I Live for a Shiny Lip. These Are My Favorite Glosses. (2025)

The crown goes to the Ami Colé lip gloss, which has consistently been a favorite since it came out in 2020. I’ve gone through at least six tubes and have one in nearly every color. It’s the platonic ideal of gloss — ultrashiny but not too sticky, and it can be applied generously without gunking up. It’s reminiscent of the beauty-supply glosses of my childhood but with better longevity and a comfier feel. The shade Excellence, the original brown, is beautiful on a wide variety of skin tones, and it’s pigmented without being overwhelming. I’m also partial to the clear. I’ve written about this lip gloss many times before, so it isn’t shocking that I’m still raving about it all these years later. I’ve also recommended it to lots of people. I’ve got my friends and my mom wearing it, all of whom have gone on to purchase their own.

I’m also a big fan of the Tower28 gloss. It was my go-to before the Ami Colé, and while I still like it, it’s a little less shiny than I gravitate toward currently. That said, it’s the best formula I’ve come across in all my years of lip-gloss wearing. It’s insanely comfortable, the colors are beautiful, and it wears down nicely. It’s perfect, no notes.

Whenever anyone tells me they don’t like the feel of gloss, I always direct them to the Byredo Liquid Lipstick Vinyl. It’s ultrashiny but featherweight and not at all sticky. I first came across it at a dinner party some years ago. We were sitting by candlelight, and I was constantly distracted by the gleam of my seatmate’s mouth. When I asked for the gloss, she whipped this out, and I procured it shortly after. It’s great. The only downside is that it wears off fairly quickly and is wildly expensive. For these two reasons, I rarely recommend it to a seasoned lip-gloss lover, but if you fall into the category of wanting the look without the texture, this is the one.If you’re feeling turned off by the price (understandable), I recommend finding a cosmetics counter or a Byredo store to test it out.

I received this lip gloss in a gift bag from my esthetician friend Sydney and was pleasantly surprised by the shade range. It’s comfortable and shiny, and it comes in these rich berry and brown tones that look great on two-toned lips like mine.

Plumping glosses aren’t for everyone, but this one is a crowd-pleaser. It isn’t too tingly but still offers decent volume (my lips look fuller than when I use the Charlotte Tilbury plumping gloss), and I love the red shade, which has the perfect amount of pigment. It’s a subtle tint but adds a little something, like putting on a sparkly pair of earrings or a cool-looking belt. Another nice thing is that it’s not sticky. It doesn’t gunk up after a few hours of chatting, either, which is a plus. My lips are sensitive, so I can’t use it too often — the ginger, cinnamon, and peppermint combo can be a lot for me consistently — but when I do, it’s a nice treat.

Of all the options in the shiny lip-balm universe, the Summer Fridays Lip Balm is my favorite. It smells nice, is shiny but nourishing, and has a nice silicone applicator. It’s not going to give you the same shine as a gloss, but it’s close enough. I like to put this on on days when I’m wearing nothing but sunscreen and a swipe of mascara — it’s very effortless but still put-together.

The runner-up is this balm from Polite Society, which is so shiny I often forget it’s not a lip balm. It has a good gloss factor and is moisturizing enough. The shade range is nice too. I tend to alternate between Coconut Cream, a clear shade, and Bumbleberry, a mauve-y shade that looks beautiful with a brown lip liner.

I also really like this lip balm from Nudestix. I often go back and forth between this and the Summer Fridays balm. It’s a bit thinner, has a minty-vanilla flavor, and is slightly shinier. I like to wear this with a little Vaseline underneath to give it slightly more heft, but it does well on its own.

These broke the internet when they came out, and for good reason. It’s the closest to a true lip-gloss/lip-balm hybrid and has the stickiness to match. My only issue with this is the gumminess that happens when you apply too much, but to its credit, once you apply it, it sticks. It has incredible longevity and a little exfoliation too. I also adore the shade range — an array of warm neutrals. It was clearly crafted with pigmented lips in mind.