Sheer Lipglosses | 2018 Editor's Favorites
This year, I decided to split lipgloss into two posts: one for sheerer shades and one for more pigmented shades. I find that how and when I reach for a particular gloss often depends on opacity. I like sheerer gloss with light to moderate shimmer, so they can work alone as well as layered. I was pleasantly surprised (and happy!) to see Fenty expand their Gloss Bomb formula this year. There’s a trend in the formulas that I gravitate to, though, and it’s that they’re plusher and more smoothing on the lips, like ColourPop’s Ultra Glossy Lips formula and Urban Decay’s Hi-Fi Shine formula.
What sheerer lipglosses did you reach for this year?
P.S. — You can view swatches of my favorites here.
Best of 2018
Sheer Lipglosses
P.P.S. — If you enjoy reading/viewing my favorites, make sure you check out my all-time favorites here, products I’m thankful for (2018 series), and all of my editor’s recommended products here.
Top Sheer Lipglosses of 2018
Giorgio Armani Luce (101) Ecstasy Lacquer ($38.00 for 0.20 oz.) is a light-medium peach with warm undertones and golden pearl. It is a new shade for...
Giorgio Armani Luce (101) Ecstasy Lacquer ($38.00 for 0.20 oz.) is a light-medium peach with warm undertones and golden pearl. It is a new shade for...
Urban Decay Aphrodisiac Hi-Fi Shine Ultra Cushion Lip Gloss ($20.00 for 0.23 fl. oz.) is a medium brown with strong, warm orange undertones and...
Urban Decay Aphrodisiac Hi-Fi Shine Ultra Cushion Lip Gloss ($20.00 for 0.23 fl. oz.) is a medium brown with strong, warm orange undertones and...
Fenty Beauty Fu$$y Gloss Bomb Lip Luminizer ($18.00 for 0.30 fl. oz.) is a medium pink with soft, warmer undertones and lighter pink and gold pearl....
Fenty Beauty Fu$$y Gloss Bomb Lip Luminizer ($18.00 for 0.30 fl. oz.) is a medium pink with soft, warmer undertones and lighter pink and gold pearl....
Fenty Beauty Diamond Milk Gloss Bomb Lip Luminizer ($18.00 for oz.) is a translucent, slightly milky base with fine silver and white pearl. There was...
Fenty Beauty Diamond Milk Gloss Bomb Lip Luminizer ($18.00 for oz.) is a translucent, slightly milky base with fine silver and white pearl. There was...
Snake Skin is a medium, reddish-brown base with gold-to-green shifting pearl that gave it a more metallic finish. It had medium coverage, which...
Snake Skin is a medium, reddish-brown base with gold-to-green shifting pearl that gave it a more metallic finish. It had medium coverage, which...
ColourPop Dreamaholic Ultra Glossy Lip ($6.00 for 0.11 oz.) is soft lavender with subtle, cool undertones and violet to teal shifting pearl. It had...
ColourPop Dreamaholic Ultra Glossy Lip ($6.00 for 0.11 oz.) is soft lavender with subtle, cool undertones and violet to teal shifting pearl. It had...
Night Light is a muted, medium brown base with flecks of pink, gold, and bronze sparkle and glitter. It had medium coverage, which seemed to be in...
Night Light is a muted, medium brown base with flecks of pink, gold, and bronze sparkle and glitter. It had medium coverage, which seemed to be in...
ColourPop Neat Freak Ultra Glossy Lip ($6.00 for 0.11 oz.) has a translucent base with flecks of gold and pink sparkle that has a high-shine,...
ColourPop Neat Freak Ultra Glossy Lip ($6.00 for 0.11 oz.) has a translucent base with flecks of gold and pink sparkle that has a high-shine,...
Pat McGrath Pale Fire Nectar LUST Lip Gloss ($28.00 for 0.15 oz.) had a peach-tinted translucent base with pink and violet sparkle. It had sheer...
Pat McGrath Pale Fire Nectar LUST Lip Gloss ($28.00 for 0.15 oz.) had a peach-tinted translucent base with pink and violet sparkle. It had sheer...
Vaycray is a medium pink with subtle, warm undertones and warmer gold and peach shimmer. It had sheer color payoff, as described, that applied fairly...
Vaycray is a medium pink with subtle, warm undertones and warmer gold and peach shimmer. It had sheer color payoff, as described, that applied fairly...
Urban Decay Snapped Hi-Fi Shine Ultra Cushion Lip Gloss ($20.00 for 0.23 oz.) is a medium-dark, rosy plum base with blue-to-violet pearl and larger...
Urban Decay Snapped Hi-Fi Shine Ultra Cushion Lip Gloss ($20.00 for 0.23 oz.) is a medium-dark, rosy plum base with blue-to-violet pearl and larger...
ColourPop Hypno-tease Ultra Glossy Lip ($6.00 for 0.11 oz.) is a medium gold with strong, yellow undertones and a sparkling finish. It had semi-sheer...
ColourPop Hypno-tease Ultra Glossy Lip ($6.00 for 0.11 oz.) is a medium gold with strong, yellow undertones and a sparkling finish. It had semi-sheer...
These are all very pretty. I don’t typically wear sheer, nearly colorless lipglosses unless they have lots of shimmer or glitter, or a duo- or multi-chrome finish. I got ColourPop Hypno-Tease after seeing your review, and it’s a winner! It’s a perfect glittery topper for the holiday season.
The Fenty Iridescent Lip Luminizer Trios in Summer Daze and Summer Nights were huge hits with me. I love the funky, shifting colors and formula. I surprised myself by loving the Fenty Glow universal gloss. I didn’t get the hype at all till I swatched it at Sephora and then couldn’t stop looking at it on my hand all the way home.
I loved NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer in Cape Town, and MAC x Patrick Starrr Lipglass in Queen B, Ride My Sleigh, Silent Night, and MAC x Aaliyah in 1 in a Million. I can’t remember if I bought them at the end of 2017 or early 2018, but I wore the heck out of Bite Beauty Creme Lip Gloss in Lavender Pearl and Peacock Pearl. My favorite new DS sheer glosses were the NYX Duo Chrome Glosses. My new favorite indie glosses were Apocalyptic Beauty’s permanent line of Ghoul Glosses, especially Surfer Ghoul and Ghoul Gone Bad, and its Lipgloss in Hellmouth (LE from one of the sub boxes).
I reached a lot for old favorites MAC x Star Trek Kling It On, MUFE Artist Plexi-Gloss in Beetle, and UD Revolution Lipgloss in Shadowheart and Vanity.
I tried one of the colour pop glossed and liked the formula but hated the applicator. I wish they used a doefoot wand instead of the weird brush thingy. But the formula was smooth and felt wonderful on my lips!
So many lovely choices recently! I see a few of my favorites above, too. Like, GA Luce, Fenty Snakeskin (but I also love the other 2 shades in that set, too!), plus 2 I’m buying today; Fenty Fu$$y and CP Night Light. Others I have truly enjoyed using this past year are PMGL Aliengelic, MAC x Patrick Starrr Twerk For Gifts, Aaliyah’s Li Li’s Motor City (semi-sheer), Fenty Universal Gloss Bomb OG. and MAC Caketop. This has been the year for gloss over the top of my lipstick. Tired of having dried up lips, tbh.
Awww man, you can only buy snake skin as a set? Damnit, I don’t want the other colors. Same thing happened with Anastasia’s lip offering this season with that bad ass red and two “meh” shades you were forced to take too.
Oooo Snake Skin!!!! But like you can’t purchase it alone. Boo hoo!
Fenty Glow will always hold the top spot for me (though I forgot all about Snake Skin and my love for it). But Muah! by Dose of Colors is a gorgeous sheer gloss.