Five Tinted Lip Balms I Actually Reach For

As someone with a deeper skin tone who experiences dry, sometimes chapped lips, lip care isn’t optional for me. I rely on balms that soothe, seal, and lock in moisture. And when I want a subtle wash of colour, tinted formulas are my go-to.

These are the five tinted lip balms I consistently reach for. The ones that condition and visibly enhance my lips without disappearing, turning ashy, or feeling purely cosmetic.

Westman Atelier Squeaky Clean (Pip Squeak)

I've wanted to try the Westman Atelier lip balm for what feels like forever, and I finally settled on the shade Pip Squeak. If you're interested in clean beauty without compromising on performance, this one is a standout.

The formula sits comfortably between a balm and a gloss, offering hydration without stickiness. It's infused with organic jojoba, almond, and argan oils to deeply nourish and hydrate the lips, while remaining silicone and mineral-oil-free. The doe-foot applicator makes application easy, and the texture feels smooth. It leaves a soft, healthy shine with a subtle tint that enhances your natural lip colour rather than masking it.

Augustinus Bader Lip Balm – Shade 2

After falling in love with the universal shade for its conditioning benefits, I decided to try the tinted version in Shade 2, a vibrant red-coral. The formula is buildable and long-lasting. Like the clear counterpart, it is powered by their proprietary TFC8® Complex, alongside shea butter, castor seed oil, soothing bisabolol, and Vitamin E. Together, these ingredients support long-term lip health and repair not just surface-level shine.

On me, it lasts about three hours when I'm indoors and closer to two, in colder weather, before I feel the need to reapply it. But even as the colour fades, my lips remain silky and supple. It's also pregnancy-safe, making it a thoughtful choice for sensitive periods.

Yves Saint Laurent Loveshine Candy Glow Tinted Butter – 6B

The YSL Loveshine Candy Glow Tinted Butter (a mouthful, I know 😄) is a recent find and has quickly earned a place on my shelf and on this list. It's a glossy balm that glides like butter on the lips. It has a pH-reactive formula that adjusts to your skin chemistry, giving a personalised, luminous finish that feels polished but low effort. I chose Shade 6B, which is a flattering brown-nude that works beautifully on deeper skin tones and makes this an easy everyday reach.

Tom Ford Lip Blush

If you like a natural pink lip that looks like skin, the Tom Ford Lip Blush is worth exploring. The crystal clear balm is infused with 24-carat gold flecks and reacts to your lip pH to create a personalised pink stain. If you want an understated, "barely-there" look that still feels refined, this works.

Dior Lip Glow – Rosewood

The Dior Lip Glow in Rosewood is a sheer rosy-berry shade with a luminous glow finish that adds warmth and depth to your natural lip colour, making it especially flattering on deeper skin tones.

Like the YSL and Tom Ford formulas, it uses the colour reviver technology to adapt to your natural lip tone, creating a personalised wash of colour with lasting hydration, ideal for daily wear.