As your holiday calendar fills up, the quickest upgrade is a lip that’s smooth, hydrated and stays put. Cold air and indoor heat can tank color payoff fast — so prep before you paint with formulas that cushion, prime and lock in moisture.
To make it easy, our editors pulled 11 affordable, multitasking picks from e.l.f. Cosmetics that build a simple three-step routine—treat, prime, color. Think masks and oils to soften, gentle smoothers to even texture and high-payoff shades that actually last.
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Best e.l.f. Cosmetics lip products
Lip balms don’t have to be boring, and they certainly shouldn’t cost a fortune. At just $5, this balm is a true multitasker that coats lips in a sheer tint of color while hydrating them with the help of moisturizing ingredients such as shea butter, hyaluronic acid and goji berry.
Craving hydration without that thick, filmy feeling some lip balms leave behind? Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balms have a buttery formula that absorbs seamlessly into lips for long-lasting hydration and buildable color with a glossy finish. The balm is available in several new shades, including Cotton Candy Crush and Peach Ring, and comes in this trio that gives you three products for the price of two.
Try as we might, we’re not always consistent with our lip care routine. For instances where your lips aren’t quite prepared for a lip gloss or lipstick, this shimmer balm’s frosted finish can add a dose of glam to your look without drying out your pout. Formulated with hydrating powerhouses such as squalane and jojoba seed oil, the shimmer lip balm has a vanilla scent and is available in two limited-edition shades.
It’s hard not to heart this lip balm. The twofer features a hydrating, heart-shaped core packed with vitamin E to condition the delicate skin on your lips. Available in five hues ranging from pink and red to berry, the lip balm also leaves behind a sheer tint of color and a subtle shine while treating lips to a dose of moisture.
Since our lips tend to be a bit high-maintenance in colder weather, it’s smart to make time for exfoliation at least once a week to remove dead skin cells. This mask has a convenient applicator and a blend of hydrating ingredients that work together with sugar to moisturize and exfoliate lips simultaneously. Exfoliation may seem like a tedious task, but the fun flavors — like brown sugar, coffee, popcorn and cotton candy — make the process feel like less of a chore.
Lip balms are an essential part of your lip care routine, but every so often, you need something a bit more powerful to fend off flakes and dryness. Take this leave-on mask, for example. It’s formulated with hydrating ingredients such as squalane, hyaluronic acid and castor seed oil, and has a non-greasy finish that can be worn overnight or with other lip products. The end result? Soft, smooth lips.
Compared to lip gloss, lip oils are a far better choice if you’re hoping to add some pizzazz to your look without drying out your skin. This set comes with five Glow Reviver Lip Oils that are chock-full of nourishing ingredients like apricot oil and avocado oil. The tinted lip oils have a high-shine finish and can be worn solo or on top of your favorite lipstick.
This plumping version of e.l.f. Cosmetics’s popular Glow Reviver Lip Oil recently debuted and features a high-gloss finish and a sheer wash of color. The oversized applicator helps coat lips in just enough product to leave them feeling tingly and nourished. Just in time for gifting season, the brand has released this kit of four plumping lip oils, including two exclusive shades (Talk That Taupe and Heavy Petal), in glossy and glimmer finishes.
When your lip care routine pays off and your lips are looking extra luscious, you’ll want to reward yourself with a product that works just as hard as you do. This kit comes with four Glossy Lip Stains, each with a buildable gloss-to-stain finish that coats lips in long-lasting, sheer color. And since four shades are always better than one, the kit comes with two popular hues (Pinkies Up and Spicy Sienna) and two kit exclusives (Maple Drizzle and Grape Escape).
Kiss drying lip glosses goodbye with this three-in-one gloss, balm and plumper that tints lips in sheer color and shine without making them feel sticky or tight. Blueberry, watermelon and pomegranate fruit extracts join forces to nourish skin while the click pen design makes it easy to get the perfect application.
The weather outside is starting to look a bit frightful, but you can still look delightful while hydrating your lips with this glimmering lip oil. Squalane works with apricot, avocado, jojoba and pomegranate oils to hydrate skin while the oil coats lips in sheer color with a touch of sparkle, minus the sticky factor.
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