BEST LIP BALMS: LATEST RESEARCH PROJECT

Are you on a lookout for the best lip balms out there? I am here to tell you what my favorites brands are after a real trial.

I started this blog post in an attempt to try and find my favorite lip balm, it’s the plain truth. I’ve been on the haunt for a while now. Every Sephora sale I am buying several lip balms, trying them and they are for the most part never a re-purchase.

For me, lip balms are supposed to do a lot more than just coat my lips. I need to enjoy the application, like the consistency of the lip balm, feel that my lips are being moisturized, and I need to feel that overall, my lips are less chapped when I’m using a certain lip balm. I’m sure many people out there would agree on those points being important.

So, what was my research process like? I tried each lip balm for a week during the months of December through April while I was out and about during the lovely winter season, and in my apartment with New York City radiators (if you don’t live in the city, these are some of the warmest and drying radiators you will ever come across). I selected 6 important features for this test, and after trying each lip balm, I gave the lip balm a score between 1 to 5 for each of those points and then added those for a total score over 30. I then ranked the lip balms, so you will see my least favorite to my most favorite. The winner is the one with the highest score. No product can be a winner if it scores a zero on one of the points, a balanced score is required. Lastly, none of these are PR or gifted to me. I purchased them all myself.

This blog post is all about the best lip balms after a thorough review, I am sharing my results with you!

11. Caudalie Lip Balm. 10. Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm. 9. Avène Cold Cream.

#11 CAUDALIE

I purchased this from a French pharmacy in Paris.

Texture & Consistency: 2, a combination of oily and creamy in texture, less than average in terms of absorption.
Longevity: 2, not long wearing. Had to frequently re-apply.
Hydration: 3, felt pretty hydrating when applied.
Post-application hydration: 3, once it wore off, I had to reapply but it had a pleasant powdery finish on my lips.
Scent: 5, very pleasant citrus scent.
Packaging: 1. The lip balm is very gooey, unstable based on exposed temperature. Hard to apply when it’s super cold, melts when it’s super warm even at indoor temperatures. The lip balm completely broke and came off the solid plastic base.

Score: 16/30

#10 BURT’S BEES

Texture & Consistency: 2. Oily in texture, felt like it was sitting on my lips.
Longevity: 2, really isn’t long lasting. The tint can last longer than the moisturizing effect.
Hydration: 2, not quite. It’s more oily, than moisturizing or hydrating.
Post-application hydration: 2, it dries ok, you do need to re-apply pretty fast though.
Scent: 4, pleasant sweet scent that felt pretty natural.
Packaging: 4, a regular twist to pull up type of lip balm. The tinted lip balms have a nice packaging where the cap and paper match the tint. For the price, I thought that was a nice touch.

– I ended up selecting a lovely selection of violet, rose and pink tinted moisturizers. The tints were great for the price point.

Score: 17/30

#9 AVÈNE EAU THERMAL

I had no idea what the reviews were when I picked this up, also from a French pharmacy in Paris.

Texture & Consistency: 3, a bit of a mix of oily and creamy texture. Felt somewhat absorbed.
Longevity: 3, required reapplication.
Hydration: 3, felt hydrating when on.
Post-application Hydration: 3, had a powdery feel when dried out, it was ok.
Scent: 4, an interesting rose water scented lip balm, not overpowering.
Packaging: 4. This is a stick lip balm, in the form of a lip-stick but the packaging is done at an angle with a bit of support when you apply it.

Score: 20/30

8. Cay skin. 7. Eadem. 6. Laneige.

#8 CAY SKIN

If you have been following this blog you know I love Cay Skin’s lip mask, so I tried their lip balm. The packaging needs an upgrade, please!

Texture & Consistency: 5, I mean, if there was ever a time when I felt my lips were dewy, this was it.
Longevity: 5, a good amount of stickiness, I didn’t have to re-apply regularly.
Hydration: 5, my lips felt hydrated.
Post-application Hydration: 5, still did ok when it wore off. I wasn’t rushing to reapply.
Scent: 4, a mix of vanilla and coconut. Similar to their lip mask.
Packaging 0, I couldn’t get product out of the packaging at all no matter how hard I pressed. For the purposes of this project, I opened the tube and poured the balm out.

Because it scored a zero in one area, it doesn’t get a score.

#7 EADEM

I was most disappointed with this lip balm. I had very high hopes as everyone raves about this and it is constantly sold out. Two things bothered me, (1) it felt a lot like petroleum jelly, and (2) after I applied it, it gave me an almost metallic taste in my mouth. Almost like when you pull a crest whitening strip from your teeth, weird, I know. For the price, I expected more.

Texture & Consistency: 2, felt a lot like petroleum jelly sitting on my lips – the texture as well as sheen. The lines on my lips didn’t go anywhere.
Longevity: 3, not exactly long wearing.
Hydration: 3, it was just ok. Not really hydrating.
Post-application hydration: 3, the way my lips were after the product evaporated was pretty ok, it has no finish.
Scent: 4, I would have loved a natural scent of some sort, as this was unscented.
Packaging: 5. It works great, no fuss, no mess. The entire packaging is a little more elevated than your usual lip balm. The applicator is a metal piece.

Score: 20/30

#6 LA NEIGE

Texture & Consistency: 4, somewhere between oily and waxy. Felt like my lips were absorbing.
Longevity: 3, pretty ok on the longevity front.
Hydration: 4, feels hydrating.
Post-application Hydration: 4, felt like my lips had this smooth finish when the product had evaporated. I wasn’t dying to reapply the lip balm.
Scent: 4, depends on which one you pick up. But the scent selection isn’t my favorite, it’s more candy and fruit based, more teenager like.
Packaging: 5, dependable, no fuss, no mess, solid packaging.

Score: 24/30

5. Summer Fridays. 4. Topicals. 3. Kosas.

#5 SUMMER FRIDAYS

Texture & Consistency: 5, it felt like product was absorbed by my lips when I had it on.
Longevity: 3, it wasn’t until this trial that I realized that I was reapplying this lip balm quite a bit. It wasn’t sticky enough to last a while.
Hydration: 4, my lips felt hydrated when I had this lip balm on.
Post-application hydration: 3, my lips did not feel hydrated after the balm dried out. In fact, I reached to re-apply very quickly, and I used my lip scrub after a few days of trying this balm on.
Scent: 5, I’m a sucker for their scents. From the very basic vanilla, to sugar cookies and mint. They truly bring me such joy to apply.
Packaging: 5, no problems there at all. Works great. I love that it looks like a small tube. Doesn’t have the shape a usual lip balm.

Score: 25/30

#4 TOPICALS

Texture & Consistency: 4, you might think it is not being absorbed at first because of the glossy finish. It is great.
Longevity: 5, sticky and stays on for a long time.
Hydration: 5, really hydrated my lips. I didn’t use lip scrubbers at all the week I tried this.
Post-application hydration: 5, I wasn’t rushing to reapply. My lips felt fine once the product dried out.
Scent: 4, this balm has a glossy finish and a very strong mint smell. I do love mint, but it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, it could have been toned down a bit. They also have a selection of new scents this year.
Packaging: 3, it works, it’s not messy, but it lets air in. If you’ve used enough lip balms you know what I mean. After you are half way through and trying to use it, there would product in the balm, but it doesn’t come out… you get air instead. You need to make sure the bottom is up so product comes out. A bit annoying for the price tag.

Score: 26/30

#3 KOSAS

To be fair, this isn’t a typical lip balm. Kosas, has called this a plump and booster. It’s more than a lip balm.

Texture & Consistency: 4, an oily and honey like consistency, quite pleasant. Felt like it was being absorbed.
Longevity: 4, pretty long wearing.
Hydration: 5, felt quite hydrating on my lips.
Post-application hydration: 5, I wasn’t rushing to re-apply. Felt like it didn’t just wear off.
Scent: 4, a very sweet rosewater scent, quite pleasant.
Packaging: 5, works great. No mess. The packaging has a nice weight to it. The product comes out easy and the tip is made of silicone, which feels nice.

Score: 27/30

2. Rhode. 1. Ole Henriksen.

#2 RHODE

Texture & Consistency: 5, honey like consistency. Felt hydrating and thick even when I applied a thin layer.
Longevity: 4, a decent amount of stickiness that lasts a while.
Hydration: 5, my lips felt super nice when I had this on. I can’t explain it, but it has a weight to it.
Post-application Hydration: 5, I didn’t rush to reapply because my lips felt moisturized when the product wore off. This was so different from the previous lip balms I had tried. I also didn’t reach for my lip scrub the week of trying this.
Scent: 4, I tried the vanilla and the salted caramel. The collection of scents isn’t the most elaborate but it’s good. What I don’t love is the scent itself, as the vanilla was very reminiscent of the body sprays, I used in my teenage years. It wasn’t a sophisticated version, which is what I expected. It kind of grew on me after a week though.
Packaging: 5, very sleek and cool. Skinny tube, tiny applicator – I fount both features very easy to use. I invested in the phone cover, and I loved knowing that my lip balm and phone were hand in hand available anytime.

Score: 28/30

#1 OLE HENRIKSEN

Texture & Consistency: 5, creamy texture. Felt pretty good on the lips, interesting glide to it yet thick consistency.
Longevity: 5, sticky in the nicest way possible. Lasts a long time. So much so that one day I forgot to carry my lip balm with me, I left home walked to an art gallery and returned. I was ok, my lips still had something left on them.
Hydration: 5, very hydrating. I could see the lines on my lips smoothed out. I also didn’t use my lip scrubber the week I was trying this balm.
Post-application Hydration: 5, I never rushed to reapply and it felt really nice when the balm dried out. Didn’t need to apply and reapply frequently throughout the day.
Scent: 4, I didn’t go with the natural version of this balm because I found the orange scent too overpowering, it also had a yellow tint to it. I chose this cocoa version for that reason. The scent was fine and not too overpowering, but I think the selection needs an upgrade. I don’t want to smell oranges, strawberry, cocoa or crème brûllée. I prefer less gourmet scents.
Packaging: 5, great all around. Application on the lip piece works great so did the cap. You don’t need to squeeze too much to get product.

Tint: Very nice brown tint. The right amount of tint I want to have on my lips. Truly enjoyed having this color in my collection.

Score: 29/30

Now that I look back, there is so much that goes into lip balms, that even those that didn’t score high are still some of my favorites because of their consistency or packaging (I am looking at you Rhode and Summer Fridays). So the high score wasn’t necessarily a reason for me to repurchase only from that brand… but it really helped me be more objective with why I love certain lip balms. Now tell me, what is your favorite?

This blog post is all about the best lip balms after a thorough review, I am sharing my results with you!

As always, thank you for stopping by and reading. If this content interested you, you might want to follow my Instagram account @girlontheues

See you next time,

Girl on the Upper East Side

If this interests you, you might enjoy reading my blog about my top 10 purchased of 2024, 11 best self-care gifts for the season, and The Row City Flip Flop review.