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Best of · Lips · 7 picks

The best lip oils, balms and glosses.

Seven ways to care for and shine the mouth — from an overnight mask to a high-shine oil — compared by finish, ingredients, fragrance and UK price.

By Kaiser Khan, Founder & Editor Updated Editorial policy

Quick answer

What is the best lip oil or lip balm?

Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil is the best lip oil for shine and shade choice, at £34. For everyday care, Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment gives glossy conditioning, fragrance-free in its unscented version, at £20; Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask is the overnight pick; Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm is the vegan daily balm; Vaseline is the simplest occlusive.

Selection is editorial and never paid for. Prices are UK guide prices from official pages or named retailers when checked, and may have changed. How we chose.

Our top picks

The shortlist, by what each does best.

  1. Best lip oil Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil Dior · 19 shades · Juicy, Sparkly, Glaze · 6ml
  2. Best lip treatment Peptide Lip Treatment Rhode · Peptide + plant butters · untinted · 10ml
  3. Best overnight mask Lip Sleeping Mask Laneige · Berry Fruit Complex · shea · 20g
  4. Best everyday balm Lip Butter Balm Summer Fridays · Vegan · shea + murumuru · 15g
  5. Best gloss Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer Fenty Beauty · 19 shades · shea + vitamin E · 9ml
  6. Best honey lip oil Honey Infused Lip Oil Gisou · Mirsalehi honey · jojoba · 8ml
  7. Best simple occlusive Lip Therapy Original Vaseline · Petrolatum (100%) · 20g tin

Side by side

How the picks compare.

Specifications are summarised from each official product page. Read across a row to see where a product fits; the detailed notes below explain the trade-offs.

Best lip oils, balms & glosses: how the picks compare
ProductAwardFinishKey specGuide price
Dior Addict Lip Glow OilDior · Lip oil Best lip oil High shine 19 shades · Juicy, Sparkly, Glaze · 6ml £34
Peptide Lip TreatmentRhode · Lip treatment Best lip treatment Glossy, high shine Peptide + plant butters · untinted · 10ml £20
Lip Sleeping MaskLaneige · Overnight lip mask Best overnight mask Nourished Berry Fruit Complex · shea · 20g £21
Lip Butter BalmSummer Fridays · Lip balm Best everyday balm Soft sheen Vegan · shea + murumuru · 15g from £23
Gloss Bomb Universal Lip LuminizerFenty Beauty · Lip gloss Best gloss High shine 19 shades · shea + vitamin E · 9ml £20
Honey Infused Lip OilGisou · Lip oil Best honey lip oil High shine Mirsalehi honey · jojoba · 8ml £24
Lip Therapy OriginalVaseline · Petrolatum lip occlusive Best simple occlusive Natural shine Petrolatum (100%) · 20g tin See official page

Specifications from official brand pages; prices are UK guide prices from the brand’s official page or a named UK retailer, checked 25 September 2026. Prices and formulas can change.

The picks in detail

Why each one earns its place.

Strengths and limitations are drawn from specifications — texture, finish, shade range, filters, fragrance, price and availability — not from wear testing.

Best lip oil

Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil

Dior

Dior’s lip oil offers the widest choice of finish in this guide — sheer Juicy, shimmering Sparkly and more saturated Glaze shades — built around cherry seed oil. It is the pick when shine is the look and colour is optional.

Format
Lip oil
Finish
High shine
Key spec
19 shades · Juicy, Sparkly, Glaze · 6ml

What stands out

  • 19 shades on Dior UK across Juicy, Sparkly, Glaze and Pop Glow
  • Cherry seed oil base with Dior’s Color Reviver technology
  • High shine, worn alone or over liner

Consider first

  • £34 for 6ml — the highest price per millilitre here
  • Contains fragrance, menthol and peppermint oil
  • Shine first, care second: not a treatment
Read the full product guide Dior official page (opens in a new tab) Guide price: £34

Best lip treatment

Peptide Lip Treatment

Rhode

Rhode’s original product pairs palmitoyl tripeptide-1 with shea, babassu and cupuaçu butters in a glossy, untinted treatment. The unscented version is labelled fragrance-free, which makes it an easy everyday conditioning gloss.

Format
Lip treatment
Finish
Glossy, high shine
Key spec
Peptide + plant butters · untinted · 10ml

What stands out

  • Glossy, high-shine finish without colour
  • Unscented version labelled fragrance-free
  • Vegan and cruelty-free, per the brand
  • £20 for 10ml

Consider first

  • Flavoured versions list fragrance or flavour; only unscented is fragrance-free
  • Every version contains stevioside, a sweetener
  • No SPF
  • Sold through Rhode and Sephora UK only
Read the full product guide Rhode official page (opens in a new tab) Guide price: £20

Best overnight mask

Lip Sleeping Mask

Laneige

Laneige’s leave-on mask is designed for overnight use, with Berry Fruit Complex, murumuru seed butter and shea. It is a separate evening step rather than a daytime finish.

Format
Overnight lip mask
Finish
Nourished
Key spec
Berry Fruit Complex · shea · 20g

What stands out

  • Leave-on overnight format
  • Shea and murumuru seed butters with Berry Fruit Complex
  • A choice of flavours
  • £21 for 20g at UK retailers

Consider first

  • Not a daytime finish — a thick layer can dull a gloss worn over it
  • Flavour choice varies by retailer
  • Applied from a jar rather than a tube
Read the full product guide Laneige official page (opens in a new tab) Guide price: £21

Best everyday balm

Lip Butter Balm

Summer Fridays

Summer Fridays’ vegan balm uses shea and murumuru seed butters for a soft sheen, in a range of flavours and sheer tints. It sits between a treatment and a finish, easy to wear alone through the day.

Format
Lip balm
Finish
Soft sheen
Key spec
Vegan · shea + murumuru · 15g

What stands out

  • Vegan, per the brand
  • Soft sheen with optional sheer tint
  • 14 flavours listed at Space NK
  • £23 for 15g

Consider first

  • Flavoured — check the ingredient list if you avoid fragrance
  • The brand’s own site prices in US dollars; UK buyers use retailers
  • A sheen rather than high shine
Read the full product guide Summer Fridays official page (opens in a new tab) Guide price: from £23

Best gloss

Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer

Fenty Beauty

Gloss Bomb pairs a shimmering shade range with shea butter, vitamin E and a conditioning peptide in a gloss Fenty describes as non-sticky. It is the pick for sheer colour with a reflective finish.

Format
Lip gloss
Finish
High shine
Key spec
19 shades · shea + vitamin E · 9ml

What stands out

  • 19 shades on the Fenty Beauty UK page
  • Shea butter, vitamin E and palmitoyl tripeptide-1
  • £20 for 9ml; a £15 mini
  • Large doe-foot applicator

Consider first

  • Shimmer in most shades rather than a plain clear gloss
  • A gloss first, not an overnight treatment
  • Sold by Fenty Beauty and its named UK retailers
Read the full product guide Fenty Beauty official page (opens in a new tab) Guide price: £20

Best honey lip oil

Honey Infused Lip Oil

Gisou

Gisou’s lip oil is built around honey from the founder’s family bee garden, with jojoba and meadowfoam oils for a high-shine, cushioned finish. Choose it for glossy conditioning in clear or tinted shades.

Format
Lip oil
Finish
High shine
Key spec
Mirsalehi honey · jojoba · 8ml

What stands out

  • High-shine finish, worn alone or over colour
  • Honey, jojoba and meadowfoam oils
  • £24 for 8ml
  • Clear and tinted shades

Consider first

  • Contains honey and propolis, so it is not vegan
  • The shade line-up rotates with limited editions
  • Shimmer in some shades, such as Watermelon Sugar
Read the full product guide Gisou official page (opens in a new tab) Guide price: £24

Best simple occlusive

Lip Therapy Original

Vaseline

Vaseline Lip Therapy Original is a single ingredient — petrolatum — in a tin. It seals in moisture and adds a natural shine, with no fragrance or flavour in the Original version.

Format
Petrolatum lip occlusive
Finish
Natural shine
Key spec
Petrolatum (100%) · 20g tin

What stands out

  • A single-ingredient formula: petrolatum (100%)
  • No fragrance or flavour in the Original
  • A natural shine
  • Pocket-sized 20g tin

Consider first

  • An occlusive seal rather than a treatment with actives
  • The tin means applying with a fingertip
  • No colour
Read the full product guide Vaseline official page (opens in a new tab) Guide price: See official page

What to look for

Read the label before the award.

Treatment, balm or gloss?

A treatment or mask prioritises conditioning; a balm adds sheen; an oil or gloss prioritises shine and colour. Decide which job you want before comparing brands.

Fragrance and flavour

Many lip products are flavoured. If you avoid fragrance, choose an unscented or single-ingredient option and check the ingredient list for each flavour.

Animal-derived ingredients

Honey, propolis and beeswax are common in lip care. Gisou’s oil contains honey and propolis; Summer Fridays and Rhode state their formulas are vegan.

Sun protection

None of these picks carries an SPF. If you need sun protection for your lips, choose a product labelled with SPF.

Size and price per millilitre

Sizes here range from 6ml to 20g. Compare the price per millilitre or gram as well as the shelf price.

Liner first

A lip liner defines the edge; oils and glosses add shine over it. Pair a liner with a sheer oil when you want definition without opaque lipstick.

How we chose

Desk research, stated plainly.

This guide is desk research. We compared lip oils, balms, glosses and overnight treatments using the brands’ published formulas, ingredient lists, specifications and directions, together with UK prices from official pages or named retailers on 25 September 2026. None of the products was tested in a laboratory or worn by our editors for this guide.

We grouped products by the job they do — treatment, balm, gloss or oil — and compared finish, key ingredients, fragrance, vegan status, size and UK price. Every pick has its own product guide on The Cast Index.

Awards describe fit — the job a product is best suited to — rather than a single overall score. Brand claims are reported as brand claims. No brand paid for inclusion, and shopping links elsewhere on the site do not influence which products appear here.

Questions

Best lip oils, balms & glosses, answered

What is the difference between a lip oil and a lip gloss?

Both add shine. Lip oils such as Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil and Gisou’s are oil-based and often sheerer; glosses such as Fenty Gloss Bomb use a thicker base with more shimmer or pigment. Compare the actual formula rather than the category name.

Which lip balm is fragrance-free?

Vaseline Lip Therapy Original lists petrolatum as its only ingredient, and Rhode’s unscented Peptide Lip Treatment is labelled fragrance-free. Flavoured versions of most balms are not fragrance-free.

Is Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment the same as Peptide Lip Tint?

No. The Treatment is untinted and glossy; the Lip Tint adds sheer colour. Both use palmitoyl tripeptide-1 and plant butters.

How do I use a lip sleeping mask?

Laneige positions its Lip Sleeping Mask as an overnight, leave-on step. Apply it as the last step of the evening and blot any residue in the morning before colour or gloss.

Do lip oils contain SPF?

None of the picks in this guide does. If you need sun protection for your lips, choose a product labelled with SPF.

Sources

Where the facts come from.

  1. Dior UK — Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil (opens in a new tab)
  2. Fenty Beauty UK — Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer (opens in a new tab)
  3. LOOKFANTASTIC — Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask 20g (opens in a new tab)
  4. Space NK — Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm (opens in a new tab)
  5. Rhode UK — FAQ and sales channels (opens in a new tab)
  6. Dior — Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil, official product page (opens in a new tab)
  7. Rhode — Peptide Lip Treatment, official product page (opens in a new tab)
  8. Laneige — Lip Sleeping Mask, official product page (opens in a new tab)
  9. Summer Fridays — Lip Butter Balm, official product page (opens in a new tab)
  10. Fenty Beauty — Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer, official product page (opens in a new tab)
  11. Gisou — Honey Infused Lip Oil, official product page (opens in a new tab)
  12. Vaseline — Lip Therapy Original, official product page (opens in a new tab)

All sources checked . Spotted an error? Email desk@thecastindex.com or read our corrections policy.

Head to head

Deciding between two?

Side-by-side comparisons of products in this guide, with a specification table and a “choose this if” verdict.

Dior vs Rhode Dior Lip Glow Oil vs Rhode Lip Treatment

All comparisons ↗

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