What’s the difference between a lip balm vs lip gloss vs lip oil? Darlings, this is how you determine which lip product your lips will love.
7 minute read
Darlings, I can’t be the only one with 12 different lip products in my handbag… There are so many different formulas and formats on the market – it can be tricky to know which to reach for first!
We all want something different from our lip products whether that’s hydration and lip barrier support, gloss and glimmer, pigment-packed colour payoff, long-lasting wear, the list goes on… So, let me break down the differences between a lip balm vs lip gloss vs lip oil vs lip tint to help you decide which belong in your makeup bag.
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Pillow Talk
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Kim K.W.
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Liv It Up
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Icon Baby
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Iconic Nude
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Makeup Kit
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Lip Kit
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Lip Kit
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Magical Savings
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Red Carpet Red
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Icon Baby
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Pink Venus
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Supersize Me
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Lip Kit
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Lip balms are formulated to hydrate your lips, helping them to feel softer and more moisturised. They have a balm texture that melts into your lips, giving them a plush feel and a healthy-looking glow. Lip balms are often infused with skincare, formulated with hydrating ingredients like peptides or hyaluronic acid to care for your lips and boost hydration. They can be clear or tinted and some have subtle shimmer to give lips a glossy finish.
When to reach for a lip balm: You should reach for a lip balm if your lips feel dry or chapped to revive their appearance and give them a surge of moisture.
Charlotte’s Choice: Pillow Talk Blush Balm Lip Tint – a sheer lip balm with a dreamy Pillow Talk tint.
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Lip gloss is the secret to lips that look fuller, plumper and glossier. Applying a lip gloss coats your lips with a sheer, glowing veil that can blur the appearance of lip lines and plump the look of your natural lips. Increasingly, lip glosses are being formulated with skincare ingredients to be non-sticky and kind to lips, however, their primary purpose is to enhance the look of your lips and make them glow.
When to reach for a lip gloss: Apply on top of lip liner and lipstick to create a reflective, high-shine finish that maximises the lustre of your lips.
Charlotte’s Choice: Pillow Talk Big Lip Plumpgasm – a plumping lip gloss that makes lips look bigger instantly and over time.
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Lip Kit
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Ibiza Nights
£22.00
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Sweet Stiletto
£22.00
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Candy Darling
£22.00
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Red Vixen
£22.00
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Unleash Me
£22.00
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Pillow Talk
£22.00
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Hall of Fame
£22.00
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Blondie
£22.00
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Seduction
£22.00
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High Society
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Lip oil is a thin, oil-based lip product designed to hydrate lips. They are often formulated with botanical oils which are useful for softening the look of lips and boosting your lip barrier. Many lip oils are a hybrid of makeup and skincare, giving lips the glossy shine of a lip gloss and the moisture and comfort of a lip balm. They are generally clear or sheer, offering lips an understated wash of colour with a glazed effect that’s perfect for a year-round summer lip glow.
When to reach for a lip oil: Apply morning or night to hydrate lips and renew your lip glow.
Charlotte’s Choice: Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil – the juiciest-looking lip oil with fruity scents and an unreal glow.
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Lip tints are similar to lipsticks, tinting lips with super-flattering, pout-perfecting colour. They are called tints because they provide an understated, natural-looking flush as opposed to the full-coverage pigment of a lipstick. The pigments offer just-a-tint of colour; they look sheer on the lips but have great lasting power, drying down with a stain effect to keep your lips looking softly rouged.
When to reach for a lip tint: On lipstick-free days, give your lips a fresh, naturally flushed look with lip tint.
Charlotte’s Choice: Pillow Talk Blush Balm Lip Tint – a long-lasting lip tint with a lip blush effect.
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Hydration: Lip gloss can contain skincare ingredients but lip balms are generally more hydrating thanks to their buttery, balmy feel. If you want hydration, choose a lip balm.
Texture: Lip balms have a buttery texture that melts into your lips whereas lip gloss has a gel-like consistency designed to glaze over lip liner and lipstick. Balms are thicker, smoother and melty to the touch, while lip gloss feels thin and slightly sticky.
Wear: Lip balm absorbs into your lips for prolonged hydration, whereas lip gloss grips onto your lips for lasting shine.
Pigmentation: Lip balm and lip gloss can be tinted, however both provide a sheer amount of colour and would be best paired with a lip liner, lipstick or lip stain.
Glow: Lip balms have a nourished, healthy-looking glow from within look, whereas lip glosses contain shimmer to give them impactful, glass-like shine.
Hydration: Lip glosses are makeup products where hydration is secondary to a glossy glow, whereas lip oils are a makeup-skincare hybrid that often prioritising hydrating ingredients. If your lips feel dry and you want max hydration, swap your lip gloss for a lip oil.
Texture: Lip oils are formulated with – you guessed it – oils, and so they have a thinner, slicker texture than a gloss. Lip gloss can feel heavier than a lip oil and provides a greater amount of coverage.
Wear: Lip gloss and lip oil work in a similar fashion. They both glaze over lips to create a comfortable, high-shine layer. Because of its thinner texture, lip oil absorbs into lips faster than a gloss which can cause it to dissipate more quickly while a gloss is more viscose and sits on the lips for longer.
Pigmentation: Lip gloss and lip oil normally prioritise glow over pigmentation. Some lip glosses and lip oils are tinted to offer lips a pop of colour, however you will get a more dialled up look by pairing them with a lip liner or applying on top of a lipstick or lip tint.
Glow: Both lip gloss and lip oil have mesmerising shine. Lip glosses generally have a glimmer glow packed with shimmer, while lip oils have a dewy, juicy glow like you’ve just bitten into a fresh watermelon slice.
Hydration: Lip balm is intended to hydrate lips while lip tints are intended to colour lips. While lip tints may contain hydrating ingredients, lip balms are primarily created to boost moisture and are more suitable for dry lips. To get the best of both worlds, try a tinted lip balm like Pillow Talk Blush Balm Lip Tint.
Texture: Lip balms have a smooth-like-butter feel that melts onto the lips whereas lip tints are dryer to help with longevity and giving lips a soft-blur effect.
Wear: Lip balms absorb quickly into lips to hydrate and renew dry lips while lip tints are formulated to glide onto lips and set into place for a long-lasting tint.
Pigmentation: Lip balms and lip tints are more sheer than a lipstick but they will give you a soft tint that makes lips appear naturally flushed. Both are great choices for repigmenting the look of your lips and giving them a soft glow. Lip balm may feel more hydrating, but a lip tint will usually have better lasting power.
Glow: Give your lips a nourished, healthy-looking glow with lip balm, or swipe on a lip tint for a soft glow and subtle blur effect.
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Pillow Talk
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Kim K.W.
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Liv It Up
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Icon Baby
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Lip Kit
£51.50£48.93
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Lip Kit
£57.50£51.75
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Magical Savings
£59.00£47.20
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Red Carpet Red
£22.00
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Icon Baby
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Pink Venus
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Supersize Me
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Lip Kit
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With over 30 years experience, Charlotte Tilbury MBE is the world's number 1 makeup artist and British beauty entrepreneur. Charlotte established Charlotte Tilbury Beauty in 2013, which is now a record-breaking beauty brand that has won over 400 awards.
