8 Best Korean Lip Tints of 2024

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If you’ve been watching K-dramas, you’ve noticed a trend going around: lip tints. Even if you may not know that this is the product’s name and the technique used in dramas and by Korean idols, you surely are attracted by its popularity.

Lip tints are a staple in Korea due to their long-lasting color and the fact that they require way less maintenance compared to a normal lipstick; lip tints or lip stains are also the best way to create the famous gradient lips and, overall, to get natural lips, far from what we’re used to seeing in the Western world.

The choice of lip tints from South Korea is enormous and finding the right lip stain can be hard; to add more complexity, Western beauty brands have started to copy the K-trend, making it even harder to choose a lip tint.

I’ve been on a quest to find the best Korean lip tints for years and I’ve decided to share my (almost) definitive list with you: keep reading this buying guide and check out some of the must-have Korean lip stains that you can buy with just one click. The road to a sultry look is closest than what you think!

Best Korean Lip Tints

Without further ado, let’s discover together what are the best Korean lip tints to buy in 2024. The list includes both water-based and stains lip tints, but it doesn’t include traditional lipsticks that I’ve included in this comprehensive list.

3CE Velvet Lip Tint

A favorite of mine at a point that I’ve almost the entire collection, the 3CE Velvet Lip Tint is famous for its long-lasting matte finish and oil-packed formula that delivers intense pigmentation. Despite the matte finish, the oil in the formula leaves the lips with a soft and velvety feel and hydrated. You can opt for a regular application to get full coverage or just apply a little bit on the center of your lips and use your fingers to dilute in order to get a subtle and elegant coverage that will last for hours.

Peripera Ink The Airy Velvet Tint

Peripera Ink The Airy Velvet Tint is a famous household name for people into Korean beauty. It has a lightweight formula and incredible pigmentation, thanks to a creamy but not sticky formula. It’s available in a huge range of colors, all vivid and usable to create a gradient look. The taste is possibly the only downside of this product: some of the lip tints have a peculiar bitter taste that is not really pleasant, but if you can overcome this issue you will be rewarded with an amazing Korean beauty product.

A’PIEU Juicy Pang Mousse Tint

You may not think of A’PIEU when it comes to lip stains but the Juicy Pang Mousse Tint is really one of the best on the market at the moment. A satin finish lip tint range has a watery consistency and delivers an incredible color payoff. It’s a long-lasting lip tint available in multiple colors and with a big perk: every variant has a tremendous fruity scent, which makes using this lip stain being even more pleasant.

Mamonde Creamy Tint Color Balm

If you don’t want to spend too much time thinking about your lips and instead you’re looking for an easy fix and a quick-to-use product, then Mamonde Creamy Tint Color Balm is the perfect solution. Think of a crayon that you can simply apply to your lips: that’s how this product work and that what guarantees easy application and blending. Go for a small amount to get the gradient or the natural look or just layer it for a more vivid effect.

Etude House Dear Darling Water Tint

We’ve all used (well, we should have!) Benetint and for the majority of us this has been a staple for so long. Then Etude House Dear Darling Water Tint came and, at least in my case, it completely replaced Benetint. The reason? It delivers a fresh and glossy wash of color on the lips and provides ultra hydration. It doesn’t last for a full day but it’s so straightforward and easy to use that applying it multiple times it’s really not a big deal. Last but not least: the price, almost unbeatable (especially if compared to Benetint).

Missha Wish Stone Tint

Missha Wish Stone Tint comes in a velvet finish, as a lip oil, and as a glossy gel; the three formulas provide hydration and strong pigmentation, together with a long-lasting finish that is just the cherry on top. The easy applicator makes things even easier and it allows you to go for bold or subtle lips, based on everyone’s needs and preferences.

Romand Glasting Water Tint

Available in multiple shades and with an easy-to-use applicator, Romand Glasting Water Tint is one of the best Korean tints. It is a little more liquid and transparent than the other tints you can find in this list, but for this reason, it is so easy to apply and so subtle that you will never feel it’s too much. Apply it multiple times to get juicy lips, apply just once and blend it with your fingers for a more natural result.

Etude House Dear Darling Tint

Another product from Etude House, the Dear Darling Tint is the evolution of the Water Tint and it’s for people looking for a more visible result and a lip stain that doesn’t go away not even after hours and hours from the first application. It’s available in multiple colors, all quite vivid, and while staying on your lips it also lips them moisturized thanks to the pomegranate and soapberry extracts.

Korean Lip Tints: Frequently Asked Questions

if you’re looking for answers to the most frequent questions about Korean lip tints, here you have a small selection.

Is lip tint bad for your lips?

Lip tint has very often been associated with chapped and dehydrated lips. Things have changed and nowadays we can opt for Korean lip tints that not only don’t ruin our lips but also nourish them. The secret is in the ingredients used; specifically, the high percentage of water and natural extracts that are the core elements for the new lip stains.

What’s the difference between water based lip tint and lip stain?

There’s not much difference because both can help you achieve the same result: sulky lips, with more or less pronounced colors. Water-based lip tints are more watery and they need to be layered to get a vivid color; stains, on the other side, are more pigmented and you need only one layer to get the perfect coverage. With water-based lip tints, you can create a natural-looking color without too much effort while with velvety lip stains you can get the same result by applying less product and blend it with your fingers.

Are lip tints only available in Korea?

No, lip tints are now available from brands Worldwide but not all of them live up to their expectations. If you don’t want to buy K-beauty lip tints, you can opt for the famous Benetint from Benefits, one of the most used idols in Korea, or the Water Lip Stain from Clarins. Benetint has been a staple for many years and despite the price, it is one of the best products ever. The Clarins Water Lip Stain is quite new to the market and quite good as well, even if it’s not really as long-lasting as Benetint.

Which is better water tint or gel tint?

It depends on the result you want to get: water tints are perfect if you want a minimal color and a very natural look. Gel tints are somehow shinier but the glossier finish wears off quickly, sometimes leaving a greasy feeling on your lips.

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