Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Tinted Lip Balm!
my answer: It is rare that a tinted lip balm is both 1) tinted enough to show up, and 2) as or more hydrating than regular lip balm. I’m usually less impressed by this type of product on the whole!
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
I prefer pigmented lip colours. If I’m going to get a lip balm, I’ll just get a clear one.
It makes me nuts when a brand puts out a whole line of tinted lip balms, in identical shades of invisible. Just because it’s colored in the tube doesn’t mean there’s any color when you apply it! Also I don’t like scented balms, because if my lips need balm they need as few added ingredients as possible, and heavy scents just irritate my lips more.
Not “identical shades of invisible!” LMBO
I promise you, I feel the same way! You just worded it better. And when I see them cost more than $2 in that same perfect shade of “Chapstick:Original” my eye twitches. LOL
I’ve said before that Epically Epic makes my favorite lip balm. Well, their tinted lip balms are also HG material for me. They well pigmented, very hydrating, and come in a selection of gorgeous scents. My only caveat with it is that since the formula is so creamy and slick, the staying power isn’t amazing. Then again, considering barely anything stays on my lips, tinted lip balms would never stand a chance to begin with.
Well, actually, second caveat: The store is in hiatus at the moment.
The only one I like are the Burt’s Bees ones. Especially Hibiscus, such a pretty shade. Gives just a hint of colour and moisturizes well. If I’m not wearing lipstick, I’m typically wearing those.
I love hibiscus! I generally don’t wear lip balm, but I use hibiscus basically whenever I’m not wearing lipstick.
I’d like it to last a bit longer (and have SPF or come in 2 versions – one with sun protection and one without so when I find one I like I can have a day time and bed time option)
The Sugar Tint lip crayon from Son & Park (a South Korean brand) is super hydrating and leaves a very noticeable pink tone. I’m not sure if you can get it in the U.S., but it’s definitely worth trying!
I also love it because it has a subtle rose scent.
I agree with you! But my Dior Lip Balm is both and I love it!! 🙂
Rant: I do not like tinted lip balms for the most part. I do not find them beneficial from either a colour performance perspective nor from a moisturizing standpoint.
Rave: I have found one, possibly two, tinted balms which actually do a fairly decent job for me (good, not stellar). Korres lip butter in jasmine and the jury is out until I try the Bite coloured version this coming week. Note: I like Korres lip butter in Guava, the plain one, much better for moisturizing. Which probably dictates I will prefer my plain Bite Agave mask better as well. Didn’t a reader post something about differing grades of lanolin? It immediately made me wonder if it was the same case with the Korres products. I also wondered if Bite were using differing grades of lanolin to reduce the ‘thickness’ of the product..i.e. rendering the coloured one more friendly for daytime wear. I find the regular mask a little thick to contemplate wearing during the day. Just some thoughts.
It absolutely depends on the brand. I like the ones Benefit recently released, especially Lollibalm and Posiebalm. They’re good for summer, when I worry that my beloved lipsticks will melt in my bag.
I’m with you 100%. Plus so many products are called Tinted Lip Balm when they are something else entirely
What’s not to love? I love the my-lips-better effect and keeping my lips moisturized in the process, so I’m alllll for tinted lip balms 🙂
I like tinted lip balms mostly for the packaging, hahah! I find that I get a very subtle tint, which honestly is more than enough if I’m not doing a full-on makeup look that day. Good for the car or purse. However, I do not typically have very dry lips, so the novelty works for me and I don’t necessarily need the medication or intensity of a traditional lip balm. I would recommend the Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip treatments for those with problem lips who do want some color to show up- certain shades are more pigmented than others, but overall I find them to have excellent tinting power.
I’m really impressed right now with Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm. Its a perfect sheer pink. If I want a little more color and definition, I just use a little liner. Really pretty, natural look.
I really like Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss.
On the rare occasion I buy one, I usually either forget about it or give it to my husband because it is not really tinted anyway. Or hydrating. They can smell nice, but I usually would rather wear a color or a balm that is actually hydrating (such as CO Bigelow Rose lip salve).
They’re just meh for me for the same reasons. Unless the color is pretty or has sparkles I just grab the clear version and call it a day
I have a soft spot for tinted Chapstick, which was my way of wearing “makeup” as a pre-teen in Singapore haha.
I don’t mind them (my lips are zombie enough for most tints to show up, LOL!) but I’d probably go for a sheer to medium pigment lipstick that was hydrating for day wear. When I have a cold and want to do my nose lip balm trick, then they’re terrible, as they make you *look* like you have a redder nose, heh! 😀
I really can’t stand wearing lipstick, it just bothers me :(. So tinted balms end up being a go-to product. I prefer more waxy formulas, like the Burt’s Bees range which works great. Also worth a mention – an indie brand called Black Widow Lipbalm. Their stuff has some seriously crazy colors and names (my fave being the violety Ursula, named after a character from ‘One hundred years of solitude’).
Most of them don’t have color or hydration enough, but I think the Clinique Chubby Sticks are very good. I don’t expect them to be hydrating as a real balm nor heal chipped lips, but I think they are enough to keep my lips in good shape. They are what I use when I want a hint of translucent color.
I have some fantastic tinted lip balms. My lips are always dry so I adore them. I have five or six Intertubes, which is a discontinued shea-butter formula from Shiro. They’re incredibly moisturizing and range from pigemnted as a lipstick pink and purple to light tints of orange. I also have two of Shiro’s new formulation which are again, pigmented as a lipstick and stain epically. Silk Naturals makes a shea-butter based balm called Kisser Slicker which is also awesome. I have a few more regular lip balms I haven’t particularly liked so I melted them and added peppermint and occ lip tar to make tinted balms.
I love them all! Generally thought my complaint would be that tinted balms tend to be more buttery with cocoa and shea butters. I like balms to have a fair bit of petroleum or beeswax to act as a protectant on top of the moisture. Plus the color tends to move around a lot!
No thanks, I would rather wear lipstick. If I buy a lip balm, it is always clear.
Haven’t been very happy with tinted balms. Fresh balms are ok but they melt in the Florida heat. So I carry Jack Black intense therapy lip balm. I like the one with shea butter & vitamin E. Plus it has an SPF 25.I can put it on, blot, then apply lipstick.
They’re generally not as hydrating as lower-priced lip balms and are less pigmented than sheer lipsticks/glosses. That’s a problem for me because I have super dry lips that need tons of hydration, and I prefer opaque lip color. Also a lot of them have artificial fragrance and I have to be really careful about that, because sometimes those make my lips peel.
I prefere to use more opaque stuff on my lips, or a shiny or shimmery gloss. I have a few tinted balms, I hardly ever use them.
rave-I love the idea of having a little color on my lips while protecting them with SPF-lipstick with SPF is just too heavy for the beach sometimes.
Honestly I kinda like them as they are easy color on the go. Yes, they are not as hydrating as regular lip balm, but I really like Korres’ ones.
Rave: I always have dry lips, so lipsticks usually feel unconfortable on my lips. I love tinted lip balms on a daily basis and use lipsticks only in special ocasions.
Rant: They have no staying power, so I have to reaply them constantly.
I only wear makeup once or twice a week. If I’m wearing a lip product, it will be visible…not tinted…lol
Burt’s Bees tinted lip balms are AMAZING! The first ones I had ever tried were the Maybelline Baby Lips and I hated those so much! I didn’t want to pay the price for the Fresh ones because 20 something dollars for a lip balm is crazy. However, some days I’m not in the mood to wear lipstick or lipgloss but like having some color on my lips, so the Burt’s Bees lip balms not only are very pigmented for what they are, they equally as moisturizing! My favorite shade is Rose, although I’ve heard quite a few people mention Hibiscus!
I love sheer lip colors but many tinted lip balms have just terrible lasting power and aren’t as moisturizing as they claim to be.
My favorite tinted lip balms are the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments with SPF 15. Great texture, scent, hydrating properties, shade selection, and SPF to boot.