Is The INKEY List Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm worth it?

The gurus are split. 3 of the 10 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 6 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 60%.

What is The INKEY List Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm's Guru Score?

The INKEY List Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm holds a Guru Score of 60%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 10 expert reviewers we have collected.

The INKEY List

The INKEY List Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm.

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Lip

About this product

A peptide-infused lip balm designed to plump and hydrate lips over time, with a balm texture containing tripeptides, plant oils, and butters.

Full ingredients

Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Hydroxystearic/Linolenic/Oleic Polyglycerides, Glyceryl Rosinate, Theobroma Grandiflorum (Cupuaçu) Seed Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Candelilla Cera, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Orbignya Oleifera (Babassu) Seed Oil, Squalane, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Salvia Hispanica (Chia) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Behenate, Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil Unsaponifiables, Tribehenin, Sorbitan Isostearate, Tocopherol, Portulaca Pilosa Extract, Trihydroxystearin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Sucrose Cocoate, Brassica Alba Sprout Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, Glucomannan

Guru Score

60%

Mixed

10 experts · Strong agreement

What the gurus are saying

The taste divides people sharply: several gurus found it unpleasantly flavored (one described it like chicken soup, another like oily Vaseline), while others didn't mind or barely noticed it. On plumping, the verdict splits too. Some saw gradual improvement with consistent use and praised the moisturizing, collagen-supporting peptides and affordable price, while others saw no plumping at all, and a couple experienced dryness or mild irritation instead. Best suited for anyone who wants a nourishing lip balm to use regularly at night and doesn't mind an unfamiliar taste; those seeking instant plumping or sensitive to new products may want to patch-test first.

Synthesized from 10 expert reviews · most recent take November 2025

What they liked

Lightweight, emollient texture that hydrates
No irritating plumping ingredients like menthol
Good value for the amount of product

What they flagged

Caused irritation and cracking for some

Type

LipBalm & ointment

Key actives

Hyaluronic acidVitamin EPeptides Squalane

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Sephora → Ulta → Amazon → Google →

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What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

The Budget Dermatologist

724k subs

~Yay

"The Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm from The INKEY List has been a go-to of mine for well over a year now. I would put this on right before bed."

All 11 takes from The Budget Dermatologist

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"The Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm from The INKEY List has been a go-to of mine for well over a year now. I would put this on right before bed."

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"This is a plumping lip balm that over time plumps, hydrates your lips, restores them. It has peptides that help maintain and build collagen. This is not an instant plump like the Dr. Dennis Gross one, but it works over time. Get it before it sells out again. This is the best budget lip product of the year, hands down."

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"This one, I will link below, it's by The INKEY List, it's a Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm, and it is insanely effective at repairing that lip skin barrier. It also comes now in tinted shades, I will link those below too."

My Peptide Skincare Routine | Anti-aging Tips by The Budget Derm

"The INKEY List Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm has a nice, simple lip applicator. I've tried it, and both this and the Paula's Choice one are awesome, this is the one I've kind of gravitated towards. You can put this on a couple times a day, morning and night, for peptides for your lips to help maintain that lip volume and not neglect the lips."

BUDGET Skincare Swaps! | The Budget Dermatologist

"This one has been amazing in my own skin routine this year. It will hydrate the lips, repair cracked damaged lip barrier, and then help plump and build collagen with their peptides in this."

Answering Your Top 5 Skincare Questions! | The Budget Derm

"My recommendation of the best lip repair product is from The Inkey List, it's called the Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm. It is so affordable and it basically has the same formula as a more expensive one by Paulas Choice. [...] This one has a very nice metal applicator tip whereas that one is plastic, but the formula is very similar if not the same, and it works incredible. The consistency is clear and it's just a nice little hydrating occlusive ointment."

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"I put on this clear peptide lip balm that does a really good job keeping the lips from being dry and cracked. The peptides are really repairing and then over a couple weeks you'll notice a subtle plumping. This one's $13 by The Inkey List."

Spend or Save Match-up: The Inkey List vs. Dr. Dennis Gross Lip Plumpers!

"I'm loving these lip plumping products that are coming out lately. This is my newest purchase by The INKEY List. It's $12.99. It's called the Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm. This one has 6% tripeptide complex and hyaluronic acid spheres to give your lips just the ultimate plumped look, and supposedly this can plump your lips by up to 40% in four weeks. Compared to the Dr. Dennis Gross splurge option, [...] you can expect results more in the short term, over two to four weeks."

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"I've been using for a very long time the Inkey List Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm. This is the clear version. It also comes in several colors. You can wear this during the day as well. This has peptides in it which do a very good job of repairing damaged lip skin, which is a common side effect that happens when you're on retinoids or just aging and dry skin in general."

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"The tripeptide Plumping lip balms are a must have, super super affordable. I think every brand it seems like has been releasing this similar product this year, these plump tinted peptide lip products, but for the price these are amazing. It comes in clear and then three different shades, this is the mocha, it comes in a pink and a berry. These repair dry cracked lips and over time will give the lips a subtle plump."

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"Most nights I use my wonderful clear lip plumping lip balm and you can see actual subtle plumping of your lips with this after you use it a few weeks."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

~Nay

"I didn't love the one from The Inkey List. At first, I really liked it. Then, the more often I used it, the more I started to dislike that it had no taste at all, which almost left it with a taste. It's not a bad product, but it's just, I don't know."

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"This one to me feels like a lip mask. It has a kind of a thick texture that's very, very matte. It's got the Matrix 3000 Duo and Matrix synthesis peptides, the same as the Paula's Choice, and it also has castor seed oil, babass oil, chia seed oil, and olive oil. It has a slight chemical taste to it that dissipates quickly. It has a matte finish and it's definitely thicker than the others. It just feels like a mask. Once it soaks in it doesn't have a shiny finish."

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"The Inky List also has a peptide lip balm which is also nice. This one contains shea butter, castor seed oil, two different peptides in shea butter. If you're on a budget, the one from The Inky List is also worth checking out."

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"I tried this one the other day. I wanted to love it. The Inkey List plumping lip balm and every time I use it, [...] it just ends up tasting just gross. I don't know how else to describe it."

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"The INKEY List came out with one. This one I would say is a nice one for men who don't want a shiny finish because this one has kind of a natural slightly matte finish. [...] Once it soaks in it really isn't very shiny, it kind of has more of a natural finish once it soaks in and it feels really nice and it has no taste or anything like that in there. This one's decent for me, I like it, it's a nice option to have."

Mad About Skin

732k subs

~Nay

"The Plumping lip balm, they did side by side pictures which I could tell was in different lighting, it wasn't like an equal side by side comparison and that was quite obvious to people. It also wasn't the sort of product that was really ever going to plump massively in the long term, so they overinflated the claims and as a result people were disappointed."

All 3 takes from Mad About Skin

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"Their Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm is genuinely amazing. It's getting a lot of praise online, people are saying how wonderful it is. [...] Everybody loves that product, and for good reason. It's back to what The Inkey List do well: high quality formulations at affordable prices."

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"This is the INKEY List Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm. I think this launched about two months ago and people are going mad for it online, and with good reason. This plumps the lips by going back to basics. The INKEY List's take is the best way to achieve plumper lips is by flooding them with hydration, and this is true. If we damage and dry our lips with the wrong ingredients, then in the long term our lips are going to look a lot less plump and hydrated than otherwise."

James Welsh

1.58M subs

~Nay

"If you put something on your lips you are going to taste it whether you like it or not. It's one of the main reasons brands add fragrance to lip products and advertise them as different flavors because you can taste it, and unfortunately this one tastes a little bit like chicken soup, which isn't the worst taste in the world, but it's definitely not pleasant."

All 3 takes from James Welsh

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"I think this is a pretty solid lip plumper, but the marketing might just be a little bit misleading. There are three types of ingredients in this that make it work. First, there are the tripeptides, which are in the name. They say it's a 6% Tripeptide Complex, and INKEY do this quite a lot: the complex is mostly not tripeptides, so the tripeptides themselves will be way less than 6%. They're Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 and Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, which are in a lot of skincare products."

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"Their Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm is not for me, it claims to plump the lips [...] purely down to peptides, however the marketing is a little bit deceptive and it's more likely you're seeing temporary plumping effects from hyaluronic acid than the tripeptide formula. It also has [...] an ingredient purposely supposed to irritate your lips so they look plumper, but they kept that quiet, and whilst you don't get that stinging sensation, [...] it kind of tastes like chicken stock."

Doctorly

3.59M subs

~Yay

"The Inkey List has that controversial plumping lip balm that sits with those peptides, but I much prefer it to anything else, like menthol or camphor formulas, which are trashier and worse."

Cassandra Bankson

2.46M subs

~Mixed

"When I first put this on I didn't see any lip plumping. [...] I used this for about a month non-stop and I don't really know if it plumped my lips. It has the weirdest taste, like an oily Vaseline that kind of leaves a taste in the back of my throat. [...] It definitely makes my lips look good, it is non-irritating, it's really easy to use, easy to carry and travel with, and easy to buy and find at Sephora and Ulta. But I can't really say it plumped my lips, definitely not immediately."

AliceintheRabbitHole

59k subs

~Nay

"I do not like this. My single biggest problem with this lip balm is that I cannot get past the flavor. The texture is more of an emollient, not a [...] super occlusive lip balm, [...] almost more like a lip oil."

All 2 takes from AliceintheRabbitHole

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"I was big mad at The INKEY List, I do not like that lip balm at all."

Sincerely Miss Ash

195k subs

~Yay

"They feel really moisturized and for $17 Canadian I feel like that is a pretty good price. You are getting 10 mls of product, this is going to last a fairly long time, and it has anti-aging ingredients in it. It contains peptides and some butters. I like it. I feel like this would be something that I would purchase again and I do feel like this is going to be excellent for fall and winter."

Hyram

4.33M subs

~Nay

"It didn't just do nothing, it left my lips more dry. I was so stoked to try this product, the brand sent it to me, and when I actually started using it I was like wow, I noticed no results, which is kind of interesting considering that it's a plumping balm. It definitely did not plump my lips, it did not moisturize them, and honestly it did leave my lips more dry afterwards. So I don't know what's going on with this product. A lot of people like it but I could not stand it."