Some people claim that you’re never more than six feet away from a rat. I’d argue that, in 2024, you’re never more than stretching distance from a lip product. From sticks to balms and glosses, lip products have never been more omnipresent. They’re trending on and off social media, proudly accumulated and displayed on bathroom shelves and nightstands, tossed on to dining tables or nonchalantly applied in selfies. There are scrubs, butters, masks, tints and stains, each promising to make lips smoother, softer, plumper, better.
It’s a long way from the £1 grubby tins of Vaseline that were passed around at school, or those cheap cherry-flavoured chapsticks that somehow made lips even drier. Today’s must-have lip products range from Glossier’s Balm Dotcom (£16) to a refillable glass-encased lipstick from Chanel (£140).
