Pucker up! As winter approaches, now’s the time to stock up on soothing lip masks to fight the inevitable dry, cracked, and peeling lips many of us experience as temperatures fall. Like face masks rejuvenate the skin and add essential nutrients, the best lip masks do the same for your lips. These gels, creams, or sheets are designed to hydrate, moisturize, and even plump your lips. However, it’s worth noting that plumper isn’t always perceived as better.
Why is that? A recent study suggests that natural-looking lips are often favored over their cosmetically enhanced counterparts regarding beauty standards. However, researchers admitted people still tend to stare at lips that are bigger and poutier longer than they do at an attractive woman with more typically proportioned lips. That being said, you don’t necessarily have to go to drastic measures to give your lips a boost.
Unlike ordinary lip balms, lip masks provide the intense hydration often required after exposure to extreme weather conditions or the prolonged use of matte lipsticks. Not only do they moisturize, but some contain gentle exfoliating agents to help remove dead skin cells, leaving you with soft, smooth, and supple lips. Common ingredients found in lip masks include hyaluronic acid, collagen, shea butter, vitamins, and various natural oils. Each ingredient serves a specific purpose, such as hydrating the skin or reducing the appearance of fine lines.
Choosing the right product for your needs is essential to get the best results. It’s ideal to use lip masks once or twice a week, but if you have extremely dry or chapped lips, they can be used more frequently. The market is flooded with choices, from luxury brands offering gold-infused masks to organic options made with all-natural ingredients. Which are the best lip masks? We’ve curated a list from the top beauty websites and have the results. If there’s a lip mask not highlighted that deserves some love, let us know in the comments below.
The List: Best Lip Masks, Per Skincare Experts
1. Laniege Lip Sleeping Mask
This mask is the clear overall winner and rises to the top. One Byrdie tester loves the mask’s consistency, describing it as “the perfect cross between a jelly and a cream.” After using the product, the test says her lips looked “slightly glossy” and felt “extra juicy.” While the mask is meant for overnight use, the website adds it’s great to also use during the day.
Good Housekeeping states, “No wonder this lip mask is a cult-favorite and a top-searched item online: Its Moisture Wrap technology uses a smooth blend of hyaluronic acid and minerals to help lock in moisture, plus it contains vitamin C and antioxidants. It sinks in quickly and leaves a subtle, fragrant smell. You can purchase it in apple lime, vanilla, and original scent.”
This is an all-time Allure editor favorite. “Its über-thick formula (enhanced by shea and murumuru butter, plus antioxidants like vitamin C) falls somewhere between a balm and a cream and works its magic by slowly melting into your lips overnight. Come morning, lips look and feel soft, bouncy, and supple as ever. It also comes in a vanilla version, if that’s more up your alley.”
2. Kiehl’s Buttermask For Lips
Good Housekeeping beauty director April Franzino calls it one of her personal favorites: “It’s packed with nourishing plant butters like shea, cocoa, and mango, and oils such as coconut, castor, and jojoba,” she explains. “I slather this thick mask all over my lips before bed so it softens them while I sleep.”
“Kiehl’s Buttermask is your new best friend,” writes Byrdie. “The thick, nourishing formula went on as smooth as, well…butter. After quickly melting into our tester’s lips, the product was barely visible but felt like the softest, smoothest cocoon. This mask moisturized her previously parched lips and left them supple while soothing irritation. She loved the natural mango-coconutty scent too. While it’s billed as an overnight treatment, the highly absorbent, fast-acting formula could work as a daytime lip balm.”
“The mask was light as a feather and practically melted into my lips,” according to a tester at InStyle. “‘My parched lips went from dry to the most supple lips ever,’ she adds. Because of how quickly the treatment absorbs, it doesn’t easily rub off compared to others, meaning it will spend more time on your lips than your pillowcase. And with no glossy sheen, this butter can easily double as a daytime balm.”
3. Tatcha Kissu Lip Mask
Megan Markle and Jennifer Aniston love this lip mask and so does Glamour. “The formula contains hydrating squalane, camellia oil, and peach extract to give lips a lush, full finish and get rid of all traces of chapping and flaking,” says contributing editor Sarah Y. Wu. “It feels incredibly nourishing and comforting once applied and not sticky in the slightest. I’ve been applying a bedtime lip mask for as long as I can remember, and this one has become a fast favorite. I also use it during the day because I can’t get enough of the soft, smooth results.”
This Japanese formulation gets the seal of approval from Pinkvilla. “This hydrating lip mask significantly enhances the texture of the lips in just a few weeks of regular use. So if you can splurge, go ahead because we give it a big fat thumbs up!”
The beauty editor at Elle says, “A personal staple, this super-thick lip mask ensures that your lips are hydrated all night long. It uses camellia oil, squalane, and Japanese pear extract to get the job done. I don’t leave my house without this in tow.”
4. Belif Aqua Bomb Overnight Lip Mask
If you like a gel, Byrdie says this Korean lip mask is perfect for you. “Belif’s Aqua Bomb went on pretty effortlessly, our tester loved the smooth, lightweight, easy-to-spread texture, and she said a little goes a long way…Our tester’s lips were still hydrated and notably supple after letting the conditioning, restorative formula do its thing for several hours.”
“With this hydrating lip treatment, it’s love at first swipe,” according to Allure. “Belif’s Aqua Bomb Overnight Lip Mask is made with botanical centella asiatica, which soothes and hydrates lips like no other, and moisturizing shea butter. The best part is that it’s not heavy or sticky — the gel-like formula feels like nothing and on windy days your hair won’t stick to your mouth. (We’ve all been there.)”
According to InStyle, “Even after eating, drinking, and hours passing by, the mask was still visible. My lips felt very hydrated and supple.” Dermatologist Dr. Joshua Zeichner says superpower ingredients such as cica “help soothe inflammation and rebuild the skin barrier.”
5. She Loves 2PCS Lip Mask Overnight
“This adorable set is an incredible value because it comes with a day and night mask for the price of one,” according to InStyle. “‘The day mask feels smooth like a balm, while the night mask has more of a sticky texture,’ describes our tester. Both masks left her lips hydrated, thanks to a blend of honey, beeswax, and vitamin E. The formulas also have mineral oil, which attracts moisture from the air and binds it into the skin to increase hydration. Since the balms didn’t leave too much of a gloss or sheen, our tester could see herself using them under a lipstick or stain for extra moisture. The honey dipper-shaped applicators are so cute, too, you’ll be wanting to apply these masks all day.”
“This value pack of lip masks comes with two generously sized jars, offering you the most bang for your buck,” reports Byrdie. “One is for daytime use, and the other is a nighttime treatment. Our tester said the former is a smooth balm, and the latter has a stickier texture. After giving both formulas a chance to do their thing, our tester’s lips looked and felt more hydrated. While these gel masks don’t leave a glossy sheen, they’re still great on their own or underneath other lip products.”
Pinkvilla says this targets wrinkles extremely well. “The natural essence extract composition is nourishing and protects the lips from fine lines, lip wrinkles, and dryness. The scent is also light and comfortable.”
6. Dermelect Smooth & Supple Lip Mask Melt
Byrdie’s tester said, “The super-luxe, non-sticky formula has an amazing slip and melts right into the lips. Combined with the zinc-coated wand, it has a nice cooling effect while delivering ample moisture, soothing sensitivity, and nourishing sunburned or wind-chapped lips. We loved the packaging of this high-end mask.”
InStyle commerce writer Maya Gandara also swears by this mask to soothe her chronically chapped lips, and says “It instantly makes flakes and dry patches disappear.”
If you have sensitive skin, People says you’ll love this lip mask. “The Formula is made without fragrance, parabens, and other irritants, and it doesn’t leave a sticky or tacky residue. Unlike masks that need to be washed off, this one is designed to be left on for continuous moisture throughout the day.”
7. Burts Bees Overnight Intensive Lip Treatment
“Any fan of the original Burt’s Bees lip balm will love this souped-up overnight version,” writes Glamour. “It’s got the tingly peppermint oil like the OG, but also contains moisture-locking ceramides to keep your lips from drying out while you sleep.”
According to Good Housekeeping, “This lip treatment did so well in our Lab tests that it earned a Good Housekeeping Beauty Award. This Intensive Lip Treatment is packed with ceramides or oils naturally found in the skin that help protect and moisturize your lips as you sleep. One tester reported seeing improvement with her cracked lips within just a few nights.”
“It’s a great quick fix but an even better preventive treatment—especially during the harsh winter months,” Mona Gohara, MD, a Connecticut-based dermatologist tells Oprah Daily.
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Note: This article was not paid for nor sponsored. StudyFinds is not connected to nor partnered with any of the brands mentioned and receives no compensation for its recommendations.