Some days you’re taking your time with full glam and others you’re speeding through your quick makeup routine, during which the best lip and cheek tints can come in handy. What’s not to love about a multi-hyphenate—both tinted lip balm and blush fused into one product. “[Lip and Cheek tints] are a simple yet effective makeup bag refresh,” pro makeup artist Suzy Gerstein tells Vogue, “They’re an easy way to sharpen up your look but still keep it lowkey.”
Vogue’s Favorite Lip and Cheek Tints
The best versions blend seamlessly into skin, and stay put through sweltering commutes, rooftop drinks, and everything in between. Whether dabbed on with fingers in the back of a cab or built up with a brush for an statement-making flush, these hybrid staples are effortless as can be.
What sets today’s dual-action tints apart is their thoughtful formulation. Infused with potent ingredients—think soothing aloe, antioxidant-rich botanicals, and hydrating hyaluronic acid—many of these modern skincare-makeup hybrids do more than deliver color, actively nourishing skin wherever they’re placed. From sheer balmy textures to buildable stains with surprising staying power, the latest crop of lip-and-cheek tints are proof that streamlined doesn’t have to mean sacrificing sophistication. Scroll to discover Vogue’s most-loved favorite formulas.
In This Story
Best Classic: Benefit Cosmetics Benetint
Benefit Cosmetics
Benetint Liquid Lip Blush & Cheek Tint
- Why We Love It: The Benefit Cosmetics Benetint remains a coveted staple even decades after its 1976 debut.“It’s glowy and stays in place all day without feeling heavy,” celebrity Makeup Artist Dom Della previously told Vogue. Fellow pro Alexx Mayo refers to it as “tried and true,” whereas fellow makeup artist Sean Harris previously called it “a classic for a reason.” The draw to the formula is its transfer-proof watery texture which delivers an unexpected punch of color on all skin tones—and one that will last throughout the night for smudge-free color.
- Key Ingredients: Glycerin
- Finish: Natural
- Shades: 6
- Size: 0.33 oz / 6 mL
Best Dewy: N.1 De Chanel Lip and Cheek Balm
- Why we love it: When the clean No. 1 de Chanel collection debuted, this balm quickly became a fan-favorite for its multipurpose uses. Enriched with red camellia oil, the buttery lip and cheek pigment melts into the skin, leaving a flush of color with restored plumpness and dewiness. Chanel makeup artist Tasha Reiko Brown uses this “highly blendable, dewy cream” to create watercolor effect. Her shades of choice? Vibrant Coral or Wakeup Pink, for a barely-there wash of color.
- Key ingredients: Red camellia oil
- Finish: Dewy
- Shades: 9
- Size: 0.23 oz
Best Viral: Milk Makeup Cooling Water Jelly Tint Lip + Cheek
- Why We Love It: One of 2024’s breakout beauty hits that’s still an editor staple is Milk Makeup’s bouncy water tint. With the appearance of a tempting jelly dessert, one swipe delivers a sheer, dewy burst of color (and even a glossy lip). “This is such a great way to wake up the skin and get that no-fuss, long-wear natural flush,” pro makeup artist Sean Harris previously said of blush tints, noting watery, sheer pigments offer more subtle color than your average opaque blush. I love this for no makeup makeup—but it dries down super fast, so you’ve gotta get to blending ASAP. I’d recommend this for someone who isn’t a total beginner, and more comfortable with blending out edges.
- Key Ingredients: Vegan collagen, aloe, seawater
- Finish: Radiant
- Shades: 6
- Size: 0.17 oz
Best for Mature Skin: Jones Road Miracle Balm
- Why We Love It: Jones Road’s bestselling Miracle Balm delivers the ultimate soft-focus minimalist pigment with a radiant finish. Not to mention, the star ingredient, jojoba oil, is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, all while providing moisturizing benefits. “Depending on what shade you choose, it can be used as a blush, a bronzer, a highlighter or an all-over tint,” renowned makeup artist Bobbi Brown previously told Vogue. “Customers will sometimes tell us that they aren’t getting enough payoff in the color but, that’s usually because they haven’t ‘broken the seal’ on the product to release the pigmentation”—do so for a more intense pigment.
- Key ingredients: Jojoba oil, castor seed oil, beeswax, shea butter, hydrogenated castor oil
- Finish: Radiant
- Shades: 13
- Size: 1.75 oz
Best K-Beauty: Fwee Blurry Pudding Pot
Fwee
Lip&Cheek Blurry Pudding Pot
- Why We Love It: We guarantee you’ve never encountered a texture quite like this color pot—picture the bounce of a pudding fresh out of a fridge. “Korean brands really excel at fun yet useful textures,” K-beauty expert Michelle Lee previously told Vogue. “You especially see this in the blush market right now, particularly with these Fwee’s bouncy textured pudding pots.” Lee suggests swiping on this pick anywhere (lips, eyes, and cheeks) for a velvety matte flush.
- Key Ingredients: Dimethicone, dimethicone crosspolymer, cocoa seed butter, agave leaf extract
- Finish: Blurred
- Shades: 35
- Size: 0.17 oz.
Best Blurred Matte: Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge Velvet Matte
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- Why We Love It: Bobbi Brown’s latest cream blush launched just three months ago—and it’s entered the beauty scene with a bang. Housed in a tiny glass pot, the cream-to-powder formula has a velvety texture that delivers a soft matte finish. With one touch, it’s hard not to appreciate the ultra-lightweight, whipped feel of the cream, adding a blurred, natural pop of color anywhere its deposited.
- Key Ingredients: Dimethicone, dimethicone crosspolymer
- Finish: Soft matte
- Shades: 12
- Size: 8.5 g
Best Lightweight: Ilia Multi Stick
- Why we love it: Ilia’s multi-stick leaves a natural flush on lips, cheeks, and lids, melting effortlessly into skin thanks to it’s shea butter-based formula. Boasting an ultra-lightweight texture, this is the perfect product for the no makeup-makeup look, with a naturally rosy, skin-like result. Associate fashion director Madeline Fass considers this one of her favorite makeup products for subtle eye color; not to mention, celebrities like Brooke Shields and Diana Silvers who count this as a must-have.
- Key Ingredients: Shea butter, avocado oil, orange peel wax
- Type: Cream
- Finish: Luminous and natural finishes
- Shades: 12
- Size: 8.5 g
Best Hydrating: Kaja Dewy Bar Blush & Lip Balm
Kaja
Dewy Bar Blush & Lip Balm
- Why We Love It: A leading K-beauty pick, Kaja’s jelly-like bar glides on with lightweight, yet buildable color. The formula is packed with fruit enzymes, delivering not just surface-level glow but deeply nourishing hydration. It’s a favorite of Vogue’s audience development associate manager Molly Barstein, known for her signature flushed cheeks. “It’s so easy—I literally just pop it in my bag and swipe it on my cheeks and lips whenever I need a touch-up,” Barstein says. “It melts right in and blends like a dream.”
- Key Ingredients: Apple extract, green tangerine extract, vitamin C, hyaluronic acid
- Finish: Dewy
- Shades: 4
- Size: 0.35 oz
Best Affordable: Palladio I’m Blushing 2-in-1 Cheek and Lip Tint
Palladio
I’m Blushing 2-in-1 Cheek and Lip Tint
- Why We Love It: This one is for all the chubby makeup stick fans! Infused with skin-loving botanicals like aloe vera, chamomile, and ginseng, Palladio’s 2-n-1 tint hydrates wherever applied and leaves behind a kiss of color. Aloe soothes and hydrates, chamomile calms sensitivity, and antioxidant-rich ginseng helps revitalize tired skin. The creamy formula glides on effortlessly, giving cheeks and lips a healthy, radiant glow without drying or caking. It’s multitasking color with skin-care benefits built right in. Plus, this pick has 14,000+ glowing reviews on Amazon—so you could say it’s pretty popular. All that for less than the cost of a smoothie in New York City? We’re sold!
- Key Ingredients: Aloe vera, chamomile, ginkgo biloba, ginseng extract, safflower extract, camellia extract
- Finish: Radiant
- Shades: 6
- Size: 0.20 oz
Best Clean: RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek
- Why We Love It: RMS has been all about clean beauty long before it was a thing. Lip2Cheek, its 2009 launch, is packed with powerful botanicals like wildcrafted buriti oil, shea and cocoa butters. Just the ticket for founder Rose-Marie Swift to awaken Victoria’s Secret angels’s skin back in their heyday, though it’s not just for doe-eyed twenty-somethings. This pick is excellent for mature bombshells, too. “Cream blush is fabulous for mature skin,” Swift previously told Vogue. “It adds hydrating color to make the skin look more youthful.”
- Key ingredients: Wildcrafted buriti oil, shea butter, organic cocoa seed butter
- Finish: Radiant
- Shades: 8
- Size: 0.17oz
Best Long-Wearing: Freck Beauty Cheekslime Lip & Cheek Tint
Freck Beauty
Cheekslime Lip & Cheek Tint
- Why We Love It: Surely, you’ve heard of Freck Beauty’s viral freckle pen. Now, allow us to introduce you to the brands long-wear lip and cheek color. This serum-like formula is infused with liquid plant collagen and botanicals for hydration, while the featured, copolymers keep color in place, leaving behind a blurred and natural finish that’s undeniably stunning.
- Key Ingredients: Carnauba wax, soybean seed extract, rice extract, ginseng root extract, copolymers
- Finish: Natural
- Shades: 6
- Size: 15 ml
Everything You Need to Know
Are lip and cheek tints worth it?
Much like blush itself, the true allure of lip and cheek tints lies in their versatility. These multitasking formulas aren’t confined to just one area—you can sweep them across the high points of the face, lips, eyelids, and even the bridge of the nose for a cohesive, sun-kissed glow. They’re brilliant at simplifying your routine, replacing several steps with one effortless swipe.
Better still, pro makeup artist El DeBratto points out that the one-and-done approach to applying lip and cheek tints “helps with the overall look of makeup cohesion, offering a soft-focus wash of color.” Mayo adds that while many formulas offer long-wearing results, they’re still lightweight enough to reapply seamlessly throughout the day.
How to Apply a Lip and Cheek Tint
For foolproof application, Gernstein suggests tapping color onto lips and moisturized cheeks with clean fingers. Thhen softening the edges of blush with a damp makeup sponge dipped in tinted moisturizer “for a seamless finish,” and spot concealing as necessary.
- Dom Della is a celebrity makeup artist who often works with Paris Hilton, Helena Christensen, and Tiffany Haddish.
- Suzy Gerstein is a New York-based celebrity makeup artist, whose clients include Christy Turlington Burns, Lou Doillon, and more.
- Sean Harris is a Los Angeles–based celebrity makeup artist whose clients include Lori Harvey and Laura Harrier.
- Michelle Lee is a renowned Korean beauty and skin-care expert with over 25 years of industry experience. The former editor in chief of Allure and Nylon, she also served as VP of Global Editorial at Netflix.
- Alexx Mayo is a celebrity makeup artist behind most of Lizzo’s most memorable looks.
- Tasha Reiko Brown is a Chanel makeup artist and groomer whose clients include Gabrielle Union, Michael B. Jordan, and Alicia Keys.