What's New in Lips This Season: From Glassy Glosses to Soft-Focus Lipsticks

The lip landscape for 2026 has shifted. Gone are the days when you had to choose between a full-coverage lipstick or nothing at all. This season brings a spectrum of formulas that blur the lines between makeup and skincare, delivering everything from sheer washes of colour to bold, long-lasting pigment. All while actually improving the condition of your lips.

Hyaluronic microspheres that flood lips with moisture. Peptides that visibly plump and honey extracts that hydrate for 24 hours. What's driving this evolution? A new understanding that lips deserve the same care as skin, paired with technology that makes it possible.

The aesthetic has evolved too. Korean beauty's influence continues to reshape how we approach lip colour, favouring soft, diffused tones over harsh lines and heavy pigment. But that doesn't mean bold colour is out, it just means it comes with benefits. From kissproof honey formulas to K-beauty innovators perfecting the water-to-oil tint, this season's launches prove you can have it all.

Laneige Juicepop Box Lip Tint – Cushiony, Non-Sticky Textures

Laneige's JuicePop Box Lip Tint makes you rethink everything you knew about lip tints. It’s not blotchy or drying like traditional tints, instead this water-to-oil formula transforms from lightweight to a nourishing stain lasting up to 12 hours. 

Infused with ceramides, peptides, and vitamins C and E, it firms and strengthens lips while delivering that perfect wash of buildable colour. The curved doe-foot applicator hugs your lips for smooth, precise application. That compact packaging with its loop cap? Pure genius for on-the-go touch-ups.

Available in eight shades from peachy Pop-Star Peach to deep Mocha Remix, each delivers that cushiony, non-sticky texture that feels extremely nourishing for that amount of shine and colour. Layer it up for bold payoff or keep it sheer for that barely-there diffused effect. Either way, your lips stay comfortable, hydrated, and naturally luscious all day.

Laneige's JuicePop Box Lip Tint is available at Sephora for $32 each.

Guerlain KissKiss – An Icon, Reinvented for a Matte Blur Effect

For more than twenty years, Guerlain's KissKiss has been evolving, reinventing itself from lip balm to iconic lipstick. Now, the Parisian house has revealed a brand new face: the first kissproof honey lipstick with a matte blur effect.

Meet an unprecedented polymer duo that combines with hydrating nectars from the hive. Honey provides 24-hour hydration. Beeswax creates a particularly sensory and comfortable texture with perfect glide. Royal jelly stimulates hyaluronic acid production to plump lips while Propolis extract delivers smoothing and collagen-boosting benefits. What you get is a supple, comfortable, almost imperceptible blurred texture that lasts up to 24 hours.

There’s a sizable palette of 20 ultra-pigmented shades: from soft beiges and warm browns, to must-have reds, mauves and sun-kissed corals and oranges. This new design continues Guerlain's commitment to sustainability. The golden faceted tube adopts a honeycomb motif for optimal grip, with the iconic bee embossed on the cap and engraved on the bevelled bullet. Its innovative new refillable case reduces the environmental footprint significantly with 28% less packaging, 39% fewer CO₂ emissions, and 38% less fossil fuels impact compared to buying two complete products. The case can even be personalised with engraving at Guerlain boutiques for a unique signature.

Each application is enhanced by a subtle, addictive fragrance created by Delphine Jelk, Guerlain Director of Perfume Creation: a delicate honey accord, radiant orange blossom, and a note of vanilla.

Guerlain KissKiss Matte Blur Lipstick is priced at $66 and $51 for refills. Available at Guerlain boutiques.

YSL LOVENUDE Lip Blusher – Sheer Veil of Colour, Smooth-Second Skin Effect

YSL Beauty enters the diffused lip conversation with LOVENUDE Lip Blusher, a lipstick designed for that soft, blurred, almost bare-lip finish that still gives the face a lift. It is not a heavy matte, nor is it a glossy balm. Instead, it sits neatly in that modern in-between space, giving lips a sheer veil of colour with a smooth, second-skin effect. 

The formula is built for comfort, which makes sense for anyone who loves the look of a matte lip but hates the dry feeling that often comes with it. With a 90% balm base and 3% Pro-Xylane, it delivers 24-hour hydration while giving lips a soft-focus finish that lasts up to 12 hours. The colour is sheer but buildable, so you can swipe once for a barely-there nude tint or layer it for a more defined blurred lip. The shade range includes 10 wearable tones, from Undressed Pink and Sassy Peach to Red-Handed, Mauve-Haze, 3AM Espresso and Nude Lavallière, giving you enough options for a soft daytime lip or something moodier for the evening. 

The real appeal lies in how easy it is to wear. Apply straight from the bullet for more colour, or blend it out with your fingers in the first few seconds before it sets for that smudged, effortless finish. Better still, line with the YSL LOVENUDE Kiss Shaper,  a creamy texture that shapes, blurs,
and smudges your lips, in an irresistibly sort format. 

YSL LOVENUDE Lip Blusher is priced at $65 and available at YSL counters and online. 

NARS Afterglow Lip Shine – Petal Play Collection, An Asia Exclusive 

NARS introduces the Afterglow Lip Shine as part of its Petal Play Collection, an Asia exclusive, limited-edition that invites you to flirt with florals. Its all about looking fresh and luminous, with a mirror-like shine on your lips.
The formula delivers high gloss without the heaviness. It glides on smoothly and hydrates for up to eight hours, thanks to a blend of conditioning ingredients. Pomegranate Flower Complex, which combines jojoba oil and antioxidant-rich pomegranate extract, helps nourish and protect the lips, while raspberry seed oil works to smooth and soften. The finish is glassy but also addictive, making it one you will want to keep reapplying.
Within the Petal Play Collection, the lip shine comes in sheer, flattering shades such as Leap of Faith, a pearlescent soft apricot, and New Dawn, a rosy pink. The colours are designed to enhance the natural tone of the lips, giving a subtle wash of shine that works for everyday wear, office or while you're out and about. Housed in pastel packaging with delicate floral detailing, it's the ideal girly gloss you'll want in your bag. 

NARS Afterglow Petal Play Lip Shine is priced at $45 and available at NARS counters and Tangs.

Glow Recipe Glass Balm Lip Treatment – Bingsoo-Inspired Tints

K-beauty innovation meets fruit-powered skincare with Glow Recipe's Glass Balm. This high-shine lip treatment is clinically proven to hydrate for 12 hours while delivering that coveted glass-like glow. 

The secret? Hyaluronic Acid Microspheres that flood lips with moisture, visibly filling and plumping fine lines while locking in hydration. Nourishing fruit actives promote collagen production, and glycerin protects against moisture loss. It's intensive lip care disguised as the juiciest gloss you'll ever wear.

Each shade delivers a sheer, buildable colour inspired by Bingsoo—the fruity Korean shaved ice dessert. From Watermelon Bingsoo's soft pink to Fig Bingsoo's mauve nude, the tints are subtle enough for everyday but impactful enough to transform your look. Apply with your favourite lip pencil for fuller-looking lips, layer over lipstick for amplified glow, or use Ice Bingsoo as an overnight lip mask.

Glow Recipe Glass Balm is priced at $36 each and available in 6 shades at Sephora.sg. Get a sneak peek at Glow Recipe’s hottest selling products here. 

Kosas Lip Pulse – High-Shine, Glassy Lip Pluper

Kosas is turning up the heat with Lip Pulse, a high-impact, glassy lip plumper designed to give lips a fuller, more defined look without the usual stickiness. High shine, visible volume and a tingle for that extra plump.

The formula is built around a custom plumping complex that heats and cools in quick succession. Capsaicin helps boost blood flow, while menthol brings in that fresh, cooling contrast, creating a noticeable plumping effect that feels dynamic rather than harsh. It is clean, vegan, gluten-free and dermatologist tested, making it easy to wear without drying out the lips.

There are six shades in total, including Unspoken, Aura Flare, Love Potion, Aftershock, Sixth Sense and Soulfire. Each soft and romantic, with tones designed to enhance natural lip colour rather than mask it.

To use, apply within the natural lip line where you want the plumping effect. The tingling varies slightly, and you may notice a bit of redness if applied outside the lip area.

Kosas Lip Pulse retails for $37 each at Sephora.sg.

Burberry Brit Matte Lip Veil – Matte Stain Without the Dryness

Burberry’s take on the diffused lip? Effortlessly British. The new Brit Matte Lip Veil is a long-wearing liquid lipstick designed to capture the fast-paced feel of London life, giving lips lightweight, soft-focus matte colour with a blurred, just-kissed finish.

The formula works as a 3-in-1 veil of comfortable matte colour, hydrating care and protection. It feels airy and weightless on the lips, making it a good option for those who love a matte stain but tend to avoid anything too drying. It is also designed to suit everyone, including those with sensitive or dry lips.

Twist the base and dab onto lips for a subtle stained effect, or glide it on for classic sheer-matte coverage. One twist dispenses just the right amount of colour, and it can also double as a liquid blush when blended onto the apples of the cheeks.

Available in six iconic shades, the range moves from sophisticated neutrals to bolder tones, with options such as Cinnamon, Copper Pink, Dark Russet and Cranberry Red. Ideal for a soft gradient lip, it gives colour that stays put through coffee, conversations and everything in between. Plus, who’s complaining about having another Burberry lipstick in the bag?

Burberry Brit Matte Lip Veil is priced at $55 and available at Burberry counters and Sephora.sg.