Not quite a balm and not quite a gloss, lip oils are essentially the love child of both. These nourishing tubes goo infused with a myriad of oils multitask with the finish of a shiny, tinted gloss and the moisturizing benefits of a balm.
You now no longer need to complain about the stickiness of a lip gloss or be bored to tears with the utilitarian nature of a lip balm again. Allow these jojoba-, hazelnut-, olive fruit-, and sunflower seed oil-infused options to be just the soothing solution you're looking for. Swipe them directly onto your lips for a mirror-like finish or top your favorite matte lipstick with one for a more dimensional look (and shock of hydration) just as K-pop star Jessica Jung loves to do. Aesthetics aside, the lip oils will also treat lips like a concentrated hydrating serum. Many are formulated with moisture-replenishing and -attracting ingredients like hyaluronic acid and vitamin E to make sure your lips stay smooth even when you're not wearing them.
With more and more brands jumping on the lip oil train, we rounded up over a dozen of the best tubes, crayons, and sticks we've tried. None of the are greasy, heavy, or sticky. As you scroll through, you'll notice they range from drugstore finds for dipping your toe (or rather, the appropriate doe-foot wand applicator) into the novel lip product category from Burt's Bees and Nyx to extreme luxury ones, like one with a 24-karat gold applicator, to indulge your lips in.
All products featured on Allure are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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Versed Silk Slip Conditioning Lip Oil
Just like a négligée, the Versed Silk Slip Conditioning Lip Oil coats lips in a barely-there layer of – in this case – sesame, camellia, jojoba, and sunflower seed oils. All you need is a drop from the pretty pink tube for lasting hydration.
$10 (Shop Now)
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Sara Happ Lip Elixir Intensive Treatment Oil
Consider the Sara Happ Lip Elixir Intensive Treatment Oil as the grownup version of the old-school rollerball glosses of your youth. In this iteration, the applicator is an orb of love-attracting rose quartz that glazes lips in nourishing apricot oil and hyaluronic acid. And instead of a fruit-inspired scent, Sara Happ's lip oil has a rose-vanilla fragrance.
$34 (Shop Now)
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Burt's Bees Hydrating Lip Oil
The Burt's Bees Hydrating Lip Oil has the same lip nourishing powers as the brand's classic lip balm – just with a sheen. Sweet almond oil teams up sunflower seed oil and shea butter to coat lips in a slick-yet-smoothing formula.
$6 (Shop Now)
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Sugar Rush Lip Sip Vegan Lip Oil
If you could coat your lips in Jell-O, the result would look like a coat of the Sugar Rush Lip Sip Vegan Lip Oil. Trust us when we say it has the same reflectiveness with a hint of color san stickiness just like the childhood treat.
$15 (Shop Now)
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Then I Met You Honey Dew Lip Mask
Although it's not classified as a lip oil, the Then I Met You Honey Dew Lip Mask technically is. It's spiked with avocado and olive fruit oils for the same kind of dewy hydration as every other product on this list. However, exfoliating lactic acid and vitamin c-rich honeydew extract are added to the mix to prevent your lips for future flaking.
$22 (Shop Now)
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Ogee Sculpted Lip Oil
Not all lip oils come in tubes. Consider this one in crayon form: the Ogee Sculpted Lip Oil. Its inclusion of peppermint oil gives it a refreshing sensation and scent. We love the clear option on its own or under a drying lipstick, but you can also shop it in pinks, reds, and nudes to bring color to your lips with one step.
$22 (Shop Now)
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Dior Lip Glow Oil
Although the many shades of the Dior Lip Glow Oil appear to be one color in the tube, they shift into custom MLBB hue based your pH. The array of purples, pinks, and oranges are also packed with cherry oil, which protects lips from environmental aggressors with its antioxidants.
$34 (Shop Now)
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Ciaté Burst Hydrating Lip Oil
Watermelon, Lychee & Acai, Yuzu & Grapefruit, and Mango & Lime sound like the flavors of sorbet or summer cocktails, but they're the star oils of the variety of Ciaté Burst Hydrating Lip Oils offered. Although each smells different depending on which one you choose, you can expect the same level of thirst-quenching shine with the help of healing vitamin E.
$16 (Shop Now)
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Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Nighttime Rescue Lip Oil-Serum
Make swiping on the Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Nighttime Rescue Lip Oil-Serum part of your pre-bed ritual to plump and smooth parched lips while you sleep. The tiny tube is filled with relaxing floral oils, like camellia, rose and lavender to help soothe not only your lips but also you.
$32 (Shop Now)
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Kosas Wet Lip Oil Gloss
Hyaluronic acid and evening primrose oil in the Kosas Wet Lip Oil Gloss are the perfect pair to simultaneously hydrate and adorn lips with a vinyl-like glow. Of its five fun shades, Jaws (seen above) is our favorite for its cherry popsicle tint.
$27 (Shop Now)
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Milk Makeup Glow Oil Lip + Cheek
Lip oils also come in stick form with the Milk Makeup Glow Oil Lip + Cheek. Dab it onto your cheeks too for a monochromatic makeup moment. Glimmer (above) is a soft mauve flecked with shimmer, but if you want something brighter, try the twinkling hot pink called Halo. Both are steeped with rice bran oil, which is a natural source of squalene.
$15 (Shop Now)
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Butter London Sheer Wisdom Lush Lip Oil
With a couple clicks of the button at the bottom of the Butter London Sheer Wisdom Lush Lip Oil, this surprisingly creamy formula delivers a hint of tint and way more than a hint of conditioning oils like that of Tahitian coconut, sunflower and chia seed.
$22 (Shop Now)
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Nyx #Thisiseverything Lip Oil
As if the sweet vanilla-cherry-blossom scent of the Nyx #Thisiseverything Lip Oil weren't addictive enough, the shine this affordable lip oil imparts will initiate it into regular rotation in your routine. Pick from a handful of translucent hues, including Sheer Sky Blue (which looks exactly as the name suggest but give lips a brightening effect).
$6 (Shop Now)
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Hourglass No. 28 Lip Treatment Oil
It's indulgent — and pricey — but the Hourglass No. 28 Lip Treatment Oil is loaded with vitamins A, B5, C and E, as well as lipid-rich rose hip, olive, green tea oils. All leave even the craggiest mouths smooth and supple. The 24-karat-gold-plated applicator tip may sound gimmicky, but it transforms the simple experience of putting on lip oil into a luxury spa treatment.
$44 (Shop Now)
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Clarins Lip Comfort Oil
Thanks to the Clarins Lip Comfort Oil's gel texture, the hazelnut- and jojoba oil-infused elixir lasts longer than a latte, delivering comfort to even the most-chapped skin with a giant and impossible-to-smudge doe-foot applicator. Over the years, Clarins has bolstered the shade range of its beloved lip oil, so if you want your shine to have a hint of glitter or color, you're sure to find whatever you have in mind.
$26 (Shop Now)
