Dr Dray has worked through more than 40 lip products and approved about two in three of them, skipping roughly a quarter. That approval rate of 64% is solid, and once you hear how she thinks about lips, the pattern behind it makes sense. She keeps coming back to the same handful of things: ingredients that lock in moisture, no fragrance or flavour, and formulas built specifically for lips.
What does Dr Dray recommend in lip?
Petrolatum is the ingredient she returns to again and again. It creates a seal over the lips that stops saliva from drying them out further, and she praised it explicitly in products like Cocokind Ceramide Lip Blur Balm, Remedy Lip Balm, and EltaMD UV Lip Balm Broad-Spectrum SPF 36. Fragrance and flavour get called out as common causes of what she calls lip cheilitis, which is basically chapped lips caused by the very product you are using to fix them. She flagged that Cocokind Ceramide Lip Blur Balm and Remedy Lip Balm are free of both, and treated that as a real plus. On the SPF side, she appreciated that EltaMD UV Lip Balm Broad-Spectrum SPF 36 is water resistant for 80 minutes, which matters because lips get licked and food gets eaten. She also liked Torriden Solid-In Ceramide Lip Essence enough to finish a full tube, praising both the formula and the squeeze-tip applicator that keeps the product clean.
Dr Dray's lip product picks, in her words
"Clinique's Almost Lipstick in the Black Honey shade is perfect for fall, and if you're someone like me who's very low maintenance in your makeup, this is great because it gives that hydrated gloss from like a lip gloss but the pigmentation that you get from it is much bolder than just a tinted lip gloss. I frequently wear this shade in the fall and always get compliments."
"I've been using the shade Be Kind. Really like this. It's a fragrance and flavor-free lip balm. Goes on over sunscreen on the lips just fine. It's very moisturizing, has ceramides, which are good for skin's outermost layer. And the reason I like the fact that it doesn't have flavorant or fragrance in it is those are common potential causes of allergic or irritant lip cheilitis, meaning chapped lips from your chapped-lipped product. [...] It doesn't have those in it."
"It has hyaluronic acid and does not have any flavor to it. It's hydrating, stays on the lips for a good long while, and has good longevity, really locking in moisture. [...] They also came out with tinted versions, and they have a beautiful coral shade. [...] It's a great value and one I love and always have in my collection. [...] It's amazing, it plumps, it hydrates, it soothes, all of the above, and it lasts a long time on the lips so you don't have to keep reapplying."
"It is a good product for dry lips. It has ceramides which are good for the moisture barrier, squalane and jojoba, it has peptides which are hydrating, and it has petrolatum which helps to reduce water loss. [...] It goes on almost like you're putting a lotion on your lips. [...] It's not a greasy ointment, it absorbs pretty quickly into the skin of the lips, and I did find that it helped my lips stay soft, moisturized, hydrated."
"It has ceretin, an antioxidant, and it has vitamin E, so those will help along with the sun protection defend against damage from ultraviolet radiation. It has glycerin and [petrolatum] so it really keeps the lips hydrated. And I love that it's water resistant 80 minutes. Like I said, you lick your lips, you eat things, it's nice to have a little bit of assurance that it's going to at least remain on the lips a little bit better than if it were not water resistant."
"The Lip Essences, you have got to try them. I have been, I actually finished a tube the other day. [...] The lip essences are wonderful. [...] They're petroleum jelly based, but they also have some other emollients in them. Fragrance free. I really like the dispenser, that type of lip balm dispenser where it's the little hole as opposed to the stick that you're always repeatedly wiping over your lips."
How many lip products has Dr Dray reviewed?
Dr Dray has reviewed 42 lip products, for an approval rate of 64%. 27 approved, 5 mixed, and 10 skipped.
What has Dr Dray skipped in lip?
The skips she gave are worth reading carefully. Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm fell short because it had no petrolatum and slid right off, which she compared to putting body lotion on your lips. She flagged that its fragrance, responsible for the birthday cake scent, adds a risk of the vicious cycle where the irritation makes you reach for more balm. Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment she skipped because it performed like a gloss rather than a skincare product: pleasant to wear but not delivering lasting hydration by the next morning. Carmex Classic Lip Balm she described as a vicious cycle in itself, where ingredients like camphor and phenol feel soothing at first but cause irritation that brings you back for more. Lanolips Lip Sleep Mask she found too strongly fragranced and said it simply did not keep her lips moisturised through the night.
"This has zero longevity on the lips. [...] It's very similar to if you just got a run-of-the-mill body lotion and put it on your lips, which you can do, but it does not have the longevity on the lips. Lips are of a different makeup skin, so you've got to formulate with lips in mind. I'll notice if you put products that are not meant for the lips on the lips, [...] they just sort of fall right off. That was my experience with this."
"CarX has ingredients that are soothing like camper phenol but also irritating. The CarX, uh, you put it on, it feels soothing, it feels like your lips are soft because it is moisturizing, but then you get that irritation that develops, uh, and several hours later you're like, oh, my lips are chapped again. So you reach for more CarX. Say vicious cycle."
"This looks and performs like a lip gloss. It does not really lead to long-lasting improved hydration in the lips. For example, if I use it at night, the following morning when I wake up, my lips are not necessarily feeling super moisturized. But if I wear it during the day it's kind of like I just put on a lip gloss. [...] It doesn't perform like a skin care product. It performs more like a cosmetic."
"I have tried the popular Lanolips Lip Sleep Mask and I do not like it. I don't like the fragrance, I find it to be a bit too strong, and honestly I just don't find that it keeps my lips moisturized throughout the night."
What should you take from Dr Dray's picks?
Dr Dray's record on lip products comes down to a few things she genuinely cares about. Petrolatum, ceramides, and a clean formula free of fragrance and flavour are what she looks for. Anyone prone to chapped lips, or who has ever found that a lip balm seemed to make things worse, will find her skips especially useful reading.
Watch Dr Dray say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Summer Fridays Lip Butter BalmSkipped itWatch at 6:06
- Carmex Classic Lip BalmSkipped itWatch at 12:03
- Rhode Peptide Lip TreatmentSkipped itWatch at 6:30
- Lanolips Lip Sleep MaskSkipped itWatch at 4:29
- L'Oreal Lipstick shade 601Skipped itWatch at 6:16
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Satin Lipstick in Taupe BeigeSkipped itWatch at 9:02
- Tree Hut Sugar Lips Lip ButterSkipped itWatch at 17:13
- Laneige Lip Sleeping MaskSkipped itWatch at 0:17
- NYX Butter GlossSkipped itWatch at 13:06
- Vaseline Lip Therapy OriginalSkipped itWatch at 25:54
- Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black HoneyRated itWatch at 2:09
- Cocokind Ceramide Lip Blur BalmRated itWatch at 9:32
- Neutrogena Hydro Boost Lip OilRated itWatch at 8:11
- Remedy Lip BalmRated itWatch at 6:44
- EltaMD UV Lip Balm Broad-Spectrum SPF 36Rated itWatch at 5:59
- Torriden Solid-In Ceramide Lip EssenceRated itWatch at 8:52
- Paula's Choice Hyaluronic Acid Plus Peptide Lip Booster with SqualaneRated itWatch at 11:18
- Avène Lip Balm SPFRated itWatch at 7:27
- Prequel Lip Visor Sunscreen SPF 30Rated itWatch at 4:28
- L'Oreal Plump Ambition Hyaluronic Lip OilRated itWatch at 14:23
- Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25Rated itWatch at 6:17
- Peripera Milky Brown Lip LinerRated itWatch at 13:19
- Tokco Vitamin Nourishing Lip BalmRated itWatch at 13:28
- Tatcha Kissu Lip MaskRated itWatch at 17:09
About this expert
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This guide reflects what Dr Dray said across her videos about 42 products in lip, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products she approved. It is general information, not medical advice.