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13 best lip glosses for a plump, juicy look and no stickiness – picks from just £1 tested with photos
Livin' my best y2k life!
I feel like there is a bit of a lip makeup crisis in beauty at the moment. Hybrid formulas like gloss-oils, balm-lipsticks and pigmented treatment masks are launching at a mile a minute, but while this totally makes sense for the multi-use beauty trends, sometimes, I just want a traditional lip gloss.
New launches of every y2k lovers fave beauty item are slim (if I see another lip oil launch, ima throw hands). So, as a girl who's handbag is never, ever complete without a lip gloss option, I felt it necessary to breakdown the best of the best for you, because there are levels to lip gloss supremacy. There are classics like MAC Lip Glass and new cult faves like Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb (a team Cosmo fave) – so how do you choose? Well let's start with the below...
Maybe my fave and most-used Fenty product of all time, I have this gloss in so many different shades and formats. Although I love Gloss Bomb Heat (which gives the lips a little plump thanks the the tingling effect in the formula) I think the classic is by far the best. Shiny, juicy lips with zero stickiness.
Shades: 7
We have a whole gallery of the best plumping lip glosses tried and tested, here. But this is probably my fave. I don't need a lot of plumping and I hate the ones that tingle loads, so this is perfect for me. I have a few different shades but my fave way to wear it is as a part of a Pillow Talk sandwich. The liner, lipstick and then topped with this – the juiciest pout there ever was!
Shades: 3
Make Up Gallery Gloss Over It Lip Gloss- Clear As Day, 10ml
I'm going to try and get over the fact that anything sold in POUNDLAND costs more that £1 exactly (a real liberty IMO) and alert you to the best priced lip gloss out there. Countless times, when I've interviewed celebs for our Little Black Beauty Book series, they wax lyrical about '£1 lip glosses' from the hair shop and this is essentially it. No stickiness and a complete bargain.
While Mr Mario does have an even shinier lip gloss formula in his makeup range, I always reach for this one as it gives such pigmented colour and a beautiful non-sticky shine. It's almost like lip latex but actually comfortable to wear.
Shades: 13
Given how many glosses I have in my collection, it's understandable that I rarely finish lip glosses before they get lost, replaced or eaten by, what I call, the handbag monster. So, getting to an empty tube of this was an accomplishment recently. The shade brown is so perfect, it's basically the colour that your clear lip gloss goes when you always apply gloss over brown lip liner constantly.
Shades: 6
I call these pocket rockets my party gloss. The packaging is so dinky, but don't let that fool you, there is more product in this than Charlotte Tilbury Plumpgasm and the packaging is half the size. The formula glides onto the lips almost gel-like but looks like a gorgeously plumping gloss.
Shades: 10
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Lip Glaze, Full Shine Lip Gloss
This is a real drugstore classic. The formula is not at all sticky and it boasts hydrating ingredients like squalane and hyaluronic acid so you aren't just slavering on a gloss you're actually nourishing your lips and it costs less than a tenner.
Shades: 8
DIOR ADDICT Lip Maximizer 6ml
IMO, while the Dior Lip Oils get all the love these glosses fly under the radar and it's unfair, for me they are far superior. This is a great gloss to gift as it looks so boujee and I haven't met one person that uses it that doesn't completely rave about it.
Shades: 8
Another highly-pigmented formula, I love how pillowy this formula leaves my lips looking. If you are looking for a nude lipgloss that works for all skin tones, Sorcery is the one. Sorcery by name, sorcery by nature as I'm not sure how it manages to look so good on deep and light skin tones...
Shades: 12
All makeup girlies has had a Lipglass in her stash at some point. It's the stickiest gloss that I'll tolerate but I genuinely couldn't have a best lip gloss round up without including it. It's a catch-all gloss that gives astrological levels of shine. Also, if you wanna give the world an editorial lewk, a tip I've learnt backstage at fashion week is that if you mix this with eyeshadow on the back of your hand you have a pretty excellent makeshift glossy eye.
Winter's coming! And with it, frosted makeup will be back (you heard it here first, people) this icy plumper will have you ahead of the trend. The gloss is really thin, almost verging on lip oil but the shimmer pigments in this do the heavy lifting when it comes to giving shine.
Shades: 7
L'Oréal Paris Brilliant Signature Plumping Lip Gloss -in-Balm 7ml
I know I said I was sticking to just glosses and no hybrids but this honestly is just a gloss even though L'Oreal refers to it as a balm-in-gloss. I think the balm aspect comes in with the nourishing and plumping ingredients of hyaluronic acid and collagen. The texture is smooth and glides on – a brilliant gloss for under ten English pounds? We love.
Shades: 6
Before I start telling you that this £50 lip gloss is amazing, I have to acknowledge that it's incredibly expensive for a lip gloss. But, do I love it? Yes, yes, I do. Whether you're considering a gift for a loved one or you simply deserve a splurge, this is an excellent boujee buy. The packaging is luxe and weighty and above all the gloss feels great on the lips. The shade West Coast is a brown rosy nude that I reach for all the time.
Shades: 4
Why trust us?
Keeks Reid – Keeks has been testing a plethora of lip glosses long before she was a Beauty Director. While a good lipstick is a must and a hydrating lip balm is a staple, lip glosses are Keeks' thing and, as you can see, she hoards her favourites like it's her job (it is).
Keeks Reid is the Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan UK. While she loves all things beauty, Keeks is a hair fanatic through and through. She started her career in beauty journalism in 2013 as editorial assistant at Blackhair and Hair magazines working her way to Acting Editor of Blackhair magazine at 23 years old. She spent much of her career working in trade hairdressing media at Hairdressers Journal, Salon International and the British Hairdressing Awards. Which is why she is a regular contributor to Cosmo's Curl Up franchise. Now, alongside her Cosmo work, she presents, creates content on social media and works with a range of beauty companies; from magazines and websites to beauty brands and salons.
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