I Tried Every Shade of the Viral e.l.f. Tinted Lip Balm – Here’s What No One’s Telling You
After their Glow Reviver lip oils took TikTok by storm, e.l.f. dropped their Glow Reviver Melting and Tinted lip balms into the mix. In an era where the pilates girlies are falling head over heels for the tinted lip balm propaganda, e.l.f. naturally had to enter the chat too. Now, after I paid a pretty penny for a social media lip balm favorite that completely let me down (you can read all about that here), I decided to stick with my good ole reliable Vaseline. However, I was severely influenced by just how pigmented and juicy these e.l.f. tinted lip balms looked, so here we are.
This is a lip balm so let’s dive into the ingredient list first. Once again, e.l.f. proves that we’re severely overpaying for premium brands. The fact that they managed to pack so many good-for-your-lips ingredients into this 15g tube – which retails for just $9 USD, btw – is honestly astonishing. Let me break down what makes this formula so impressive before I get into my actual experience with it.
Why This $9 Formula is Putting Luxury Brands to Shame
The Nourishing Trinity
The star of this ingredient list has to be the hydrolyzed sodium hyaluronate, which is basically hyaluronic acid’s smaller, more penetrating cousin. This molecule can hold up to 1000 times its weight in water, so your lips are getting serious hydration that actually lasts hours.
Then we’ve got the holy trinity of nourishing butters: mango seed butter, cocoa seed butter, and shea butter. These aren’t just filler ingredients . They’re doing the heavy lifting when it comes to actually repairing and conditioning your lips. Mango seed butter is especially underrated; it’s packed with vitamins A and C and has this creamy texture that melts beautifully on the lips. Here’s why that matters: vitamin A helps with cell turnover and can smooth out rough, flaky lip texture, while vitamin C supports collagen production and helps protect against environmental damage that can make your lips look dull or aged.
The jojoba seed oil and meadowfoam seed oil combo is giving me expensive lip treatment vibes. Jojoba mimics your skin’s natural sebum (so it absorbs like a dream), while meadowfoam oil creates a protective barrier without feeling heavy or waxy.
The Clean Beauty Flex
The tinted lip balm also includes vitamin E (tocopherol) to shield lips from free radical damage caused by sun exposure and environmental pollutants, plus licorice root extracts ( dipotassium glycyrrhizate) for its anti-inflammatory properties. The fact that e.l.f. managed to pack all of this into a formula that costs less than your morning latte is honestly making me side-eye every $25+ lip balm I’ve ever purchased.
The base is where you can really see the quality too! That bis-behenyl complex at the beginning creates this smooth, non-sticky texture that glides on effortlessly. No tugging, no weird film, just buttery application every single time.
Another thing that I love about this tinted lip balm is that the brand keeps triclosan, parabens, phthalates, nonylphenol ethoxylates, and triclocarban out of all their formulas, which means you’re starting with a clean, vegan base.
The Good, The Bad & The Overhyped
Let me start with what this balm actually gets right: the moisturization game is strong. This isn’t one of those lip balms that leaves you in a reapplication cycle from hell, where you’re constantly reaching for more product because your lips somehow feel drier than when you started. The hydrating formula genuinely nourishes your lips and keeps them comfortable throughout the day.
What You Wanted vs What You Get
But here’s where things get messy. This product was sold to us through a very specific type of TikTok influencer marketing – you know the kind. Swipe after swipe of seemingly effortless application resulting in these glossy, pigmented lips that looked like they could rival any high-end lip gloss. The promise was clear: this tinted balm would be pigmented enough to replace your lip gloss, glossy enough to give you that coveted wet look, and versatile enough to create those trending lip combos with your favorite liner.
The reality? Well, it’s complicated.
Don’t get me wrong – this balm is pigmented. It’s actually pigmented enough to even out my two-toned lips, which is no small feat. We’re talking medium to full coverage here, which is genuinely impressive for a drugstore tinted balm. And yes, it does have a glossy finish that’s definitely shinier than your average lip balm.
But here’s the catch: if you want to achieve that same look you saw flooding your TikTok fyp, you’re going to need about three generous layers. And at that point, the whole experience changes. The balm starts to feel heavy and sits on top of your lips rather than melting in. It begins to slip and slide around, and inevitably, you’ll get that weird waxy taste in your mouth that reminds you you’re wearing way too much product.
Glossy Promises, Layered Reality
The gloss factor has the same issue. One layer gives you a subtle sheen – definitely glossier than a regular balm, but nowhere near that mirror-like finish a single swipe of actual lip gloss delivers. You need at least two solid layers to get close to that level of shine.
Now, this could actually be seen as a positive if you like having control over your look. Want just a hint of color and shine? One layer has you covered. Going for something more dramatic? Build it up. But my real frustration lies in the disconnect between what influencers were showing us and what the product actually delivers with normal, everyday application. That effortless, one-swipe glossy perfection simply isn’t the reality for most of us.
The Applicator
The applicator is probably my favorite thing about this entire product. The soft, curved silicone tip is designed to actually hug the shape of your lips, and the difference is immediately noticeable. As someone with fuller lips, I usually struggle with those tiny, flat applicators that make you work to get even coverage, especially on that tricky bottom section of your upper lip that always seems to get missed.
But this? This applicator effortlessly glides along every curve and contour. Combined with the tinted lip balm’s buttery formula, the application experience is genuinely luxurious. It feels smooth, controlled, and precise without any of the tugging or awkward maneuvering you get with traditional applicators.
I’m honestly surprised this is the first time I’m seeing this type of applicator design. Now I’m wondering why every single lip balm in a tube doesn’t have one. It’s such a simple innovation that makes such a noticeable difference when applying the tinted lip balm. Elf really thought this through, and it shows.
