Robert Welsh has worked his way through more than 50 lip products, approving just over half, skipping about a quarter, and giving the rest a mixed take, for an approval rate of 57%. He named a couple of outright winners. His taste runs to products that actually stay on and genuinely hydrate, and he has little patience for anything that feels gimmicky or fades fast.
What does Robert Welsh recommend in lip?
Robert Welsh keeps coming back to real hydration and real wear. He called the Aquaphor Lip Repair Stick the best thing going for rehydrating lips. He raved about the Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment lasting all night and leaving lips visibly smooth by morning. The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask won him over with its customisable scent blends and lasting moisture. The Ordinary Squalane + Amino Acids Lip Balm got one of his strongest endorsements: he said he would buy it again. When a product genuinely does what it promises, he says so plainly.
Robert Welsh's lip product picks, in his words
"I made my own with blue cream soda and sweet [...] candy and it's just so amazing. [...] It's such a cool opportunity to be able to mix your own and make your own, and they last a really really long time and they really help hydrate your lips. These are absolutely beautiful, [...] it's a really fun experience and the balms themselves are stunning."
"It's quite a sheer veil, but it's so lightweight, I thought it was going to be really sticky or tacky given the visual effect, but it's not. That's such a stunning color, I feel like it would look good on so many skin tones, on a deeper skin tone that green chameleon shine would look so beautiful, and on super fair skin it has a colder brownie tone that would look beautiful too. First time ever using a Half Magic product, it's a win for me, this is so, so beautiful."
"Aquaphor for the lips, because it's literally the best and rehydrates everything."
"I'm going in with some Juicy Tubes. Lancôme Juicy Tubes. Purchased myself. These are an icon. Look at that just shine. I really like this one in particular because it is just a glow."
"The Squalane + Amino Acids Lip Balm though, is incredible. I love this product. Like, I would re-buy that again."
"I love the form of a stained product around the mouth because lip product comes off so easily. You can see that they have quite a pink shade, quite a midtone, a deeper red, like this nice deeper nude. I'm interested in this shade here that would look really great. This looks beautiful and I love how deep the shade goes. It'll be interesting to see how they are. I'm going to put that in at number seven because it's all we have available. I'm happy with that order."
How many lip products has Robert Welsh reviewed?
Robert Welsh has reviewed 60 lip products, for an approval rate of 57%. 34 approved, 11 mixed, and 15 skipped.
What has Robert Welsh skipped in lip?
He skipped anything that felt more like a concept than a product. He dismissed the Tatcha Kissu Lip Serum because the gold packaging struck him as gimmicky. He likes Tatcha's regular lip mask, but the new release simply did not interest him. He gave the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk a skip on the product itself, even while praising the brand's marketing. The Dr. Dennis Gross DermInfusions Plump + Repair Lip Treatment ended in a visible reaction on his skin. He also grew visibly tired of lip oil launches, saying he wants glosses that stay put rather than hybrid oils that disappear quickly.
"I'm so sick of lip oils. Lip oils never look this pigmented for that long. You pop them on a lip and they're on your lips for how long before they're gone? I want some glosses. I want some intense gloss. Not a gloss oil hybrid. I don't care if it's moisturizing my lips, as long as it stays on. I can moisturize my lips some other times. I'm not interested in this at all."
"It's definitely tingling, really spicy, almost too spicy. I don't get products that only plump in one area if you're just using it as a liner, you can feel it doing something but my lips don't look bigger, just overlined, they don't look big and juicy. The color itself is really beautiful, but I don't think it's worth the severe pain, that tingle is quite spicy, I'd compare it to more intense lip plumpers. I just don't think it's worth it."
"I do like Tatcha's lip mask. Their regular one, the pink one. The gold thing I find a bit gimmicky. Do you remember when everyone was selling those, like, gold under eye patches? It was like four karat gold under eye patch, and it's like, okay, so? It's cute. It's cute. And I think it's good for Christmas. Is it interesting to me? Actually, no, not at all. [...] I like the product, but if we're talking about the new release in general, this isn't very interesting to me."
"Really nice. Now, here's why I should have patch tested. [...] I used it all on my lips, and then it kind of like, it wasn't smudged everywhere. I didn't touch the rest of my face, nothing like that. I know better than to put on a plumping product with the applicator. I didn't use any on my finger, and I just left it there and let it do its thing. It got all itchy down here, all red and raised. It looked horrendous. [...] It got worse than this. It got redder and redder and redder."
What should you take from Robert Welsh's picks?
Robert Welsh is a useful guide for anyone who wants to know whether a lip product actually works. He approved more than half of what he tried, and he was specific about why he skipped the rest. His named winners are the Aquaphor Lip Repair Stick and the Lancôme Juicy Tubes. If a product overpromises or fades fast, he will say so directly, which makes his approvals worth paying attention to.
Watch Robert Welsh say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Aquaphor Lip Repair StickNamed a winnerWatch at 10:18
- Lancôme Juicy TubesNamed a winnerWatch at 4:49
- Summer Fridays Dream Lip OilSkipped itWatch at 4:09
- Milani Keep It Full Plumping Lip Liner + LipstickSkipped itWatch at 16:57
- Tatcha Kissu Lip MaskSkipped itWatch at 1:13
- Dr. Dennis Gross DermInfusions Plump + Repair Lip TreatmentSkipped itWatch at 7:53
- Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme Lip GlossSkipped itWatch at 8:12
- Gisou Honey Infused Hydrating Lip OilSkipped itWatch at 4:55
- Rhode Peptide Lip ShapeSkipped itWatch at 11:56
- Florasis Floral Care Hydrating Dual Lip OilSkipped itWatch at 6:09
- Rare Beauty Find Comfort Lip Butter in LovedSkipped itWatch at 13:11
- Rhode Phone Case with Lip Balm HolderSkipped itWatch at 0:28
- Sephora Collection Lip OilSkipped itWatch at 2:37
- Bobbi Brown Extra Lip TintSkipped itWatch at 18:34
- NYX Lip IV Hydrating Gloss Serum Stain Bubble Gum BurstSkipped itWatch at 17:30
- Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Mousse Soft Blur Lip CreamSkipped itWatch at 15:35
- The Ordinary PHA 5% Exfoliating Lip SerumSkipped itWatch at 5:30
- Laneige Lip Sleeping MaskRated itWatch at 1:21
- Half Magic Drip Lip Gloss - VHS VixenRated itWatch at 17:22
- The Ordinary Squalane + Amino Acids Lip BalmRated itWatch at 7:23
- Huda Beauty Lip Contour Stain in Soft NudeRated itWatch at 18:19
- Lisa Eldridge Rouge Experience Refillable LipstickRated itWatch at 16:34
- Lisa Eldridge Sculpt and Shade Lip PencilRated itWatch at 45:58
- NYX Fat Oil Lip DripRated itWatch at 22:36
About this expert
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This guide reflects what Robert Welsh said across his videos about 60 products in lip, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products he approved. It is general information, not medical advice.