The best lip masks you can buy

Why you'll love it: Fresh's Sugar Lip Caramel Hydrating Balm can hydrate, exfoliate, and protect lips during both daytime and overnight use.

When cult-favorite beauty brand Fresh launched its Sugar Lip Caramel Hydrating balm in 2017, HelloGiggles wrote, "If anyone knows lip treatments, it's Fresh Beauty — they've prioritized lip care more than just about any other beauty brand."

Fresh offers a wide range of lip serums, balms, exfoliants, tint treatments, and protectants, but the Sugar Lip Caramel Hydrating Balm stands out from all the rest for its ability to provide long-lasting moisture while repairing your lips. The balm uses gentle, sugar-based exfoliation to remove any dead skin and leave lips smoother.

The Sugar Lip Hydrating Balm provides instant hydration and leaves a subtle shine on the lips after application, so it can be used as a daytime balm as well as an overnight mask depending on the thickness of the coat you apply.

Fashionista explains that even when used as an everyday lip balm, the Fresh Hydrating Balm forms a protective barrier using the mango butter, while the sugar provides a gentle exfoliation and the sea fennel extract plumps the skin.

Along with the sugar, which is a natural humectant that both exfoliates and prevents moisture loss, the balm is formulated with a blend of apricot kernel, black currant seed, and grapeseed oils that soften and moisturize lips, then finished with Vitamin E for that protective barrier. The resulting effect is instant hydration that locks the moisture in for long-term effects. Plus, the exfoliation helps to ensure that lips will be smoother following the treatment.

In Fresh's clinical studies measuring results with one month use of the Sugar Lip Hydrating Balm, 100% of participants reported it immediately softened and soothed the lips, and 97% shared that they noticed the balm smoothed their lips' surface.

Unlike most lip masks, the Fresh Sugar Lip Hydrating Balm can be used for daytime use as well. Sephora shoppers have rated the balm at 4.2 out of 5 stars, and many reviewers have commended the caramel scent, pointing out that it doesn't leave a sticky residue and is subtle.

Pros: Good for both day and night use, subtle scent, exfoliating

Cons: The hydrating effect isn't strong enough for all users

Buy the Fresh Sugar Lip Caramel Hydrating Balm from Sephora for $18

Why you'll love it: An expert in lip care, Bite Beauty made its overnight lip mask with agave and lanolin for instantaneous, powerful, and long-lasting hydration and recovery.

If your lips are in need of intensive repair, Bite Beauty has you covered. The lip-only beauty brand offers balms, scrubs, and masks handcrafted with all natural agave nectar because the company stands on the philosophy that, "What you put on your lips should be as good as what you put in your mouth."

Like most succulents, agave provides strong and quick-acting hydration, and when paired with Jojoba Oil and medical-grade Lanolin in Bite Beauty's Agave Lip Mask, it results in an intensive nightly recovery mask that soothes lips and replenishes their natural moisture.

The brand recommends applying the mask at bedtime and then continuing to wear it throughout the day for strengthened hydration and shine. While the Agave Lip Mask does come in a clear formula, Bite Beauty also offers it in four tints. It is currently selling a limited-edition Lavender shade that contains lavender, which has been known to promote a restful sleep.

The Agave Lip Mask has earned itself an average customer rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars from more than 5,400 reviews on Sephora. Lip balm roundups in Huffington Post, Allure, and Fashionista seem to agree that it really works. In its original review of the product, Allure wrote that the conditioning mask hydrates lips for hours.

Refinery29 published an even more extensive review of the Agave Lip Mask, stating that while the mask's formula was "heavy and goopy, sticky, and just uncomfortable on my lips," it provided instantaneous relief unlike many other products.

Many buyers have been in agreement that the mask has a heavy, sticky formula. Another issue to be mindful of with the Agave Lip Mask is that it is made with medical-grade Lanolin, which comes from sheep's wool and is not vegan-friendly. Lanolin has been a common ingredient in skin-care products for decades, yet has been less frequently used recently as more and more people are reporting allergies or sensitivities to the ingredient.

Due to its high fat content, Lanolin is replete with smoothing and moisturizing benefits for those not allergic to it. It has been used in products marketed to heal eczema, burns, and scrapes. However, if you are not sure if Lanolin irritates your skin, patch test the Agave Lip Mask before using it on your lips.

Pros: Intense hydration, long-lasting relief, smooths and soothes skin

Cons: Thick consistency, not vegan-friendly, unsafe for those with allergy to Lanolin

Buy the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask from Sephora for $26

Why you'll love it: Dermatologists approve of Clinique's Pep-Start Pout Restoring Night Mask for its use of hydrating ingredients like petroleum jelly, shea butter, and castor oil, plus it is allergy-tested and fragrance-free.

Like just about all of its products, Clinique's Pep-Start Pout Restoring Night Mask is allergy-tested and dermatologist-approved, making it an excellent nightly lip mask choice for anyone with sensitive skin.

Included in product recommendation roundups by Elite Daily, Fashionista, and Allure, this lip mask is made with a combination of ingredients known to provide moisture, such as petroleum jelly, shea butter, murumuru seed butter, castor oil, and sea whip extract to hydrate and nourish lips and result in a soft, supple texture.

Last winter, dermatologist Shasa Hu, M.D. told Self that petroleum jelly and shea butter are among the top recommended ingredients to moisturize dry lips — and both ingredients are used in the Clinique Pep-Start Pout Restoring Night Mask.

Clinique tests its products to ensure they can provide maximum results, so you can rest assured that this mask is 100% free of fragrances or typical irritants, allergens, or parabens that can harm skin. The brand suggests using the mask at nighttime for intense hydration while you sleep.

Many online reviewers on Sephora reported experiencing noticeably softer lips even after the first night using the mask. One even described the result as the softest her lips had ever been.

While 90% of Sephora's reviewers shared they would recommend the Pep-Start Pout Restoring Night Mask, and the product has 4.6 out of 5 stars overall, most commented that they had found the lip mask to be too thick for comfortable daytime use. That being said, Clinique does market the Pep-Start Pout Restoring Night Mask as a day-to-night treatment.

For those who don't find the formula's consistency to be too thick, the product can be applied as a primer for lipstick, a daytime lip balm or even as a quick, five-minute daytime mask.

Pros: Moisturizing, dermatologist-approved, allergy-tested, fragrance-free

Cons: Sticky, doesn't provide hydration to all users, difficult to squeeze mask out of its tube

Buy the Clinique Pep-Start Pout Restoring Night Mask from Sephora for $17.50

Why you'll love it: Glamgow's Poutmud Wet Lip Balm Treatment is made with a strategic blend of oils and butters to moisturize and soothe lips.

Glamglow's Poutmud Wet Lip Balm Treatment is a powerful, moisturizing lip mask designed to intensely hydrate lips to leave them softer and healthier. It is made from a moisture-rich formula of sweet almond oil, cocoa butter, murumuru butter, shea butter, tamanu oil, and babassu oil for hydration, while infusions of kombucha extract and Moroccan mint boost smoothness, radiance and glow, and soothe, respectively.

The Poutmud Wet Lip Balm Treatment can be used both day and night. The treatment has been a shopper-favorite amongst Glamglow's skin-care offerings — so much so that the brand released a range of four lip balms made from a similar formula.

The balm is thick and spreads on in a "satisfyingly gloopy" manner, as Elle's reviewer wrote. Glamour's health editor Macaela Mackenzie had a similar experience with the Glamglow treatment, writing, "I'm obsessed with GlamGlow's PoutMud Wet Lip. It's one of the few things I've been sent as a writer that I actually bought again. It's goopy in the most luxurious way and has a really pretty shine. I love to glop it on before bed and wake up with baby soft (and pepperminty) lips."

The Poutmud Wet Lip Balm Treatment isn't as easy to find as Glamglow's other products, as it frequently sells out.

Pros: Very hydrating, instant results, lasting results

Cons: Thick consistency, flavor is too strong for some

Buy the Glamglow Poutmud Wet Lip Balm Treatment from Bloomingdales for $19