Snag one of these top-rated lip scrubs for an ultra-smooth pout
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Over the years, lip makeup trends have alternated between bold, matte liquid lipsticks and neutral, high-shine glosses. Regardless of what’s popular in the moment, the basic goal is always the same: a smooth pout. But even before you pick your color, using a lip scrub is essential for achieving this, either to buff off flakiness prior to slathering on an overnight lip mask or as a step of prep before applying a lippie. Below are top-rated lip exfoliating options for either scenario, most of which you apply to the lips for scrubbing and then blot off using a tissue or washcloth.
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1. For a pleasant aroma: Sara Happ The Lip Scrub
You may have heard of sugar or salt scrubs for exfoliating the body. This lip scrub from Sara Happ works in the same way, using “finely ground” brown sugar crystals to remove dry and flaky skin from the lips. It also contains a blend of jojoba, grape seed and sunflower seed oils to moisturize the lips. The brand says this scrub is great for “those who are finicky about fragrance”—meaning it has a subtle scent of brown sugar and isn’t perfume-y or artificial-smelling.
Get the Sara Happ The Lip Scrub from QVC for $24
2. For repairing rough skin: Burt’s Bees Conditioning Lip Scrub
This option from Burt’s Bees offers similar benefits, but with a twist on the ingredients. Instead of sugar, it contains honey crystals to exfoliate rough skin for a smoother feel. To condition the lips, it also contains castor seed oil, lanolin and cocoa seed butter.
Get the Burt’s Bees Conditioning Lip Scrub from Amazon for $8.99
3. For exfoliating on the go: E.L.F. Cosmetics Lip Exfoliator
You may keep a lipstick in your purse for last-minute application or touch-ups throughout the day, so why not a lip scrub, too? This one from E.L.F. Cosmetics comes in a convenient lipstick bullet, rather than a pot, and contains sugar to exfoliate as well as shea butter and jojoba and avocado oils to moisturize the lips. It’s available in four flavors: “Brown Sugar,” “Mint Maniac,” “Sweet Cherry” and “Coconut.”
Get the E.L.F. Cosmetics Lip Exfoliator from Ulta for $4
4. For a simple tool: Daily Concepts Daily Lip Scrubber
You can turn any lip balm you own into an exfoliating treatment with this tool from Daily Concepts. The silicone brush features a textured bristle side that you can rub against your lips to buff away dead skin cells. While you can use it alone, consider applying a lip balm or Vaseline to your lips to give the tool more slip for easier gliding. Wipe away any flakes or excess balm if you use it post-scrubbing.
Get the Daily Concepts Daily Lip Scrubber from Ulta for $4.50
5. For celebrity-approved smoothness: Kylie Skin Sugar Lip Scrub
Like many Kardashian-related brands, Kylie Skin has a loyal band of followers, hundreds of whom swear by this vanilla lip scrub. Like others on this list, it contains sugar to buff away dry skin along with shea butter and jojoba seed and meadowfoam seed oils to retain moisture and soothe the lips.
Get the Kylie Skin Sugar Lip Scrub from Ulta for $20
6. For gentle scrubbing: Handmade Heroes Vegan Coconut Lip Scrub
Make exfoliating your lips a routine with this scrub from Handmade Heroes that claims to be gentle enough for daily use before an overnight lip mask or balm. It comes in two flavors: “Coconut Sorbet” and “Matcha Latte,” both of which contain coconut and sugar to exfoliate and sweet almond, avocado and jojoba oils.
Get the Handmade Heroes Vegan Coconut Lip Scrub from Amazon for $9.99
7. For chemically exfoliating: Kinship Supermelt Vegan Lip Jelly Mask
Not all lip exfoliants have physical particles to do the exfoliating. This mask from Kinship contains papaya enzyme ferment, which acts as a chemical exfoliant to dissolve dead skin cells and keep the lips smooth. It also contains hyaluronic acid to hydrate the lips and sea buckthorn berry to protect and restore the skin barrier, which is essential for healthy lips. Apply this in thin layers throughout the day whenever you need moisture, in excess at night for a treatment or 5 to 10 minutes before makeup as a mask you then blot off.
Get the Kinship Supermelt Vegan Lip Jelly Mask from Ulta for $18
8. For a double-whammy exfoliant: Glow Recipe Glow Lip Pop Lip Balm
Like the E.L.F. Cosmetics scrub, this one from Glow Recipe is conveniently packaged in a tube for on-the-go use. Though it starts out as a scrub with physical exfoliants from coconut flower sugar, the moisturizing lip balm also contains fruit extracts that provide antioxidants to protect the skin as well as chemical exfoliants from flower extracts that work to keep lips smooth even after you’ve scrubbed them. It’s available in blueberry and watermelon flavors to suit your preference. You can apply this throughout the day, adding two or three coats to build up color, or in a thick layer at night to wear as an exfoliating treatment while you sleep.
Get the Glow Recipe Glow Lip Pop Lip Balm from Sephora for $22
9. For plumping your pout: Tree Hut Sugarlips Lip Scrub
Like others on this list, Tree Hut’s Sugarlips contains sugar to exfoliate and jojoba oil and shea butter to moisturize and soften the lips. Where it differs is with its inclusion of peppermint oil, which the brand says helps to soothe dry, cracked lips while also creating a slight plumping effect.
Get the Tree Hut Sugarlips Lip Scrub from Ulta for $5.99
10. For preventing moisture loss: Fresh Sugar Lip Polish Exfoliator
Fresh is well-known for its “Sugar” line that includes bestselling SPF-containing lip balms in a variety of colors. The lip polish also receives plenty of praise with more than 1,000 reviews. It contains brown sugar crystals to slough off dead skin cells as well as shea butter and jojoba oils to moisturize the skin.
Get the Fresh Sugar Lip Polish Exfoliator from Sephora for $18
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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.