Our beauty writer Tembe Denton-Hurst wrote about her favorite lip glosses, including a featherweight gloss from Byredo to Necessaire to a ultra-shiny lip balm from Polite Society.
, M.A.C Lipglass, which my mom bought for me at the Macy’s on Fulton Street back in 2006. I was in the seventh grade and vividly remember slathering on so much that I could barely open my mouth. I love lip gloss so much I regularly ask strangers with reflective lips what they’re wearing.
Most recently, during a book signing, I polled high-schoolers about their favorite gloss and was happy to hear that the kids are still using the beauty-supply store offerings of my youth., and a lot has changed since then. The category has skyrocketed in popularity, and formulas have shifted to prioritize both moisture and shine. I’ve tested many of these and noticed that they are overall less sticky and have a better feel over time. Still, my criteria from many years ago essentially remains the same. My top priority is shine. That means I’m willing to wear something slightly tacky if it means my lips look reflective, but I don’t like something that feels tacky on my lips. A no for me in this category would be the, which ranks high on the shine level but is pretty gummy and tacky too. Next is comfortability. I don’t necessarily need something that feels invisible, but I don’t want it to be too heavy. And last: longevity. I’m not delusional, so I don’t expect long wear out of lip gloss, but I do want it to stay for a few hours, especially if I’m not eating and drinking a lot. Standard wear time is around two hours or so before needing to reapply. Anything less than that, and it doesn’t make the cut. Bonus points if it wears down to a balmy texture. Below, my favorites for every category — from my all-time favorite to the best gloss if you don’t like the feel of lip gloss.Added a new favorite lip gloss, since the Ami Colé lip treatment was discontinued, and a new tinted plumping gloss from Smashbox.After the closure of Ami Colé last year, I set out to find a new everyday option. I did buy five tubes of those glosses so I could use them slowly, but I had to get to work finding a new option I could buy on repeat. My quest brought me to the Nécessaire Lip Balm, which isn’t explicitly marketed as a lip gloss but behaves like one. It’s shiny, comfortable, and moisturizes my lips. That’s what I loved about the Ami Colé — it truly behaved like a lip treatment and actually nourished my lips, it didn’t just gloss them up. I can apply the Nécessaire lip balm straight to dry lips and trust that my lips aren’t drying out underneath. The ingredients are nice: niacinamide, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, omega 6/9, and centella asiatica. It also has a little mint oil, which is pleasant and cooling. I’m notoriously sensitive to fragrance, particularly essential oils, but I haven’t had a reaction to this despite wearing it nearly daily. The brand advertises a semigloss finish but it gives me full-gloss shine, which is likely due to how much I apply. I use aof gloss, but this can be toned down if you only apply a dot or two. At $28, it’s a bit pricier than my previous pick and a little more than I’d typically spend — I usually cap my lip gloss expenditure at $20, but this feels worth it to me, especially because I get my gloss and lip balm in a single product.I’m also a big fan of the Tower28 gloss. It was my go-to before the Ami Colé, and while I still like it, it’s a little less shiny than I gravitate toward currently. That said, it’s the best formula I’ve come across in all my years of lip-gloss wearing. It’s insanely comfortable, the colors are beautiful, and it wears down nicely. It’s perfect, no notes.Whenever anyone tells me they don’t like the feel of gloss, I always direct them to the Byredo Liquid Lipstick Vinyl. It’s ultrashiny but featherweight and not at all sticky. I first came across it at a dinner party some years ago. We were sitting by candlelight, and I was constantly distracted by the gleam of my seatmate’s mouth. When I asked for the gloss, she whipped this out, and I procured it shortly after. It’s great. The only downside is that it wears off fairly quickly and is wildly expensive. For these two reasons, I rarely recommend it to a seasoned lip-gloss lover, but if you fall into the category of wanting the look without the texture, this is the one. If you’re feeling turned off by the price , I recommend finding a cosmetics counter or a Byredo store to test it out.I received this lip gloss in a gift bag from my esthetician friend Sydney and was pleasantly surprised by the shade range. It’s comfortable and shiny, and it comes in these rich berry and brown tones that look great on two-toned lips like mine.Plumping glosses aren’t for everyone, but this one is a crowd-pleaser. It isn’t too tingly but still offers decent volume , and I love the red shade, which has the perfect amount of pigment. It’s a subtle tint but adds a little something, like putting on a sparkly pair of earrings or a cool-looking belt. Another nice thing is that it’s not sticky. It doesn’t gunk up after a few hours of chatting, either, which is a plus. My lips are sensitive, so I can’t use it too often — the ginger, cinnamon, and peppermint combo can be a lot for me consistently — but when I do, it’s a nice treat.gritty. I want a subtle sparkle that catches on club lights and in an errant way, not to look like I dipped my mouth in a kid’s craft. I recently added this lip gloss to my collection, and upon first swipe decided it was exactly what I was looking for. It reminds me of the lip gloss worn by the cool girls of my youth — ultraglossy, a little sparkly, plumping — but with a comfortable mouthfeel. It’s a gloss I’d reach for on nights out or days I want people to ask, “What lip gloss is that?” I like the shade Gem, a sheer neutral pink, which feels very early 2000s.is my favorite. It smells nice, is shiny but nourishing, and has a nice silicone applicator. It’s not going to give you the same shine as a gloss, but it’s close enough. I like to put this on on days when I’m wearing nothing but sunscreen and a swipe of mascara — it’s very effortless but still put-together.I also really like this lip balm from Nudestix. I often go back and forth between this and the Summer Fridays balm. It’s a bit thinner, has a minty-vanilla flavor, and is slightly shinier. I like to wear this with a little Vaseline underneath to give it slightly more heft, but it does well on its own.The runner-up is this balm from Polite Society, which is so shiny I often forget it’s not a lip balm. It has a good gloss factor and is moisturizing enough. The shade range is nice too. I tend to alternate between Coconut Cream, a clear shade, and Bumbleberry, a mauve-y shade that looks beautiful with a brown lip liner.These broke the internet when they came out, and for good reason. It’s the closest to a true lip-gloss/lip-balm hybrid and has the stickiness to match. My only issue with this is the gumminess that happens when you apply too much, but to its credit, once you apply it, it sticks. It has incredible longevity and a little exfoliation too. I also adore the shade range — an array of warm neutrals. It was clearly crafted with pigmented lips in mind.is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read aboutYesterday at 11:58 a.m.*Sorry, there was a problem signing you up.You'll receive the next newsletter in your inbox.New YorkNew York
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