Peptide Lip Liners Are Quietly Taking Over
Thanks to peptide lip liners, you can say goodbye to dry, pilling formulas. Here a celebrity makeup artist and cosmetic chemist weigh in on the trend.
The internet remains utterly obsessed with peptides for good reason. A derm favorite for stimulating collagen and elastic production, the ingredient has expanded beyond the skincare space into makeup—from skin tints, glossy balms, and even the peptide lip liner. In a beauty landscape increasingly centered around hybrid formulas, peptides offer genuine benefits to one’s pout. As renowned cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson explains, consumers are gravitating toward multitasking formulas that deliver both color and skin-care benefits in a single swipe.
“Peptides are short chains of amino acids—when applied topically, they can act like messengers by triggering cells to produce more collagen and elastin,” Robinson tells Vogue. “They also can help soothe the lips, repair the skin’s barrier, as well as plump and reduce the look of lines around the lips.” In practice, that means peptide-infused lip liners feel notably different from the drying pencils of the past. “Peptides included in lip products by helping support hydration, smoothness of formula texture, and overall lip comfort,” celebrity makeup artist and m.ph Beauty founder Mary Phillips adds.
What’s perhaps more surprising is, despite the internet-wide ingredient craze, just how selective brands have actually incorporated peptides into their lip liner formulas—which I can personally attest to. In searching for the perfect peptide lip pencil, I combed through dozens of options only to realize the category remains surprisingly sparse. Last year, Rhode became one of the first brands to gain widespread attention for prominently featuring peptides in its retractable Lip Shape pencil, following the viral success of its cushiony lip treatment. Still, brands like Bobbi Brown and Victoria Beckham Beauty had quietly incorporated the ingredient into their liners long before the trend took off. Since then, a handful of other brands have begun putting their own spin on peptide-powered pencils.
“Lip liner formulas are more technically restrictive than people realize,” says Phillips. “Unlike glosses or balms, liners need to maintain a very specific balance of structure, precision, payoff, and wear time. Adding peptides requires extra formulation work, testing, and investment to ensure they enhance the formula without compromising performance.” That balance ultimately comes down to texture and preference. While Rhode and Kulfi Beauty lean creamt and more slip-heavy, the formulas from m.ph Beauty and Victoria Beckham Beauty offer a grippier, more sculpting finish.
With that in mind here are five of the best peptide lip liners we’ve tested. Get ’em while the trend is still slow burning—because Robinson thinks it’s all a matter of time before this skin-care makeup hybrid goes mainstream.
Whether peptide-infused or not, there is a certain finesse to applying lip liners—particularly when it comes to tastefully overlining for a believably more pillowy pout. Phillips is, of course, an aficionado on the matter, considering overlining one of her signature techniques. For starters, she strongly recommends always lining your lips with a freshly sharpened pencil to ensure precise application. “I like to start [lining] from the corners of my mouth and stay close to the natural lip line, and as I make my way toward the center,” she says. “Then, I overline just above the cupid’s bow to give the upper lip a lifted look. Finally, I repeat the same process on the center of the lower lip.”
When we test and review a product, we take a holistic approach to deliver well-rounded product recommendations. First, we lean on Vogue’s vast network of experts—from cosmetic chemists to professional makeup artists—to gain professional acumen on the industry’s standout products, ones these specialists would actually use on their clients. We pair their expertise with our editorial best practices to curate the thoughtful edits you read on our site.
As it relates to peptide-infused lip liners, we selected the best based on the following characteristics: ingredients, texture, finish, wear time, and shades. To do this, we paired our own personal tests of each formula with expert guidance and reviewer insights to determine which we would recommend to you.
