14 Top Drugstore Lip Gloss Products for Super Fab Shine!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase.
If there’s one beauty product everyone loves, it’s lip gloss!
Lip gloss is versatile, great for adding oomph to your pout, and easy to find anywhere, including the aisles of your local beauty boutique or neighborhood drugstore.
Before, many people steered clear of lip gloss, especially products from drugstore brands, because they used to be sticky or gooey.
But nowadays, several lip gloss options can leave the perfect non-sticky and high-shine finish. The best part? They’re not even expensive!
Sounds too good to be true? It’s not! Check out our picks for the top drugstore lip gloss products and see how incredible they are for yourself!
Read on to find good, cheap, and reliable lip gloss products that should be in your makeup bag.
- Contains hyaluronic acid
- Leaves lips feeling smooth and soft
- Available in 20 fun shades
- Contains vitamin E
- Hydrates with hyaluronic acid
- Non-sticky, non-drying formula
- Enriched with vitamins A and E
- Paraben-free
- Cruelty-free and vegan
Table of Contents
How To Choose Good Lip Gloss
Lip gloss is a makeup product you can use daily. It goes well with a full face of makeup for a night out or even just with your everyday brow powder and cheek tint.
The best part is that the lip gloss category has grown exponentially in the last several years, with many brands creating new and improved lip gloss products for every need.
However, now that there are so many excellent and affordable lip gloss products in the market, picking one can quickly get overwhelming. How will you know how to choose the right one for your needs?
We understand. To help you make the right purchase, we’ve narrowed down what you should look for when shopping for the top lip glosses at the drugstore.
Here’s a list of factors to consider:
1. Finish
The first and arguably most important consideration you should make is what type of lip gloss you want as the type of finish you want can help you choose which lip gloss to buy. Do you want glossy, matte, or sheen?
Lip gloss with a glossy finish often has a more moisturizing formula and gives your lips a stunning sheen.
They are popular and easy to apply, and they look good on most skin tones. The drawback of glossy lip gloss is that it can also leave lips feeling a bit oily.
Matte lip gloss has more texture; it’s also less likely to flake and less shiny. However, it is also less moisturizing than glossy products.
2. Formulation
Lip gloss products have different formulations. You can choose from a wide variety of these, such as the following:
- Liquid — Liquid gloss is shiny, opaque, and glossy. It is used as a base or a glossy finish for lipstick.
- Sheer — Sheer gloss is similar to liquid but more lightweight. When worn alone, it almost looks like your natural skin. These are also great to swipe on top of your lipstick.
- Cream — As the name implies, a cream gloss is smooth and creamy. It feels soft and has a more obvious color.
- Tinted — Tinted gloss is like a sheer gloss but tinted with color. It can be used alone for a natural touch of color on your lips.
- Glitter — This is a lip gloss that contains glitter or shimmer particles.
You’ll be halfway there if you know what formulation and finish you want.
3. Application
There are several different ways you can purchase lip gloss. Do you prefer lip gloss in a pot, a squeezable tube, or a tube with an applicator brush?
There is no one correct answer for this because they all make lip gloss application easier. So it all comes down to personal preference.
4. Color
Buying lip gloss with color is fun, and you may want several shades for different occasions.
If you want something reliable every day, you can make your first lip gloss purchase a color close to your natural lip shade. If you have a fair complexion, opt for lighter shades or nudes.
Opt for peach or coral shades if you have a medium skin tone. And shades like berry, plum, or darker are excellent choices if you have a darker complexion.
On the other hand, you can also choose a bolder color, like red, to wear to special events.
Remember that lighter shades are more natural, while deeper shades are more dramatic and bold.
5. Ingredients
As with most beauty products, it’s best to find high-quality ingredients that won’t harm your skin.
When possible, avoid alcohol, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and synthetic dyes that can cause skin irritation and other health issues.
You can look for lip gloss products made with healthier and skin-loving ingredients like vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, or natural essential oils.
The top drugstore lip gloss products usually have one or more of these healthy ingredients.
6. Price
And lastly, price is always important when deciding which product you want to buy. Luckily, you can find cheap lip glosses that are affordable but still high-quality.
Our Picks for 14 Top Drugstore Lip Gloss Products
Now that you know a little more about what you should consider when picking your lip gloss, check out our top recommendations for the best and most affordable lip glosses that can give your lips a stylish megawatt shine.
Maybelline’s hydrating lip gloss leaves your lips softer, smoother, and shinier!
Key benefits: Non-sticky; dispenses gloss evenly and quickly; leaves lips feeling smooth and soft
Features:
- Contains hyaluronic acid
- Sheer finish
- Available in 20 fun shades
If you are looking for a versatile lip gloss with lip-loving ingredients, this lip lifter is perfect!
Maybelline is a world-class beauty brand known for producing quality makeup products that you’ll go back to again and again.
This lip gloss is one of our drugstore favorites. It’s a lip-plumping gloss with an extra-large applicator wand to give your lips full coverage and undeniable shine.
This lip gloss is a bit more sheer than other tinted glosses, but the non-sticky feel and the incredible shine payoff make it worth it.
Best of all, it contains hyaluronic acid and coconut oil to help naturally hydrate and soften chapped and dry lips, leaving them beautiful and silky smooth.
If you want a hydrating lip gloss that goes on as smooth as butter, this gloss is the one for you!
Key benefits: Glides on silky smooth; long-lasting; sheer to medium coverage
Features:
- Featherproof formula
- Available in 32 shades
- Hydrating
This classic clear shade from NYX is an excellent lip gloss that’s super rich and always reliable.
The NYX Professional Makeup Butter Gloss has the perfect name because its formulation is undeniably smooth and creamy, like butter.
This glossy liquid gloss provides sheer coverage over natural lips and makes the lips feel plump and hydrated making it one of the top clear lip glosses from the drugstore that’s non-sticky but still provides a nice shine.
You can opt for this classic clear shade or choose from a wide range of unique shades.
The Butter Gloss is easy to apply, and it ensures a soft glow and enviable pout. That’s why it has countless five-star reviews from different users and remains a beloved product among beauty lovers and influencers.
Add gorgeous color and shine to your lips with Revlon’s Super Lustrous lip gloss.
Key benefits: Lightweight; non-sticky; hydrates and plumps the lips
Features:
- Contains agave, cupuacu butter, and moringa oil
- Light-as-air formula
- Extra-large brush
If you want a hydrating formula with a stunning pop of color, this is the lip gloss for you.
If you want a lip gloss that comes with comfort, color, and consistency, this is an excellent choice! Revlon Super Lustrous The Gloss adds a gorgeous pop of color to your lips with an incredible shine.
Plus, its hydrating formula is enriched with agave, cupuacu butter, and moringa oil to help hydrate your lips and ensure they stay moisturized all day.
It comes with an extra large applicator brush to ensure you can quickly spread the product on for full and beautiful coverage.
The lip gloss has a great color payoff, a glossy finish, and a lightweight and non-sticky formula that can easily make you forget you’re wearing any lip product.
The cheapest lip gloss that provides high shine and leaves lips feeling smooth and hydrated!
Key benefits: Nourishing and non-sticky; brilliant shine; contains natural oils
Features:
- Enriched with vitamin E and A
- Paraben-free
- Cruelty-free and vegan
Everyone needs a reliable clear lip gloss, and this one from e.l.f. provides great shine while being full of natural and hydrating ingredients.
If you’re looking for one of the top drugstore clear lip gloss products to add to your beauty arsenal, consider this nourishing lip gloss from e.l.f. Cosmetics.
It provides a gorgeous, high-gloss shine to your lips without that dreaded goopy or sticky feeling. It can be used alone or on top of your favorite lip color.
If you want a little tint, good news: this product offers six additional shades you can choose from.
It’s also formulated with vitamins A and E and natural oils like avocado, grapeseed, and sunflower seed to ensure it moisturizes the lips and keeps them soft and smooth.
And it’s free of parabens, phthalates, nonylphenols, and other harmful chemicals.
Got sensitive skin? If you want a hypoallergenic lip gloss, this one’s for you!
Key benefits: Feels moisturizing and not sticky; high-shine finish; gives your lips a lovely color
Features:
- Dermatologically tested
- Infused with natural oils
- Hypoallergenic
Make your lips shine with Almay’s multipurpose Goddess Gloss that’s good for your lips!
Looking for lip gloss with megawatt dazzle? Then ALMAY’s aptly named Goddess Gloss is your best bet!
This lip gloss comes in eight gorgeous prismatic shades with the right amount of tint and luster — perfect for every skin tone. You can wear it alone or mix and match shades or layer it with lipstick.
Infused with pomegranate, grape, and raspberry oil, its smooth and moisturizing formula ensures lasting lip hydration.
Plus, it’s also hypoallergenic and dermatologically tested, making it an excellent choice for those with sensitive skin.
Neutrogena Hydroboost is a perfect pick if you want an excellent combination of high shine and hydration.
Key benefits: Long-lasting lip shine; excellent color payoff; easily layered on lipstick
Features:
- Contains vitamin E
- Hydrates with hyaluronic acid
- Non-sticky, non-drying formula
Get long-lasting moisture and shine with this beautifully tinted lip gloss.
This hydrating gloss from Neutrogena combines the high shine of a lip gloss with the conditioning properties of a lip balm.
It’s infused with hyaluronic acid and vitamin E, making it a perfect choice for dry lips, leaving them feeling plump, nourished, and soft for 24 hours. Continued use also helps improve the lips’ softness over time.
This gloss also offers a beautiful color payoff with vibrant pigmentation, so it can be worn alone or layered on top of lipstick.
It also has a luxurious feel and comes in 14 stunning shades.
This lip gloss also provides the benefits of a soothing serum. Best of all? It’s infused with actual diamond dust!
Key benefits: Makes lips appear smoother; plumps lips; gorgeous shine
Features:
- Clinically-tested
- Vegan and hypoallergenic
- Hybrid lip gloss/serum
Get long-lasting moisture and shine with this beautifully tinted lip gloss and serum hybrid.
This clinically tested lip gloss offers a gorgeous diamond-like shine because it’s made with genuine diamond dust.
It’s also a hybrid formula that combines the benefits of gloss and serum to provide lustrous shine, give your lips a soft tint, and perform a gentle lip-plumping action.
It’s created with a soothing blend of mineral water and vitamin E, providing excellent lip hydration to transform dull and dry lips. So it leaves your lips soft and nourished without any sticky feeling.
This is why it’s the top drugstore lip plumper gloss that allows you to enjoy a healthy- and natural-looking pout.
This cult favorite stays on your lips for up to eight hours, making it the best drugstore lip gloss for long-lasting shine.
Key benefits: Keeps lips glossy for eight hours; excellent color payoff; doesn’t bleed or fade
Features:
- Full coverage
- With a patented wand for perfect application
- Available in 20 brilliant shades
If you want beautiful shine without worrying about reapplication, you’ll love the Infalliable formulation.
This L’Oreal Paris lip gloss is a cult favorite, and it’s easy to see why. It’s gorgeously glossy with stunning, long-lasting color and shine.
The hydrating formula ensures your lips stay soft and plump, while the patented Pro-Sculpt applicator ensures a full coverage, even application, and maximum color deposit.
You can also choose from 20 diverse shades that won’t bleed or fade. This means you won’t have to reapply it several times throughout the day!
Burt’s Bees Moisturizing Lip Gloss is another excellent product that nourishes lips while giving your lips a vibrant, healthy shine.
Key benefits: Long-lasting; leaves lips silky smooth; no sticky feel
Features:
- All-natural ingredients
- Contains beeswax and sunflower oil
- Comes in 12 gorgeous shades
This is an excellent pick if you want a long-lasting lip gloss from a brand you know and love.
Who hasn’t owned lip products from Burt’s Bees? This drugstore favorite is a leading global brand in lip care, and everyone loves their all-natural beeswax products.
And their hydrating lip gloss is no exception. It combines ingredients like beeswax and natural oils full of nutrients to create a lip gloss formulation that leaves lips shiny, soft, and smooth.
Its vibrant, rich pearlized finish ensures you get just the right amount of color with an eye-catching shine that doesn’t feel sticky.
And it comes in 12 beautiful shades like Ocean Sunrise, which gives your lips the perfect pink glow.
This is a choice for a lip gloss on the go that ensures beautiful color, hydration, and sun protection.
Key benefits: Relieves chapped lips; portable and travel-sized; provides intense moisture
Features:
- Cooling hydrogel formula
- Contains sun protection
- Infused with cucumber and chamomile
The perfect lip gloss to throw into your bag or pocket to provide intense hydration and shine on the go.
Looking for the perfect lip gloss to take with you on the go? We’ve found it!
The Neutrogena Moisture Shine Tinted Lip Soother Gloss gives you a gorgeous pop of color, makes your lips shine, and even relieves lip dryness.
It comes with a unique hydrogel formula that combines ingredients like cucumber, chamomile, and glycerin for optimal lip care and hydration.
Plus, it also contains SPF 20 to protect your lips against the sun’s harsh rays. Its size and ease-of-use package makes it easy to take to work or on trips, so you can flaunt beautiful, well-hydrated lips anytime, anywhere.
This gorgeous gloss-balm hybrid has a long-wear formula and amps up the look of your lips with a stylish sheer color.
Key benefits: Shiny and long-lasting; smooth and silky application
Features:
- Supersized applicator for smooth and easy application
- Contains cloudberry seed extract for hydration and conditioning
- Gorgeous high-gloss finish
A product that packs a punch that ensures your lips look lovely with an effortlessly fabulous shine.
Even though this brand is a bit newer than the other drugstore lip glosses, it easily slid into our top picks because of its incredible benefits.
This lip gloss and balm hybrid is formulated with all-natural ingredients. It also lasts long, so you won’t have to worry about regular reapplication.
It’s lightweight and formulated with cloudberry seed oil that conditions and nourishes your lips without that sticky feeling.
Additionally, this vegan and cruelty-free product comes in a delightful array of pretty jelly colors in sheer and statement shades like this gorgeous red Cherry Blossom. It’s definitely one of the top drugstore red lip glosses to try.
Rimmel’s Shine-Extend technology gives you movie-star lips that last for up to six hours.
Key benefits: Glides on smoothly; feels soft and not sticky; gives your lips a bright color
Features:
- Comes with a lip-hugging applicator
- Shine Extend technology
- Available in 14 shades
If you want edgy and bold colors with undeniable shine, Rimmel’s Stay Glossy Lip Gloss is a fantastic choice!
This stunning and glamorous coral-colored lip gloss from Rimmel is stunning and bold. It’s the perfect gloss for a special date or a night out!
Formulated with Rimmel’s Shine Extend technology, its shine and color last for up to 6 hours. It works well alone, but you can also use it with lipstick or lip liner.
It comes with a lip-sculpting applicator wand that ensures precise application and lets you accurately shape your lips.
This lip gloss glides on smoothly and provides intense moisture to keep your lips soft and nourished.
This hydrating lip balm wraps your lips in a luxurious and hydrating gloss.
Key benefits: Moisturizes lips; silky smooth shine;
Features:
- Suitable for sensitive skin
- Dermatologist-tested
- Contains hyaluronic acid and pomegranate extract
This balm-in-gloss lip product instantly moisturizes lips while lending a nice sheer color to them.
L’Oreal Paris Glow Paradise is a special balm-in-gloss with a gorgeous glossy finish that looks high-end.
This lip gloss instantly moisturizes your lips upon application. It also has a lightweight formula, making it one of the top drugstore lip gloss products that are non-sticky.
In addition, it’s sheer enough to allow for reapplication without feeling too heavy on the lips. It’s available in 12 beautiful buildable shades that are richly pigmented, providing excellent color payoff.
This gloss is also dermatologist-tested and suitable for sensitive skin.
This traditional lip plumper gloss nourishes your lips while adding beautiful color and maximum volume.
Key benefits: Delivers a silky, sheer finish; perfectly plumps the lips; non-sticky
Features:
- Contains hyaluronic acid
- Cruelty-free
- Available in 16 shades
This best drugstore lip gloss plumper gives you fuller lips while keeping them hydrated and glossy.
If you want a more traditional gloss, this product is perfect for you. It has the pigmentation of a traditional liquid lipstick with the shine of a gloss in a creamy, non-sticky formula.
It also provides maximum volume through peptides and chili pepper resin, making it feel cool and tingly on your lips.
And since some of its lip-plumping ingredients can be harsh on your skin, this gloss is also created with hyaluronic acid and mango seed oil to hydrate and soothe your lips.
Tips for Wearing Lip Gloss
Already picked your favorite among the top drugstore lip gloss products we’ve provided above? Great! Now here are some tips on how to wear your lip gloss to make it last longer and look fantastic.
1. Prep your lips
Whether you’re wearing lip gloss on its own or pairing it with lipstick or lip tint, you need to start the application by cleaning and prepping your lips. Exfoliating is good too, so your lips are smooth with no dry patches.
You can also prepare your lips using a lightweight and effective lip balm or petroleum jelly. This turns your lips into a soft, healthy canvas that’s ready for color or gloss.
2. Apply lip gloss lightly
If you are applying lip gloss directly, open your mouth a little bit to ensure complete coverage.
Then use the applicator wand and apply lip gloss in light strokes all over your lips.
3. Layer with lipstick
However, if you’re using your gloss with lipstick, apply your lipstick first, then carefully blot it with a tissue to get rid of excess product.
Then apply your gloss on top with gentle strokes. Remember, placement plays a big part in the type of finish you achieve.
- If you want your lip color to shimmer and shine all over, apply lip gloss all over the lips.
- If you want your lips to look fuller, add a few dabs of lip gloss to areas between the top and bottom lip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Is Better: Lip Gloss or Lip Balm?
The answer to this question is both! They are both wonderful beauty products that serve two distinct purposes.
Lip balm is best if you want hydration that’s good for everyday use. Lip gloss is good for adding sheen to your lips and lip color. It can also make your lips appear plumper.
If you want to use lip gloss but still want lip balm benefits, you can use both or find a gloss that provides good hydration.
Is Clear Lip Gloss or Tinted Lip Gloss Better?
The answer to this question depends on what you want to use your lip gloss for. If you just want to add some glossy shine over your regular lip color then a clear gloss will work well for you.
If you want to use lip gloss alone without lipstick, a tinted gloss might be a good investment to add some color to your lips along with hydration and shine.
Are Cheap Lip Gloss Products Good-Quality?
Absolutely! Some of the top cheap lip glosses are incredible beauty finds that are high-quality
Get That Gorgeous Glossy Shine
Are you looking for the perfect glossy glow? You may just be one perfect lip gloss away from creating a fabulous and shiny pucker.
With our picks for good drugstore lip glosses, you’re sure to find a lip gloss that fits your needs and won’t break the bank.
Whether you want a super sweet glossy shine for a day out with your besties or a blinding shine for a night out on the town, there is a lip gloss perfect for you that is affordable and highly effective.
Hopefully, this list helps you find your dream lip gloss to add to your beauty arsenal.
Want More Lip Care Tips and Products?
Check these out!
- ChapStick vs. Lip Balm: Which is Best?
- 9 Different Types of Lips: How to Enhance and Take Care of Them
- 13 Lipsticks For Older Women + How To Find The Best Ones