The 14 Best Tinted Lip Balms of 2020

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In a sea of liquid lipsticks, matte bullets, and chapsticks, there’s only one product that takes all the best aspects of these formulas into one: the tinted lip balm. Equal parts moisturizing and color payoff, this typically overlooked superstar does everything. A gorgeous wash of color? Check. Major hydration? Check. The ability to apply it sans mirror? Check, check, check.

Look around and you’ll find that almost every major brand (drugstore and prestige) has concocted their own version of this lip-softening, pout-transforming formula. Pot, tube, or stick—there’s a nourishing tint out there for everyone. Whatever shade you love, our lineup of the top tinted lip balms will make it very hard for you to choose just one.

Best Overall: Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm

When it comes to texture, this chubby stick rules all. The creamy, rounded tip makes it extremely easy to apply—even with your eyes closed. It glides on smoothly, all while providing a gorgeous sheer color and intense hydration, making this pick a sure-to-be staple in your beauty routine. Infused with jojoba oil, mango seed, and shea butter, this formula is ultra-nourishing for your lips—and it lasts all day long, keeping your pout hydrated.

Best Budget: Pacifica Color Quench Lip Tint

Sometimes, you want your lips to shine just a little. And at a price this good, it’s hard not to go ahead and grab all five shimmering shades. Coconut oil, cocoa butter, and vitamin E all come together to deliver all-around hydration with a perfectly natural glimmer. The formula is 100% vegan and free of silicone and carmine, which makes it the best option for those with sensitive skin that tends to break out. The eco-warrior in you can sleep easy too, knowing that the packaging is 100% recyclable.

Best Drugstore: Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm

If you’ve tried their traditional lip balm and loved it, it's safe to say you’ll love their tinted versions just as much (maybe even more). Made with softening shea butter and botanical waxes (like their famed beeswax), this much-loved formula maintains eight hours of moisturization. That’s an entire work day—no reapplying necessary. There are six naturally-flattering shades to choose from, all ranging from a subtle tint to a more bold color.

Plus, the smooth and lightweight texture adds a natural-looking shade to your lips with no shimmer or sheen finish. Just like all other Burt’s Bees products, this balm is made from 100% natural ingredients, so no petroleum or parabens in sight. All you need for that perfect pop of color? One simple swipe.

Best with SPF: Revlon Kiss Balm Lip Balm

If you’re looking for moisture, sweet colors, and an amazing scent experience, look no further. This balm is available in five “flavors”, all inspired by different fruits. This paraben- and phthalate-free formula also boasts a whopping SPF 20, providing major sun protection on top of a kissable pout. It’s lasting hydration is all thanks to the infusion of natural fruit oils, which helps to retain moisture.

Best Multitasker: Glossier Balm Dotcom

Ah, Glossier. The millenial girl’s answer to barely-there makeup. Their superstar, the Balm Dotcom, is a do-it-all salve that repairs dry skin—anywhere from your lips, to your cuticles, to even your elbows. Packed with antioxidants, the thick, waxy formula smooths onto skin, sealing in moisture and mending chapped areas. Their key ingredients include organic cupuacu fruit extract, and moisturizing omega fatty acids. Their two tinted shades that provide mood-boosting scents: a sheer, flushed red that smells of zesty, ripe cherries, and translucent pink that is reminiscent of freshly cut roses.

Best Cult-Favorite: Fresh Tinted Lip Balm

Here’s an award-winner if we’ve ever seen one. With 13 shades and SPF 15, this coveted lip treatment is every beauty fanatic’s go-to balm. With a power-packed combo of grapeseed, avocado, and black currant seed oil, it’s super moisturizing, so battling common skin issues like dryness, dullness and uneven skin texture is a no brainer. Plus, the colors are buildable. One swipe gives you that perfect sheer look, and a few more transition you right into the evening. Bonus: the formula doesn’t feel waxy at all, so it glides right on.

Best Walmart: Vaseline Tinted Lip Balm

A classic never goes out of style. This miniature version of the beloved jelly formula has all the original’s tried-and-true ingredients, but now with a rosy twist. The pink tint adds beautiful, healthy color to your pout, while the non-sticky texture provides long-lasting hydration. The protective layer of the skin on your lips is thinner than the rest of your body, so it’s important to properly moisturize and protect that area, which Vaseline has been doing since 1870. It’s also cold-weather-proof. Remember applying Vaseline your cheeks as a child before playing in the snow? (Take that, winter!)

Best Long-Lasting Wear: Rituel de Fille Enchanted Lip Sheer

rituel-de-fille-balm — Courtesy of Rituel de Fille

This lip balm is both intensely hydrating and vibrantly pigmented. The semi-matte finish is super long-lasting, and it’s perfect for those days when you want the look of lipstick without the full commitment. We’re obsessed.

Best for Layering: Tarte Quench Lip Rescue

tarte-quench-lip-balm — Courtesy of Sephora

Packed with antioxidants and essential oils, this lip balm gives a subtle hint of color while intensely moisturizing your lips. It’s made with a blend of ingredients that restores the appearance of softness, elasticity, and firmness. Plus, this balm can be worn over your lipstick as a shiny topcoat.

Best Natural Dye: Ilia Tinted Lip Conditioner

Cocoa butter, jojoba oil, and vitamin E hydrate and nourish lips while pomegranate seed extract fights free radicals in this balm made with only natural dyes. These have a subtle tint that’s easily buildable, plus they protect your pout with SPF. It’s a win-win.

Best Subtle Shine: Lanolips Tinted Balm

Lanolin—the main ingredient—is a very effective moisturizer because its molecular structure resembles and mimics skin’s natural oils. This means that your lips will end up intensely hydrated with just a hint of shine. Because of the lanolin, the texture is similar to that of a gloss, but it doesn’t have the unwanted stickiness. Our lips felt soft and hydrated with just the slightest flush of color for hours.

Best Rich Texture: Korres Lip Butter

Available in an array of “flavors,” this rich, buttery balm delivers a shiny finish in sheer coral, baby pink, or deep red for a juicy pop of color. Its soothing formulation of natural oils and extracts, shea butter, and rice wax melts into lips to maximize hydration.

Best Splurge: Dior Addict Lip Glow Color Reviver Balm

dior-addict-lip-balm — Courtesy of Nordstrom

This sheer universal balm comes in three different finishes—matte, satin, and shimmer. Every shade in the palette enhances your natural lip color while also doubling as lip care that moisturizes and protects your pout.

Best Antioxidant Protection: Caudalie French Kiss Tinted Lip Balm Addiction

Packed with antioxidants from grape-seed polyphenols and repairing aloe vera, this super-nourishing formula boasts buildable color that leaves lips with a creamy, hydrated finish.

Your Chapped Lips Will Love These Hydrating Tinted Lip Balms

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