Beauty
The best lip balms with SPF
4 May 2022
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The best lip balms with SPF
Whether you're into skincare or not, there is one golden rule that everyone should follow, regardless of age, gender, skin type or skin concern: apply SPF every day . And that includes your lips. If you've ever experienced ski or beach holiday-burn on your lips, you'll know that it can be pretty painful, and proof that like the rest of your skin, your lips are prone to serious sun damage and even skin cancer. And because the skin there is far thinner than the rest of your face and body it's even more in need of serious UV protection, applied every single day.
This week is sun awareness week, so you may want to start your safe-sun routine by making sure your daily lip balm habit gets and SPF upgrade. Today's lip balms with SPF are as nourishing as your usual balm and no longer feel any chalky or leave a white cast. What's not to love? These are our tried and tested favourites.
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Best for nourishing lips: Ultra Violette Sheen Screen Hydrating Lip Balm SPF50
Price: £16
The verdict: The Get the Gloss team has become a bit addicted to this moisturising balm. If you haven't heard of Ultra Violette, it's an Australian brand of next generation SPFs, or 'skinscreens' as they like to call them. All Ultra Violette products have broad-spectrum UVA and UVB protection with SPF30 minimum. These colourful tubes of sheeny SPF are a bit like the Lancome juicy tubes of the 2000s, but less sticky. As well as providing sun protection they're packed with some of our favourite lip nourishing ingredients - think lanolin, shea butter and vitamin E. The balms currently come in three shades (rose, peach and a shimmer that's great for layering over lipstick), with a neon pink shade called Flamingo soon to be added. Don't be put off by the bright pigments: once applied to the lips, the colour pay-off is very subtle. The non-greasy yet ultra-moisturisings formula works as hard on chapped lips as any lip balm we've tried.
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Best budget lip balm with SPF: Sun Bum Original SPF30 Lip Balm
Price: £4.79
The verdict: Coming in at less than a fiver, this vegan lip balm has a conditioning cocktail of aloe and vitamin E that helps to keep lips soft, hydrated and smooth. It is a little greasy on application but we'll forgive it that for its purse friendly price, plus once settled onto lips it does last for a good amount of time. With broad-spectrum UVA and UVB protection and a sweet taste, we love this as a great everyday lip balm.
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Best for long-lasting protection: Coola Classic Liplux SPF30
Price: £10
The verdict: Intensely creamy and buttery, this conditioning balm has blend of moisture-preserving organic cupuaçu butter and nourishing oils including raspberry and jojoba, plus it claims to be water-resistant for 80 minutes. Coola is a Californian suncare brand big on looking after the planet, all its sunscreens (including this balm) are reef-friendly, meaning its sun filters are thought to pose little to no harm to marine life. Every Coola product is at least 70 per cent organic and uses sustainably sourced ingredients.
Applying a lick in the morning before stepping outside to catch some rays will keep lips soft and supple until well into the afternoon. No stickiness, no dryness - just pure protective nourishment.
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Best for deep hydration: Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick SPF 20
Price: £20
The verdict: Everyone raves about Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream for its skin-healing abilities, but the rich gel-like texture can make it a bit heavy as a lip balm, not to mention sticky (whose hair hasn't got stuck to their lips after a slick of Eight Hour Cream). The Lip Protectant Stick from the heritage brand is a lighter formula with similar benefits. Full of lip-softening emollients with an added SPF20 and vitamin E, it is just as moisturising as the cream version but won't leave lips feeling greasy or sticky. It's a little on the pricey end of the lip balm spectrum, and has slightly lower SPF than the others, but it lasts for ages. A good winter option.
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Best plant-powered SPF lip balm: Albus & Flora BASE Everyday Lip Solve Tube SPF 30
Price: £16
The verdict: You'd be forgiven for mistaking this for lipstick. It has the same weighty feel, twist-up bullet and satisfying 'click', plus it paints lips a lovely shimmery rose colour in a matte finish. But alongside a broad-spectrum SPF30, it is packed with antioxidants and vitamins to nourish and protect lips. We're talking protective cranberry and raspberry seed oil, avocado and blackcurrant oils to support the skin barrier function and jojoba, grape and sunflower oils for long-lasting hydration. Almost good enough to eat (but don't).
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Best for delicate lips: Hello Sunday The One For Your Lips Fragrance-Free Lip Balm SPF 50
Price: £5
The verdict: This is one of the glossiest balms of the bunch, but it's not at all sticky and the easy-to-use squeeze tube is great for throwing into your handbag. The formula is packed full of hyaluronic acid and shea butter to help soothe, nourish and rehydrate dry, cracked lips, while the SPF50 and fragrance-free formula make this our top choice for lips that tend to react to irritants and need the highetst level of protection. And it's vegan and well-priced to boot.
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Best mineral SPF lip balm: Salt & Stone Organic Non-Nano Lip Balm SPF30
Price: £4.50
The verdict: This lip balm is super small and compact, with SPF 30 and the mineral filter zinc oxide to help keep lips moisturised and soft. Unlike other, sheeny lip balms, this one has a matte finish and it's even water-resistant for up to 80 minutes. The perfect summer holiday companion? We think so.
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Best for chapped lips: Kiehl's Butterstick Lip Treatment SPF 30
Price: £19.50
The verdict: If you're constantly reapplying your lip balm, this is a great on-the-go choice. Our beauty writer Verity uses this in place of a standard lip balm. The formula is so incredibly moisturising and smoothing, it really does live up to its 'butterstick' name. With a coconut oil base, this is mega creamy in texture and lives up to its claims to keep lips hydrated for up to 12 hours. We love the untinted version but there are five tinted versions to choose from too; all of them leave the lips with a beautiful subtle sheen as well as offering great broad-spectrum sun protection.