These Are The Best 9 Lip Balms We’ve Ever Tried

If you’re anything like us at HB HQ, you have at least five lip balms floating between your bag, nightstand, desk, bathroom, and who knows where the others are! There’s that one you bought years ago that you don’t really like, but can’t bring yourself to throw away, and then there’s that one that goes with you everywhere. Well, over the years, we’ve tried almost all of them, so we’re rounding up our absolute favs – not every lip balm we’ve ever tried  – and we’re including only the VERY best! So, if you’re looking for a new lip balm, if it’s on this list, you can trust it will be good for your lips. From $4 to $60, these are the top nine lip balms we absolutely rely on.

1. For Daytime: Mario Badescu Lip Balm (Squeeze Tube), $8:

Source: Mario Badescu

Every time we wear this in the office, we always get asked what we’re wearing on our lips, and people are so surprised it’s a lip balm. This gloss-like balm makes lips look sexy and voluptuous, and the fact that it’s packed with amazing nourishing ingredients is a massive bonus. It also smells good and tastes sweet, which we love.

Feels: Thick, a little sticky.
Ingredients we love: Cocoa Butter, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Aloe Leaf Extract, and Vitamin E
Formulated with: Beeswax
Shop it here.

2. For Daytime (vegan-friendly): Awake Vitamin L-I-P Balm with C+E, $16

Source: Awake

If you love lipstick and hate bare lips, but also need a major hit of hydration, this lip balm-meets-lipstick is your answer. Tarte’s new sister brand, Awake, just created the smoothest lip balm in three cute shades, packed with good for your lips ingredients. A subtle nude shade and two bright pink shades offer a sheer tint or buildable coverage for a pretty daytime lip.

Feels: Thin, smooth, not sticky.
Ingredients we love: Passionfruit Oil, Lemon Peel Oil, Plant Waxes, and Vitamins C And E
Formulated without: Petrolatum, Parabens, Mineral Oil, Phthalates, Triclosan, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, or Gluten.
Shop it here. 

3. For Long-Lasting Protection: Lanolips 101 Ointment, $17

Source: Lanolips

This magic ointment made with ultra-medical grade lanolin is one of nature’s greatest moisturizers – it can hold 200% of its weight in moisture! It feels thick and looks like a gloss and will stay on your lips for aggges! Try their 101 Ointment Multipurpose Superbalm, made only with pure lanolin (you can use it for tons of other things too), or try their 101 Ointment Fruities if you want something fun and you love a little fragrance and flavor – natural fragrance, obvs!

Feels: Thick, smooth, a little sticky
Ingredients we love: Lanolin, Coconut Oil, Vitamin A & E, Coconut Milk
Formulated without: Artificial Fragrances, Parabens, Petrolatum, Peg’s, Mineral Oil, or Sulfates
Shop them here.

4. For Chapped Lips: Blistex Relief Cream, $3.50

Source: Blistex

Okay, we’ll admit this isn’t the sexiest lip balm on the block, but if you need to get your dry lips under control fast, this will get them back to their smooth sexy selves in no time. This medicated lip product is great if you have a pesky cold sore or cracked lips, as it instantly helps relieve irritation, heal the lips, and soothe them. It feels a little tingly on application and it smells a little medical, but we actually really like that. It also has nearly a 100% 5-star rating on nearly every review forum online – now that’s something!

Feels: Creamy not sticky, not too thick
Ingredients we love: Lanolin, Menthol
Formulated with: Beeswax
Shop it here.

5. For Daytime Protection: Supergoop Shine On Lip Screen, $22

Source: Supergoop

In case you didn’t know, you need to wear SPF on your lips as well as on your face every single day! Over time, UV rays in the sun break down collagen, which means thinner (not fuller) lips over the years, so wearing a little SPF on your lips while in the sun is totally worth it – especially if it looks as pretty as this one. Packed with antioxidants to fight free radical damage, sunflower seed oil and kelp extract to hydrate and nourish, and vitamin E to shield against pollution, this SPF 50 sunblock is an essential – and it’s waterproof. It has a slightly odd taste, but it looks gorgeous alone (like a gloss), and it works nicely on top of lipsticks too.

Feels: Smoothing, not sticky and not too thick
Ingredients we love: Grape Seed Extract, Kelp Extract, Sunflower Seed Oil.
Formulated with: Beeswax
Shop it here.

6. For Healing: Carmex Healing Lip Balm, $3.50

Source: Carmex

This classic little pot of lip goodness is our go-to for dry lips. It’s soothing and moisturizing, and for $3.50, you can’t really go wrong with this. The texture is spreadable and it gives a slight tingling sensation on application. We like the formula of the pot version, which is slightly thinner than the tube formula, which is thicker but easier for on the go. We like to apply this every night before we go to bed, and we never wake up with dry lips!

Feels: Thin, smooth, not sticky
Ingredients we love: Lanolin, Cocoa Seed Butter, Salicylic acid.
Formulated with: Petrolatum, Beeswax, Parrafin
Shop it here.

7. For Anytime (vegan-friendly): Abnomaly Petrowhat? $8

Source: Abnomaly

This new formula from Deciem’s newest brand, Abnonmaly, comes in four flavors: Bali (pineapple), Rio (guava), and Milk (coconut milk flavor), while Baobab is flavorless. We love that this quirky new formula is made with 100% good stuff, and you guessed from the name, it’s petrolatum-free. Instead of locking in moisture with petrolatum, the formula saturates skin and lips with a high concentration of skin-identical Amino Acids in a Plant-derived Squalane and Baobab Oil base. Amino Acids help to maintain skin’s hydration and collagen production, but it does give a slightly salty aftertaste to the flavored versions (Milk, Bali, and Rio), so if you’re unsure of whether you’ll like that (we keep licking our lips as we like it – not good), then stick with Baobab. The formula isn’t too shiny, but if applied thickly, it has a slightly glossy appearance.

Feels: Thick formula, a little sticky
Ingredients we love: Squalane, Baobab Oil, Amino Acids
Formulated without: Alcohol, Silicone, Nuts, Gluten, Beeswax, Petrolatum (obvs) 
Shop it here.

8. For Dry Lips: Aquaphor Lip Repair, $4

Source: Eucerin

If you go to any beauty forum on the internet, this moisture-rich formula by Eucerin is sure to pop up with positive reviews. Marketed as the ‘number one dermatologist recommended lip care brand’, this soothing, ultra-nourishing formula is super hydrating and protecting and lasts for hours. It’s not too shiny, so this is a great all-rounder for everyone and anyone.

Feels: Thick formula, not sticky
Ingredients we love: Shea Butter, Castor Seed Oil, Chamomile Essence
Formulated without: Petrolatum, preservatives, fragrance
Shop it here.

9. For Anytime: La Mer The Lip Balm, $60

Source: La Mer

This little pot is like every beauty editor and beauty buff’s go-to lip balm, but it also has some pretty controversial reviews online due to the cost and ingredients list. We love it for its thin but smooth, sweet, menthol layer of hydration, which is enriched with sea kelp and minerals to hydrate and regenerate the lips. It does, however, contain petrolatum (aka Vaseline) as its main ingredient, which many people criticize due to the high price tag, and the fact that many people don’t find it to be a particularly long-lasting balm. It is very pricey, so we say try it next time you’re in a store, to see if it’s something you love enough to pay the price tag for.

Feels: Thin formula, not sticky
Ingredients we love: Eucalyptus Leaf Oil, Seaweed, Sweet Almond Oil, Aloe Leaf
Formulated with: Petrolatum
Shop it here.

Let us know if you’ve tried any of these in the comments below or tell us your fav balm so we can try it out!

Oh, and in case you were wondering what the big deal is with petrolatum… Petrolatum (aka Petroleum Jelly, Paraffin Oil, Mineral Oil and White Petrolatum) is a by-product of the oil industry and while any carcinogenic properties are removed during the refining process, there are different grades of purity – so some may be less non-toxic than others. Vaseline is, however, regarded as completely non-carcinogenic and it’s triple purified. But the main thing to note is that petrolatum jelly has no nourishing properties; it simply creates a barrier on the skin to lock in moisture and make it feel smooth. When combined with other ingredients petrolatum jelly can enhance a formula, but we’ll leave it up to you to decide how you feel about it.