The best lip tint is a color product that falls somewhere between makeup and skincare on the beauty product spectrum—but which one is it, exactly? Let’s explain lip tint, and how it differs from stains, balms, and sticks.
Eyes, lips, face: Together, they assemble the trinity of major makeup categories. Each word describes a dizzying amount of product options all used in self presentation, from the creamy concealers or dusty blushes on our cheeks to the pencils or markers or powders we use to sketch our brows.
Lips in particular have always been a popular application site. It’s a small way to show them some care. There’s a phenomenon named for this: The “Lipstick Effect”, describes an economic theory that even in times of recession, humans will still purchase affordable luxuries, like lipstick, even though their benefits are mostly tied to vanity. It’s less about the lipstick, and how lipstick makes us feel.
Contemporary innovations in makeup have given rise to a number of other lipstick-like products, which provide near endless ways to wear lip color—and near endless options, too. Take lip “tints”—are they sticks, or balms, or both? It turns out, some products can seamlessly marry the categories of makeup and skincare. Which one describes a lip tint?
What is a lip tint?
It won’t shock you to learn that the phrase “lip tint” is not a regulated one, meaning there are few guidelines about what a lip tint should look like or be composed of. As the same suggests, these products are intended to add slight color to the lips. But that usually isn’t all they can do.
A lip tint is, by definition, a makeup product, but one that is unlike other lip colors. Rather than simply pave over skin, tints usually come in a slippery texture, like an oil or gel-cream, that provide sheer washes of different shades that still allow for the natural lip color to come through. These softer textures can even help moisturize skin, which makes for longer, more comfortable wear in the process. Because of these combined factors, lip tints are typically regarded as more natural and long-lasting lip color options than their companions in the makeup aisle. Especially if you’re looking for a subtle makeup look, a lip tint might be your holy grail.
What’s the difference between lip tint and lip balm?
Lip balms are ubiquitous. There’s a good chance there’s one near to hand right now. There’s also a good chance that it was one of the first skincare products you ever owned.
We’re familiar with lip balm because there is no place we need balm more than on our lips. Skin has the ability to self-moisturize using oil glands buried in its outer layers that secrete waxy sebum—but on the lips, these oil glands are absent, which is why the skin in this delicate area is prone to chapping. Lip balms use waxes or emollients which act as moisture seals. They are typically worn throughout the day and at night, but are frequently translucent, without color.
Some lip balms do carry a bit of color, and these are commonly called tinted lip balms. These might function similarly to lip tints—and even look nearly identical—but are probably, like their untinted cousins, skincare products, while lip tints are makeup products.
What’s the difference between lip tint and lip stain?
In your shopping adventures, you may encounter the term lip stain, which refers to long-wearing lip color that clings to lips like a stain to fabric. You can read more about the difference between lip tint vs. lip stain vs. lipstick here, but in short, like lip tints, stains are makeup products. Look closely and you’ll notice a difference in texture: While tints usually have a hydrating, jelly, luminous quality, stains are inky and matte. Both products offer a slighter change to the lips than a lipstick, but in two different finishes. A lip tint is a little closer to a balm than a stain, which may have more in common with lipstick.
Is a lip tint right for me?
Why add a lip tint to your makeup wardrobe? It’s not dissimilar to adding a pair of jeans to an outfit: They’re an easy, everyday way to flatter your features. But a lip tint might also benefit you if you’re a person who…
Is prone to lip dryness. Dry skin can be caused by all kinds of factors, from your skin type to the outside environment to inflammation in our bodies, but moisturizing ingredients in lip balms and lip tints can help form a seal over lips that inhibits water loss. If your lips are chronically dry, you probably have a good lip balm or two up your sleeve; A lip tint, or a tinted lip balm, allows you to incorporate them into your makeup look, too.
Hates the feeling of lipstick. It’s a common question at the makeup counter: Will this lipstick dry me out? Some lipsticks go on creamy, only to crust over as the day wears on, but a lip tint will stay juicy between reapplications.
Opts for minimalist makeup. If your makeup look is little more than mascara and lip color, a lip tint may help collapse steps in your routine. Lip tints are easy to use and their versatility as a hybrid skincare-makeup product makes them highly convenient for a simple, natural makeup look—any time, any wear.
The best lip tint
For half a decade, the skincare brand Tatcha’s best-selling Kissu Lip Mask has restored thousands of lips to full lushness using the power of Japanese peach extract, a powerful plant moisturizer. Lately, they’ve expanded Kissu into a collection of some of the best lip tints for long-wearing, natural lip color: Please welcome the Kissu Lip Tints.
The Kissu Lip Tints come in three shades, each inspired by time-treasured Japanese botanicals—the pink plum blossom, the red camellia bloom, and the berry midnight lily—to assemble a curated lip color wardrobe. Regardless of your choice of tint color, each one builds with applications, too. One swipe gets you a sheer wash of color, or you can load it up for a higher-impact look. But it’s more than just makeup: the Kissu Lip Tints are also fortified with UV filters that protect lips from the aging rays of the sun, as well as silk protein and botanical lanolin, for optimum moisturization. This smooth, elegant formula keeps lips comfortable while gliding on effortlessly. It’s a kiss of color, and one that keeps lips well-loved.