The 20 best lip balms for grown-ups
Make-up artist Ruby Hammer wearing her own ‘ nude’ lip balm
My lifelong love affair with lip balm started in the 80s with the Funburger Duo by Avon. Its plastic hamburger packaging was ironic, Pop Art fashionable and the practical pink and peach glosses inside were a pre-teen’s dream. In truth, my relationship with lip balms started as a toddler, when my father’s plain Chapstick was used to ward off the brutal dryness of Canadian winters. Thankfully, the lip balm has come a long way from waxy stick and petroleum-based pot – and my love affair continues, I currently have about six different lip balms on rotation.
The easy-to-apply balm has diversified into tints, SPFs, masks, oils, ones that ’plump’ and all manner of skin, scent and applicator types. This variety is just one of the reasons that the lip balm has become so desirable. The vogue for ‘clean’ faces and dewy, natural lips, as seen on 2025’s couture catwalks and awards season red carpets, is also fuelling popularity. Various studies see projected balm sales growing from 50-100% globally, in the next five years. But I think it’s the relative affordability and self-care factor that makes the lip balm a beauty must. A good one can be healing, protective, give your lips a glow-up or serve double duty with colour and comfort. TNMA has championed Burt’s Bees lip balm in the past, but here’s a list of our current top 20 favourites:
Therapeutic
La Roche-Posey Cicaplast Barrier Repairing Balm – creates a smooth, protective layer for cracked lips to repair themselves from environmental damage
Eucerin Acute Lip Balm – dermatologists’ recommended for flaky, dry lips [Eucerin in the UK (oil formula); Eucerin Aquaphor (oil & beeswax formula); or Aquaphor (petroleum-based) in other countries]
O’Keefe’s Lip Repair SPF15 – contains soothing shea butter, favourite of outdoorsy-types
Sun Bum Lip Balm Broad Spectrum SPF 30 – this aloe and vitamin E formula is vegan, cruelty-free and smells like a vacation in a tube; also available in a mineral formula, if preferred
Everyday
Jones Road Mini Hippie Stick – beloved by beauty insiders, this limited edition, portable size of their universal-use buttery balm smells of orange peel and spearmint leaf oils
Glossier’s Balm Dotcom Universal Salve – cult favourite has a soothing, petroleum-jelly texture in an easy-to-use tube
EOS’ Organic Lip Balm Sphere – Its egg-shape is joyous to use! My go-to is the perfect balance of waxy and creamy so, a great base for lipstick; reformulated after a recall of the original in 2017, now ideal for sensitive skin, cruelty-free and organic
Fenty Lux Cherry Lip Balm with Barbados Cherry – zhoosh up your lip balm game with this intensely hydrating one from Rihanna’s brand
Tinted
Lisa Eldridge’s Baume Embrace Melting Lip Colour – trio of shea, murumru and wild mango kernel butters makes this super moisturising and hydrating, vegan balm, truly “melting” in texture – love!
Nivea Watermelon Shine Tinted lip Balm – budget-friendly stick glides on smoothly, with a hint of sheen and colour (also in Cherry and Blackberry) – ideal for those who want light coverage and forgiving, mirror-free application
Clinique’s Almost Lipstick Tinted Lip Balm in Black Honey – love its vamp-y colour which is universally flattering, making it the No1 lip balm in the US for years. Its toned-down shine is more forgiving for mature lips. A lighter, ‘Pink Honey’ shade is also available
Korres Wild Rose Tinted Lip Butter Stick with Greek balsam oil & vitamin E gives a superb, non-sticky, natural flush to the lips; colour is buildable and leaves lips soft long after it wears off
Florence by Mills Oh Whale! Tinted Vegan Lip Balm in Dragonfruit & Grape – lip-hugging jojoba and avocado oil formula feels super luxurious – and playful – twist the tiny whale at the base to use this pocket-friendly, squoval stick
Image: Merit – must-try their products, we have heard good things!
Luxury
Chanel’s Les Beige Lip Balm – choose your nude… this soothing vitamin E and moringa butter formulation comes in four colour depths from ‘Light’ to the very popular ‘Intense’
de Mamiel Rose & Pomegranate Lip Balm – Worth the splurge. Alyson got sent a sample to try and was quickly won over, ‘It’s lovely, luxurious and lasts a long time. It makes my lips softer, smells and tastes good and, on the occasions when I use my regular tinted lip balm, it feels very dry in comparison.’
Christian Dior’s Revitalizing Multi-Use (Le) Baume – with shea butter and moisturising hyaluronic acid, comes in a portable ‘disc’ and can be used on lips, body and hands for added value
Serums and Peptides
Laneige Glaze Craze Polypeptide Lip Serum – the Korean brand has followed the sell-out popularity of its Lip Glowy Balm and Lip Sleeping Mask, with this moisture-barrier-boosting balm whose donut-shaped, gel-cushion tip provides better ‘one-swipe’ coverage
Ruby Hammer’s Lip Balm Serum – moist and very natural-looking balm from the make-up artist Ruby Hammer’s beauty range; perfect for the season’s subtle make-up trend
Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment – from another celeb (Hailey Bieber), this unscented balm truly lives up to its award-winning hype, especially in cold weather
Clarins Hydrating Peptide Lip Oil Balm – Clarins has morphed its best-selling Tinted Comfort Oil into this light, buttery balm with rose and hazelnut oils to nourish and hydrate…
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Discussion (19 Comments)
Ruby Hammer says:
I love so many of these Alyson, though I’m also partial to the Tatcha Kissu Lip Mask when my lips are really dry (though thankfully that is not often). xxRuby
Betty says:
Great list – shame only two with SPF! Lips are so sensitive, particularly if you are prone to cold sores/herpes outbreaks. I don’t understand why these companies don’t add SPF as a matter of fact to their formulas.
Helen Neill says:
Lanolips is very good and I think they do one with spf. Also love Summer Fridays lip butter balm
Anne says:
The Nivea Blackberry is a good enough drugstore dupe of the Clinique Black Honey, my ‘go to’ since I was a teenager. The Nivea is very affordable so you can have one in every purse and pocket without breaking the bank. Love having all the other suggestions to check out as well.
Mrs Tonia says:
I wear La Roche Posay balm. Also a comparable product in similar small handbag friendly form by Avene.
My daily one is by Lavera a German health food brand. Ideal product for under a £5. The one I buy is called Sensitive. No perfume. Maybe vegan. Wear this round the clock under and over lipstick. At night I use old classic Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream. Original one or unperfumed.Health food balm : Lavera Naturkosmetik , Basic Sensitiv , Lippenbalsam. Bio Organic. Vegan.
Cheap as chips. Very emollient good product. Other good organic cosmetics in same brand. I’ve tried their sensitive skin no alcohol roll on deodorant. Good for easily irritated underarms.Cindy from Canada says:
I use a lip balm from a Canadian company called UniKa. Their lip balm is 95% organic materials and does not contain sulphates or phthalates – and is cruelty free. These are things I look for in any cosmetic product, and I like to buy and support Canadian. Ingredients used in all of her products are listed on her website. UniKa is also woman owned and operated.
Summer says:
Cindy, if you’ve not come across it, I really recommend Gardener’s Dream Cream, which is made on Saltspring Island and is amazing. I use it for skin, lips, rashes, basically everything skin related though technically it’s a hand cream. It’s not cheap but goes a long way. I personally love the smell, which is a mix of lavender and eucalyptus and is kind of medicinal. It actually reminds me of when I was a teenaged devotee of Noxema face wash. Whenever I’m in Canada I always stock up on the Dream Cream.
Hi Summer
I appreciate the suggestion. I need to be careful with scents – the less scent for me, the better.
Lizzie g says:
Carmex original from the jar for therapeutic in extremely dry places. Nuxe reve de miel at night to wake up new born. And will try your list of suggestions for a tinted option, my favourite has been discontinued so I’m looking for a new one.
Marlena Schewaga says:
Alyson, I am a long time fan of yours from Canada. Apropos of nothing in this post I just came across online a man called David Evans who has written a terrific piece called In Praise of Older Women.
In it, he gave you personally and your site a much deserved shout out as his favorite place to read about and see older women in full bloom. Brava to you and him!
Oh thank you Marlena, I’ll take a look. I do know David who writes the Grey Fox blog, haven’t seen him for a while, he came to my first book launch.
I used to love Burt’s Bees original which came in a little tin pot so no plastic but they seem to have switched to a plastic stick which is a real shame. I’d love to see more plastic free options.
Becca says:
I can’t live without lip balm. After trying many listed above–and many more over the years–I’ve found my favorites:
• Burts Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Hibiscus (warm pink, but there are several other colors)
• Weleda Everon Lip Balm (no color)
• And, a surprising find after reading a NYT/Wirecutter article of best lip balms, Dr Bronner Naked Organic Lip Balm (no color)–this is the smoothest balm I’ve ever used (better than my beloved Weleda),Deborah Bainbridge says:
I’m convinced that lip balm is addictive. The more I use it the more I need it! I prefer the old metal tube of Blistex Relief Cream cream to maintain crack-free lips.
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Dear Alyson,
I wholeheartedly agree with you about De Mamiel’s Rose and Pomegranate Lip Balm. I recently underwent knee surgery and took the lip balm to hospital with me and was so glad I did as my poor lips felt drier than the Sahara.
This lip balm also works brilliantly on painful little cracks in finger ends and dry calloused areas on the feet, it helps to soften the hard skin.
Janet x