If you’ve been paying even a little attention to the beauty world over the last few years, the chances are you’ll be all too familiar with the current lip oil boom.

Name a brand, any beauty brand, and it’s likely it’ll have at least one lip oil in its range. In fact, the global market for lip care products has grown significantly, reaching a value of $2.47 billion (£1.86bn) last year and is expected to continue growing. 

But why is everybody so obsessed? Well, it’s mostly because oils promise to be more long-lasting than lip gloss, more hydrating than lipstick and more pigmented than a balm. A triple whammy, right?

If you’re still not convinced by the notion of applying an oil to your lips, we spoke to Dr Najia Shaikh, a GP, skin doctor and the founder of One Skin Clinic on London’s Harley Street, to get her thoughts. When asked where lip oils fall in terms of categorisation, Dr Shaikh says that, generally speaking, lip oils are more nourishing than lip balms.

“Lip balms tend to carry ingredients, like petroleum, that instead of penetrating deep to moisturise, only coat your lips. This means you have to constantly reapply them as there’s no real moisturising going on.”

So, how do lip oils work? “When applied to the lips, oils penetrate deeply to moisturise and nourish the skin,” she explains.

“Additionally, many lip oils are formulated with moisture-replenishing and moisture-attracting ingredients to keep lips soft, smooth, plump and unchapped,” she adds.

Both hyaluronic acid and vitamin E are star ingredients to look out for when shopping for lip oil, Dr Shaikh explains. “Make sure to look for an ingredient list that contains naturally sourced oils as opposed to synthetic variants, as these ingredients are said to mimic the lipid content of skin to protect, hydrate and accentuate lips.”

Many of us know how drying lipsticks and lip stains can be, but Dr Shaikh says that aesthetically, lip oils can be used as an alternative to lipstick when they include a coloured tint. While they’ll give a more glossy effect compared to using lipstick on its own, a tinted lip oil with top-tier ingredients can be a good two-in-one product that helps keep lips soft and protected without the need for having too many products – oils, lipsticks and balms – in your make-up bag.

So with all of that in mind, here’s a round-up of some of our current favourites…

Images: courtesy of brands