What is Lip Oil? The Secret To Juicylicious Lips

What is lip oil? Discover everything you need to know about lip oil from what it does to different ways to wear lip oil for hydrated, high-gloss lips.

Darlings, lip oils have been a hot topic in the beauty industry for years now – celebrities, stars and makeup lovers are reaching for lip oils to hydrate their lips and give them sensational shine! But what is lip oil and what does lip oil do for your lips?

Discover everything you need to know about lip oil and learn how to use lip oils like Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil and Charlotte’s Magic Lip Oil Crystal Elixir for smooth and supple looking lips that glow!

what is lip oil

What is lip oil?

Lip oils are lip products infused with oil-based ingredients that are designed to hydrate lips and give them glossy, glass-like shine. Being rich in oils gives lip oil formulas a thinner texture than a lip gloss and more glide than a lip balm, giving them silky-smooth slip for an easy, comfortable application. Most lip oils are enriched with skincare ingredients that can help with hydration, barrier repair, and reducing the appearance of vertical lip lines, as well as having a reflective, high-gloss finish that makes lips glow. There are also different types of lip oils to choose from:

Tinted lip oils combine colour and shine to give lips a pigmented tint.

Shimmer lip oils are rich in pearlescent pigments that make lips glimmer.

Clear lip oils have transparent shine that gives lips a glassy, crystal glow.

Love lip oil, darlings? Discover my Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oils

What does lip oil do?

The main uses of a lip oil are threefold: lip colour, lip care, and lip glow. A good lip oil will stack the benefits of skincare and makeup, providing hydration and help with dry, dehydrated lips via hydrating, nourishing skincare ingredients like hyaluronic acid or vitamin E while also coating them with a glazed, glossy tint for enhanced colour and shine. Some lip oils like my Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil are formulated with skin barrier-strengthening ingredients that help to promote long-lasting hydration for lips, and others like Charlotte’s Magic Lip Oil Crystal Elixir contain ingredients that help to reduce the appearance of lip lines for softer, smoother looking lips. Applying lip oil is the secret to hydrated, healthy looking lips with a plump, juicy looking glow!

Shop all lip oil

How to use lip oil

Hydrating your lips with lip oil couldn’t be easier, darlings! Whether your lip oil of choice has a doefoot wand, a squeezable tube, or a magic rollerball applicator, apply lip oil directly onto your lips for immediate hydration. I recommend applying a clear lip oil onto bare lips to top up with moisture and make lips feel juicy and plush, or applying a tinted lip oil alone or with lip liner to complete your makeup look of the day.

Discover my lip care routine

Discover Charlotte’s best lip oils

  1. Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil all shades

    Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil

    Darlings, if you want your lips to look like they’ve been dipped in delicious nectar, my Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oils are the lip oils for you! This UNREAL formula is my juicylicious take on lip oil! I have combined the comfort of a lip balm, the shine of a lip gloss, and the slick of a lip oil to create a formula that perfects the glassy, glazed lip look. Unreal Lips is infused with hydrating ingredients including hyaluronic acid, antioxidant-rich fruit oils and vitamin E that help boost your skin barrier! Discover 6 UNREAL shades that smell as sensational as they look! From clear coconut water to cheeky peach to sweet strawberry vanilla, your UNREAL summer pout has arrived!

    OVER 90% AGREE LIPS LOOK + FEEL HYDRATED***

    OVER 93% AGREE LIPS LOOK INSTANTLY PLUMP + JUICY***

    OVER 84% AGREE THE SCENT BOOSTS FEELINGS OF HAPPINESS***

    Shop Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil

  2. Charlotte's Magic Lip Oil Crystal Elixir

    Charlotte’s Magic Lip Oil Crystal Elixir

    Roll on the magic, darlings! Charlotte’s Magic Lip Oil Crystal Elixir is my crystal-infused lip oil designed to hydrate lips and visibly reduce the appearance of vertical lip lines. The magic formula is infused with hyaluronic acid and plant extracts that help to immediately hydrate and lock in moisture, as well as enhancing the look of lip volume. The rollerball applicator glides effortlessly onto lips, giving them a high-shine glossy finish and leaving them feeling conditioned. Use Charlotte’s Magic Lip Oil Crystal Elixir to prime lips for lipstick, to give your lip combo a glossy finish, or apply generously as an overnight lip mask.

    BOOSTS lip VOLUME by up to 70% in 28 days****

    REDUCES the APPEARANCE of LIP LINES by up to 31%****

    Shop Charlotte’s Magic Lip Oil Crystal Elixir

Should I wear lip oil alone or with other lip makeup?

Lip oil looks fabulous on its own or layered with your favourite lip liners and lipsticks. Wear lip oil your way to create a look for every mood and moment!

Bianca Pure Peach lip oil

Sheer lip glow: wear Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil in Juicylicious Coconut Water alone for hydrated, dewy-looking shine.

Fresh lip glow: wear a tinted shade of Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil like Juicylicious Strawberry Vanilla alone for just-a-tint of glowing lip colour.

Juicy lip glow: wear Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil on top of your favourite shade of Lip Cheat lip liner for juicy-looking shine. Try Pillow Talk Fair and Juicylicious Pink Watermelon!

Healthy lip glow: prep your lips with a clear lip oil like Charlotte’s Magic Lip Oil Crystal Elixir then apply your go-to lip liner and lipstick combination on top.

Glazed lip glow: transform the look of a matte lipstick by glazing Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil over the top. Try Catwalking Lipstick and Juicylicious Candy Fig!

Glassy lip glow: top your favourite satin lipstick with a shade of Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil for a glass lips effect. Try Runway Royalty and Juicylicious Pure Peach!

Discover more lip liner and lipstick combinations to try

Do I apply lip oil before or after lipstick?

Lip oils are formulated to be silky and thin which makes them easy to layer with other lip products. They can be worn underneath lip liner and lipstick to hydrate lips before creating your lip look or glazed on top of your favourite shades to give them a glossy, glass-like finish. As a rule, clear and sheer lip oils are the easiest to apply before or after other lip products due to their minimal pigmentation, whereas more pigmented lip oil formulas are best applied on top of lip liner or lipstick.

How often should I reapply lip oil?

Reapplication of lip oil is down to personal choice, darlings – when your lips feel dry, reapply! There is no need to overapply your lip oil though, darlings. Reaching for a supercharged, super-hydrating lip oil infused with moisture-boosting ingredients ensures you won’t have to keep topping up your lip combo throughout the day. Naturally, lip products dissipate as we eat, drink and talk, so I suggest reapplying lip oil as needed after a meal to restore the glossy, glazed finish you love.

Charlotte’s Magic Lip Oil Crystal Elixir is clinically proven to boost hydration by up to 2x in 1 hour* and moisturises for up to 24 hours*

Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil: lips are 3.4X more hydrated in 1 hour**

Can I wear lip oil overnight?

Yes – wearing lip oil overnight is a great way to cushion lips with hydrating ingredients while you sleep, so you can wake up with lips that feel refreshed and revitalised. I recommend wearing a clear lip oil overnight like Charlotte’s Magic Lip Oil Crystal Elixir or Unreal Lips Healthy Glow Nectar Oil in Juicylicious Coconut Water and applying a rich layer for maximum nourishment.

Tilbury Tip: When wearing lip oil overnight, I recommend sleeping on your back to avoid transfer onto your pillow!

Discover my night-time skincare routine

Can I use lip oil instead of lip balm?

Yes – lip oil and lip balm are both hydrating lip products that will help to restore moisture to your lips and these similarities mean that one can easily be substituted for the other. I suggest reaching for a lip oil when you want to hydrate lips with a product that feels lightweight and barely there with a glass-like glow, and a lip balm when you are craving a thicker formula that melts onto lips with a fresh, dewy glow.

Darlings, always carry a lip oil in your handbag to keep your lips looking healthy and feeling hydrated! For juicylicious lips, shop lip oil on CharlotteTilbury.com and the app! Mwah!

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*Tested on 17 people

**Tested on 32 people

***Tested on over 104 people over 1 week. Combined results across all 6 scent shades

****Tested on 32 people over 28 days

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Author Details

Charlotte Tilbury

Founder, President, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Charlotte Tilbury Beauty

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.

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