On my lips, though, it's barely noticeable! It might be because the applicator is bad. And I mean, bad. It's flimsy and feels like it's going to fall off when I put the gloss on. Overall, Artist Couture Diamond Lip Tease is a no from me.
Tower 28 ShineOn Lip Jelly in Fire
The Claim: "Never sticky, always shiny lips!" Five nourishing oils protect and treat lips with high shine.
Shine: 5/5 STARS. GLOSSYYYY. The shine factor on this gloss is so good! It made my lips look plump and performed well in all my selfies 🤗
Stickiness: 5/5 STARS. Super impressed with how soft this gloss is. The wear is comfortable, and when I rubbed my lips together, I felt like I was rubbing a lip balm, not a gloss. No stick, baby! I honestly couldn't stop popping my lips together because of this gloss and my friends got a bit annoyed of me BUT HEY! They also wanted to know what I was wearing on my lips.
Moisture: 5/5 STARS. This is a hydration sensation. The gloss was actively making my lips softer, much more noticeably than any of the other glosses above. This is what I signed up for! It's truly a lip balm/gloss hybrid and I'm officially obsessed.
Overall Look: 5/5 STARS. I usually don't reach for lip colors in the orange/yellow zone, mainly because I have golden undertones so they usually wash me out, but this orange gloss is it. It's incredibly sheer, so it really adds a nice warm touch to your lips, instead of a full wash of color. Great job, Tower 28! I'm a new fan.