The 3 Best Lip Liners of 2026

Testers appreciated Bobbi Brown Lip Liner’s chic and smooth satin formula, but on average, the color only lasted an hour.

Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Liner’s yummy texture glided seamlessly over lips, but the tip dulled quickly, making precise application impossible.

E.L.F. Cosmetics Cream Glide Lip Liner has a nice hydrating texture, but at least one tester with small lips found it to be slippery and difficult to control.

Testers loved L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Lip Liner’s intense pigment, but it settled into one tester’s lip lines.

A close runner-up to our Rimmel pick, MAC Lip Pencil got a slew of compliments for its rich color payoff and creamy application, but it transferred significantly onto cups and glasses when folks drank.

Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil Extreme has intense pigment that one tester likened to a gel eyeliner. This one set too quickly, though, and required harsh scrubbing to fix minimal mistakes.

While the Makeup By Mario Ultra Suede Sculpting Lip Pencil comes with additional perks, like a sharpener and lip brush to help with precision and blending, the firm, dry formula tended to skid and skip on testers’ lips — especially those with more lines and texture.

Merit Signature Lip Liner’s lack of staying power required numerous touch-ups throughout the day, which panelists deemed wasteful.

As much as testers liked the shade range, Milani Color Statement Lipliner dragged on lips.

M.Ph The Overliner’s precise tip enabled crisp lines and artist-like contouring, but on average, the color wore off in less than two hours.

Testers unanimously panned Nyx Professional Makeup Slim Lip Pencil’s dull, lackluster formula and finish.

Revlon ColorStay Longwear Lip Liner’s small tapered tip is — as crazy as it sounds — too precise. The skinny nib required too much time and effort to lay down color and tended to break easily.

Saie Lip Liner 101 skipped unevenly when applied over textured areas (like vertical lines and dry lips), creating a messy, imprecise look.

Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip Liner provided great color payoff, but the too-creamy formula bled and smeared.

The Tower 28 OneLiner Lip Liner drew mixed reviews: Some folks appreciated how it glided on for a nice color payoff, while others found it dry and unyielding.

We also ruled out a number of additional lip liners from Anastasia Beverly Hills, Beauty Pie, Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Clinique, ColourPop, Covergirl, E.L.F. Cosmetics, Estée Lauder, Glossier, Hourglass, Ilia, Jones Road Beauty, L.A. Girl, L’Oréal Paris, Nars, Nyx Professional Makeup, Make Up For Ever, Morphe, Ortega, Rare Beauty, Refy, Rhode, Sweed, Tarte, Tom Ford, Tower 28, Victoria Beckham Beauty, and Wet n Wild. We chose not to send them to panel testing for a variety of reasons, including insufficient or unfavorable reviews, limited shade ranges, and concerns relating to value.

This article was edited by Rory Evans and Jennifer G. Sullivan.