cocokind Lip Balm: Every Blur Balm Shade, Plus Tinted Balms to Compare

cocokind Lip Balm: Every Blur Balm Shade, Plus Tinted Balms to Compare

The cocokind lip balm that gets all the attention is the Ceramide Lip Blur Balm, a glossy balm with ceramides and peptides. Here are the shades and flavors I would look at, the blurred balms from other brands, and everyday tinted balms to compare.

cocokind began in November 2014, when Priscilla Tsai, then an equity research associate at JPMorgan covering food stocks, turned her own struggle with hormonal acne into a line of food-based skincare that started with coconut oil. She has said she bootstrapped it, answering questions herself on Instagram. That skincare first thinking is why the cocokind lip balm reads differently from a typical gloss: the Ceramide Lip Blur Balm is a balm before it is anything else.

The product text says it is infused with ceramides and peptides, locks in hydration, and blurs the look of lips for a fuller, plumper appearance. It glides on smooth with a soft, cushiony feel and a glossy finish, and the charms are sold separately. The shade names read like a small pep talk: be real, be magnetic, be kind, be brave, be bold, be powerful and be you. The listing gives no color notes for any of them, so I would judge the shades on your own lips, in daylight, rather than from a name.

The Flavored Ceramide Lip Blur Balm in strawberry shortcake uses the same formula with a sweet flavor, and the product text calls it the same balm you know, but with flavor.

A quick test: apply one swipe to bare lips, tap it with a fingertip, and look in a window. If the surface is glossy and cushioned, you have the finish the listing describes.

Big numbers collage titled BLUR BALMS, six products numbered one to six with each product set beside its number: cocokind, Glow Recipe and Tower 28
cocokind Lip Balm

cocokind Ceramide Lip Blur Balm

Flavors and other blurred balms

The flavored side of the cocokind lip balm range is where it gets playful. Vanilla chantilly, olipop strawberry vanilla, olipop cream soda and olipop cherry cola all share the Flavored Ceramide Lip Blur Balm formula, which the listing describes as the same ceramide and peptide balm with soda-inspired and nostalgic sweet flavors. I would choose by which flavor I would actually want near my mouth.

Blurred balms exist beyond cocokind, and Glow Recipe says its version was inspired by Korea's soft-blur lip trend. The Vegan PDRN Tinted Soft Matte Lip Blur Balm has a soft matte finish and a doe-foot applicator, and you tap it with your fingers to diffuse it. Set The Tone is a rosy beige, and Say It Anyway is a deep berry brown. Hourglass Phantom Smoothing Blur Lip Balm gives feather-light, blurred color and up to 12 hours of nourishment, per the brand. Mirage 35 is a berry brown and Enigma 40 is a neutral rosewood.

How to wear them: put a glossy cocokind balm in the middle of your lips and a soft matte one, like Glow Recipe, at the edges. The soft edge and the shine meet in between.

What I would skip: pressing the matte blur balms on with a heavy hand at the lip line. The soft focus effect is the point, so keep it light.

Flavored blur balms and more blurred lip balms

Everyday tinted balms

Not every balm has to blur. Tower 28 LipSoftie in Red Bean Mochi is a sheer rosy nude with a sweet flavor that the brand says is food-grade and safe for sensitive lips. MILK MAKEUP Balmade in Quench is a brown beige with a tropical coconut flavor and electrolytes. ILIA Balmy Tint in Lullaby is a cool rose pink that builds with each swipe, straight from the bullet, no mirror needed.

Kosas Kosasport LipFuel in Rush is a cool pink hyaluronic balm with a mild wild mint scent, and Kosas says to apply it before lipstick or gloss. Patrick Ta Major Moisture in Cocoa Butter is a creamy, high shine tinted balm with a gourmand cocoa butter scent. Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in Poppy is a sheer citrus coral that also works as an overnight mask. Glossier Balm Dotcom in Rose has a sheer pink tint and, per the brand, no shine, which is handy if gloss bothers you. Westman Atelier Squeaky Clean liquid lip balm in GARCONNE is a liquid balm with naturally derived pigments and a cushiony feel.

A pairing tip: keep a shine-free balm like Glossier in a jacket pocket and a glossy one like Patrick Ta at your desk.

What I would skip: a scented balm right before you eat or drink. Mint, coconut and cocoa are lovely until they compete with lunch.

Everyday tinted lip balms from other brands

Finding your daily balm

To choose a cocokind lip balm, start with how much shine you like. If you want a glossy, cushioned balm, take a Ceramide Lip Blur Balm shade. If you want a flavor, pick from the Flavored range, and if you want soft matte, look at Glow Recipe or Hourglass. For sheer everyday tint, Tower 28, ILIA and Summer Fridays are easy to dab on without a mirror. Keep the color as light as you can bear, then build up. My rule for a daily balm is simple: if I reach for it twice a day without thinking, it is the right one.