We’ve come a long way from those first lip colors, which were made of crushed stones combined with wax, but the gratification we get from finding a signature shade explains a lot about why our forebears bothered experimenting with flowers, berries, and even beetles and fish scales in their quest to tint and add shine to their lips.
When you find your new lip color—whether it’s a sheer glossy tint or an opaque matte bullet—it quickly becomes so much more than a mix of pigments. It’s a way to brighten up your look and your mood, a discovery to share with friends, a talisman worth keeping in your bag so you can reach for it, oh, I don’t know, a thousand times a day. Except for our Allure Best of Beauty Lips winners, of course; you will only reach for that once daily.
This year, we owe a debt of gratitude to the makeup artists and cosmetic chemists who keep on reimagining lip colors, pushing the millennia-old cosmetic forward into new territory, and giving us the most glamorous matte lipsticks, boldest red lip tints, and sexiest liquid lipsticks we’ve ever seen.
Scroll to discover our 15 Allure Best of Beauty Lips winners.
Shop your favorite category or keep scrolling for the year’s best lip glosses, oils, and balms.
Why It Won: Sheer, radiant color in eight romantic shades—including plum, petal pink, and peach—that instantly had us smitten. Dear Dahlia Lip Paradise Sensual Lip Glow delivers luminous color with an ingredient list (sweet almond, argan, and shea butter oils, and cacao seed butter) that reads like a lip treatment.
Why It Won: This has to be the cushiest way to wear bold lip color! One swipe delivers tons of pigment from a hydrating bullet containing hyaluronic acid and moringa seed and avocado oils, which keep the satin shades of Maybelline New York Moisturizing Serum Lipstick feeling soft on lips, without overt shine or smudging. You can have a tall iced tea without leaving behind so much as a lip print on your glass. There’s one very pretty soft rose in the eight-shade collection, joined by enough ’90s-esque browns—brick red, decadent truffle, deep raisin—to make the cast of Friends proud.
Why It Won: When you
Why It Won: When you are at the top of the red-carpet makeup world—working with Selena Gomez, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson, and more—you learn a thing or two about perfecting glamorous, saturated, matte lipstick. Lucky for the rest of us, makeup artist Hung Vanngo has shared that knowledge through his Hung Vanngo Beauty Creamy Matte Lipstick—each bullet delivers a pure shock of opaque color that feels as creamy and decadent as it looks. You are sure to find a classic hue that’s flattering for you in this 18-shade collection, which includes not one, not two, but four vivid reds, just as many roses, and three peachy browns (all with different undertones to suit different complexions). That kind of attention to detail has brought us the most exquisitely pigmented matte lipstick we’ve tried in a long time.
Why It Won: It’s not matte. It’s not velvety. It’s not glossy. Haus Labs Atomic Shake Lip Lacquer is in a class of its own, and we are all here for it. The rectangular tube houses a liquid lip color with a finish that is more like a stain—it melds with your lips instead of looking like it’s sitting on top of them—but the color payoff is as intense as the boldest lipstick. It makes for a lived-in take on dramatic lip color that feels sexy and unique. It doesn’t feather or crease in lip lines. Another thing it doesn’t do? Budge. Like, not at all. You can eat, drink, use a straw, wipe your mouth, and eat a box of Popsicles—this lip color is not going anywhere.
Why It Won: If your lips feel dry just at the sight of the words “lip stain,” you haven’t tried Violette_FR Lip Nectar. With its glossy finish and silky, shea butter-spiked formula, this tint actually feels hydrating on lips, leaving them smoother, shinier, and bathed in longwearing color. The formula is an oil-in-water emulsion that features longwear pigments, so you get the shine of a gloss and the durability of a stain in one chic, gold-capped tube. Violette is a French makeup artist, and wow, does she know reds: Her lip stain comes in incredibly sexy, deep tones (bordeaux Amarante Noire, blackened cherry Dahlia Noir); sweetly romantic shades (warm berry Bêtise, bright pink Pois de Senteur); and earthy versions (terra-cotta Rose de Moab, dessert rose Souci d’Automne) that would look at home in Le Marais.
Why It Won: We already knew that sugar and mint work well together (exhibit one: mojitos). But we just recently learned that the crisp, sweet duo makes for an effective lip treatment in Poppy & Pout Sweet Mint Exfoliating Lip Scrub. The mint is cooling and soothing, sugar crystals gently slough away flakes, and coconut and sunflower oils make even dry, chapped lips feel soft and look smooth again.
Why It Won: When one editor squeezed every last iota of balm out of this lime green tube, immediately replaced her empty with a fresh one, and then did it again and again, we knew we’d found something special here. Personal Day Emotional Support Lip Balm is a glossy, hydrating treatment that soothes chapped lips intensely but discreetly—it doesn’t feel tacky, doesn’t have a taste, and it’s fragrance-free.
Why It Won: This adorable little lip mask
Why It Won: This adorable little lip mask looks like it’s sitting inside a honeypot, and smells just as sweet, with its honey-buttercream scent. Gisou Honey Glaze Collagen Therapy Lip Mask’s rich formula cushions lips with the hydrating nectar, soothing and treating chapped skin, and leaving lips soft and flake-free by morning. Now that’s a sweet treat!
Why It Won: The glaze of color, the bouncy jelly texture, and the skin care-like ingredients combine to drench lips in vivid moisture. Eadem Le Chouchou Lip Softening Balm softens and removes flakes with gentle exfoliators (such as lactic acid), moisturizes with natural oils and butters (moringa, Brazilia açai, and shea), and treats fine lines with peptides. Meanwhile, the range of 10 shades (mostly pinks, plums, and browns) are subtly, sweetly scented, plus one unscented option. The cooling metal applicator is a refreshing plus.
Why It Won: The classic Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil, which is as intensely shiny and hydrating as ever, has now been reformulated to include a wider range of gorgeous, reflective colors (16 in all) and three finishes, including Sparkly (glittering peach, shimmering pink) and Glaze (deep-red cherry, creamy latte). The especially high-shine Juicy tints in sheer pinks (millennial, blush, rose), reds (bright cherry, deep cranberry), and berries add glossy color without any tackiness.
Why It Won: Did the chemists at Poundcake read our minds? Maybe. They made a lip oil that has everything we want: Poundcake Cake Theory Lip Tone Equalizing Oil comes in sunshine-y canary yellow, and gorgeous rosy and brick red colors, with the kind of pretty shine that makes lips look healthier and poutier—without the stuff we don’t want, namely that oily feel that can make other lip elixirs a little…er, slimy? Messy? Slippery? All of the above? This tinted formula strikes the ideal balance between hydration (with jojoba and avocado oils) and the shine you want from a lip oil, while feeling cushy but not slick. The radiant finish has an almost magical way of making lips look fuller and softer—truly a your-lips-but-better product that’s easy to apply (no mirror required), looks polished all by itself on low-maintenance days, and makes a no-brainer finishing touch for any makeup look.
Why It Won: A nod to ’90s metallic lipstick, MAC Dazzlelips Crayons have a nostalgic vibe, even if you’re not old enough to remember “Genie in a Bottle”-era frosted lips. You get to scribble the color on with a crayon, which is always fun, not to mention convenient. It’s also really, really pretty. This is not a retro metallic; it’s a modern, juicy, shimmery version that makes lips look like they’re coated in molten pinks, berries, neutrals, and of course, a brown.
Why It Won: So. Much. Shine. This glimmering lip gloss brings on the sheen, and then some. It is unapologetically glassy and indisputably gorgeous, making lips look full, luscious, and so shiny that they’re almost reflective. Kiko Milano 3D Hydra Lipgloss comes in 30 shades, including juicy pinks (Pearly Watermelon, Sparkling Hibiscus Pink, Sparkling Strawberry), pretty purples (Deep Purple, Pearly Lavender), and rich reds (Golden Red, Fire Red, Cherry Red) that make Dorothy’s slippers seem subdued.
Why It Won: The makeup artist’s version of a classic No. 2 pencil, Kevyn Aucoin Beauty Unforgettable Lip Definer is a handy and versatile necessity. With its soft, natural-looking finish and large shade range (six in all), this pencil camouflages into lips for seamless color—defining and shaping Cupid’s bows, creating a crisp border for lipstick or gloss, and making lips look believably fuller without seeming penciled on. The liner’s blend of soft waxes and emollients feels comfortable, and there’s a brush on one end for blending and buffing—but this pencil looks so natural, you might not even need it.
Why It Won: What is a stain lip
Why It Won: What is a stain lip liner? So glad you asked! Kulfi Lassi Lips Staining Lip Liner goes on rich and creamy, and then gradually fades into a slightly softer tint. This is less a total reinvention of lip liner, and more a clever twist on bold lip pencil that morphs into a sexy, blurred look as the day (and night) goes on. And even as it softens with time, the effect is longwearing, no matter how many cups of coffee or glasses of wine you have in the day. Another genius touch: There’s a sharpener on one end of this twist-up pencil, so the color (which comes in seven shades, from cool beige to deep mahogany) is always precise.
Discover more 2026 Best of Beauty Winners:
Best of Beauty 2026: Nails Winners
Best of Beauty 2026: Eye Makeup Winners
Best of Beauty 2026: Base Winners
