The best lip, according to the gurus
Lip products live or die on comfort, so the gurus weigh how a formula feels as heavily as how it looks.
This category covers lipstick, gloss, liner and lip care. The experts judge color products on payoff, wear and whether they dry out or flake, and they judge balms and treatments on real, lasting comfort rather than a brief slick that wears off in minutes. A beautiful shade that leaves the lips parched rarely survives their review intact.
The trade-off is longevity versus comfort. Long-wear liquid lipsticks win praise for lasting through a meal but draw steady criticism for drying the lips, while comfortable balmy formulas feel great but transfer and fade. The ranking below favours the products that strike a balance the gurus can live with, or nail one end of the trade-off well enough to forgive the rest.
The gurus behind this ranking
Ranked from the public takes of 30 independent gurus, including 7 dermatologists, 4 makeup artists and 4 beauty journalists.
These are independent experts we follow, not an in-house panel. We collect opinions they have already shared publicly on YouTube; they are not connected to The Guru Index and have not endorsed this ranking. "Guru" is our own editorial title for the voices we trust.
- 1RhodePeptide Lip TreatmentGuru CertifiedTop Pick86% · 7 gurus
- 2TatchaKissu Lip MaskGuru CertifiedTop Pick86% · 7 gurus
- 3Charlotte TilburyPillow Talk LipstickTop Pick78% · 6 gurus
- 4The OrdinaryPHA 5% Exfoliating Lip SerumTop Pick76% · 5 gurus
- 5NaturiumPhyto Glow Lip Balm75% · 6 gurus
- 6The INKEY ListTripeptide Plumping Lip Balm67% · 8 gurus
- 7RemedyLip BalmTop Pick67% · 7 gurus
- 8Summer FridaysLip Butter BalmTop Pick65% · 9 gurus
- 9AquaphorLip RepairTop Pick64% · 10 gurus
- 10LaneigeLip Sleeping MaskTop Pick63% · 17 gurus
- 11The OrdinarySqualane + Amino Acids Lip Balm62% · 6 gurus
Does this list mix lipstick with lip balm and treatments?
Yes. All lip products are ranked together by guru consensus. The product page takes make clear whether a product is color or care and how it performed.
Why do long-wear lip products sometimes rank lower?
Because the gurus weigh comfort heavily, and many long-wear formulas dry out the lips. A long-wear product can still rank highly when the experts find it comfortable enough to forgive the wear.
How is this ranking decided?
We rank by the Guru Index consensus score: the warmth of every independent expert take we have logged for each product, with a minimum number of reviewers required so a single enthusiastic review can't top the list. Nothing here is paid placement.
What does Guru Certified mean?
Guru Certified marks a product that a broad group of experts agree on, not just one fan. It is our breadth stamp, distinct from a Top Pick, which is a single guru crowning a product best in its category.
How often does the list update?
The results refresh every day from the latest expert reviews, so the ranking reflects what the gurus are saying now, not a frozen editor's pick.