The Sip-Proof Lip Stains You Need In Your Rotation
Even better, the category is booming, with more textures and applicators than ever to choose from. Summer Fridays' new Flushed Lip Stains feature a precision felt tip for effortless sculpting and defining, while Kulfi's Lassi Lips Staining Lip Liners glide on with a creamy, blendable texture and set into a long-lasting, transfer-proof stain.
If you’re after something low-maintenance that still looks polished, lip stains are an easy addition to your routine. Ahead, we road-tested the best lip stains - through drinking and eating, no less - to find the formulas that truly deliver.
The Best Lip Stains To See You Through Every Coffee Date
Summer Fridays
Flushed Lip Stain, £22.00
Best felt tip lip stain
Hot off the press, Summer Fridays’ new lip stains feature a precision felt tip designed to give you full control over colour intensity and placement. They’re already generating plenty of buzz online, and with a versatile shade range, there’s an option to flatter every skin tone.
What sets it apart? One side is slightly fluffy for creating a soft, blurred lip look, while the other offers a more defined edge for precise, sculpted colour.
How many shades? 6.
Kulfi
Lassi Lips Staining Lip Liner, £24.00
Best staining lip liner
Kulfi describes this as a ‘longwear chubby lip liner that defines, blurs and stains the lips’ and we couldn’t have said it better. For natural-looking colour that doesn’t require constant touch-ups, this innovative formula applies like a creamy lip liner but delivers an impressive 8–12 hours of wear, lasting through a workday, dinner, or evening out.
What sets it apart? The formula is so creamy that you can take your time applying and blending, yet once it sets, it stays put.
How many shades? 6.
Fenty Beauty
Poutsicle Hydrating Lip Stain, £22.00
Best wet-look lip stain
Master of the lip category, Fenty Beauty’s lip stain has a unique oil-in-water texture that delivers a glossy, wet-look shine to your lips. On first swipe, the colour payoff is rich and intense, before gradually settling into a soft, even wash of colour over the next few hours.
What sets it apart? This formula contains squalene to hydrate and soften your lips while you wear it.
How many shades? 6.
Kay Beauty
Lip Tint, £10.00
Best hydrating lip stain
Goes on like a lip balm, wears like a tint. Kay Beauty’s formula has a soft, soufflé-like texture that glides on smoothly, infused with nourishing grape seed oil and soothing raspberry leaf extract for added comfort. The colour payoff leans subtle, delivering a fresh, natural flush, but it layers easily if you’re after a bolder, more defined look.
What sets it apart? You can easily build this lip tint up for a richer, more vibrant finish, or wear it naturally for a subtle daytime look.
How many shades? 6.
Victoria Beckham Beauty
Bitten Lip Tint, £37.00
Best natural lip stain
Victoria Beckham Beauty’s lip tint is so lightweight, you might forget you’re wearing it. Its gel formula glides on like water and sets to a soft-focus finish, while hydrating ingredients keep lips comfortable and the long-wearing pigment gives a full, just-bitten effect.
What sets it apart? This truly feels like you have nothing on. No stickiness, no tightness or dryness – just pretty colour.
How many shades? 5.
Rare Beauty
Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil, £22.00
Best hybrid lip stain
Leave it to Rare Beauty to merge two of beauty’s biggest trends: lip oils and lip stains. This gel-to-oil lip tint feels ultra-lightweight on the lips, delivering a glossy shine that never feels sticky. The wear time isn’t quite as impressive, but it lasts much longer than your average lip oils and layers with no trouble.
What sets it apart? All the hydrating, glossy benefits of a lip oil with a long-wear of a stain.
How many shades? 8.
Read More
• How do Lip Plumpers Work?• The Best Lip Balms • The Best Lip Oils Everyone's Raving About
• Our Review of Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm
