We have no shame admitting that more and more low maintenance beauty products are slowly creeping into our beauty routines. From heatless curls to tantouring, we’re all about efficiency over here. Work smarter, not harder, right? And the latest addition to our beauty cheat sheet is lip stains.
Brands like Wonderskin and Sacheu Beauty have gone viral with their lip stain alchemy, leaving us with beautifully tinted lips all day long. Just a 10 second wait and swipe of gloss over the top and we’re good to go. But which are the best lip stains? And what do they really look like on lips? Scroll on to read our reviews of our favourite lip stains and see them in action.
What is lip stain?
A lip stain is a lightweight lip product that temporarily stains the lips and leaves behind a wash of colour. Some are peel off lip stains, whilst some simply wipe off, but all absorb into the skin to colour lips.
How to use lip stain
Step 1: Swipe your chosen stain to either your lip line or all over your lips
Step 2: Wait for the desired time, which can vary between 30 seconds and 10 minutes.
Step 3: Either gently peel away or wipe off your chosen lip stain before applying a lip gloss or balm to the top.
Our 4 lip stain reviews
1. Wonderskin Wonder Blading Lip Stain Masque in Bella
Why we love it: Gets to work in 30 seconds and comes off easily
Our Wonderskin lip stain review: “The Wonderskin lip stain applied to my lips really evenly and effortlessly. It only needed about 30 seconds to get to work and although it’s a blue lip stain, it left behind a lovely, natural colour. As it’s a peel off lip stain, it was really easy to remove and lasted the whole day on my lips, even while eating and drinking. I used this all over my lips but it would be perfect as a lip liner too.”
2. Sacheu Beauty Lip Liner STAY-N in p-INKED
Why we love it: Left behind a subtle, natural colour
Our Sacheu Beauty lip stain review: “I’d happily use the Sacheu Beauty lip stain every day. I applied it once and it stayed on for the rest of the day, which was really impressive as I’ve had to reapply other lip stains I’ve tried throughout the day. I had to leave it on for around 10 minutes, which is a bit longer than others, but I’d still put this up there with one of the best peel off lip stains because of the colour payoff. Even though I wore this as a lip liner, it didn’t leave any harsh lines and blended well with my natural lip colour.”
3. By BEAUTY BAY Hydrating Lip Tint in Slippers
Why we love it: Can be worn as a stain or gloss
Our By BEAUTY BAY lip stain review: “I usually wear the By BEAUTY BAY lip tint as a gloss as it’s so hydrating, but I’ll definitely be wearing it as a lip stain again. I left it on my lips for about 5 minutes before wiping off and added a clear balm over the top. I chose the shade Slippers, which was the perfect natural-looking shade for the daytime, but I could have left it for longer to create more pigment for the evening.”
4. NYX Lip IV Hydrating Gloss Stain Lip Gloss in Coco Quench
Why we love it: Can be easily built up to for day or night
Our NYX lip stain review: “NYX might be one of the best out there when it comes to lip products, so I knew the NYX lip stain was going to be good. This went on as a brown lip stain, so I could definitely leave it to set whilst out and about if needed. The formula felt really hydrating on my lips and left behind a gorgeous shade that I could definitely top up to build more pigment. I actually really liked the way it looked as a gloss too before I wiped it off – a real multi-tasker.”
