In 1934 two researchers, Karl Meyer and John Palmer, isolated a new polysaccharide from the vitreous humor of cows' eyes. It was thick, clear and slippery, and they had no idea it would end up in a lip gloss. It was later named hyaluronic acid, and it is now the word most plumping formulas lead with. Nobody in a lab coat in 1934 was thinking about shine. But that is where the gloss on your lips begins.

 

Dior lip gloss is where I would start if I wanted the plump version done with some polish. Parfums Christian Dior dates to 1947 and has belonged to LVMH since 1987, and the Addict cosmetics line arrived in 1999, according to Wikipedia. The brand describes the Addict Lip Maximizer as a plumping gloss infused with cherry oil and hyaluronic acid, with a formula it calls 90% natural-origin, and says it can be worn alone or as a top coat over lip color. I like that it is sold as skincare disguised as shine, and I think the smarter way to buy it is with its serum.

 

The trick is to see the Dior lip family as layers. Start with the Lip Maximizer Serum, the colorless one, which the brand says is enriched with mallow flower extract and hyaluronic acid and can go under the gloss. Then the Addict Lip Maximizer Gloss on top. If you prefer oil, the Addict Lip Glow Oil is the glossy one, the Lip Glow Balm and Lip Glow Butter are the more comfortable ones, and the Addict Glass Lipstick is the gloss in a bullet. The deeper Lip Maximizer shades, Berry and Mahogany, are where it stops being sheer.

Here is the thing nobody tells you about the Lip Maximizer: the shade matters less than you think on the first swipe and more than you think by the third. One coat of almost any of them reads as a clear shine with a whisper of color. Build it up and the personality comes through. Pink and Coral stay fresh and daytime, while Raspberry and Rosewood start to look like a decision.

 

The Lip Glow Oil is the other half of this grid, and it works differently. Dior says it reacts to the pH of your lips and reveals a custom color, so the same tube can look a touch different on you than on a friend. I find the oil slipperier and more comfortable than the gloss, with less of the plumping tingle, which makes it the one I would wear on a long day. Peachy and Latte sit close to bare lips; Cherry and Raspberry are the ones to wear with a black sweater.

 

A test I like: swatch two shades side by side on the back of your hand, then look at them in daylight by a window, not under shop lights.

 

What I would skip: buying three neighbouring pinks. Pick one sheer, one deeper, and stop there.

One rule for a wet-look lip: put the shine in the center of the lower lip and press your lips together, not the whole mouth. It looks like light, not like a coat of varnish.

 

If you are going to spend on a gloss that is not Dior, spend it here. Chanel's Rouge Coco Hydra Gloss is built on what the house calls an 85% hydrating base, and it wears like a balm with a mirror finish. Tom Ford's Gloss Luxe gives sheer to medium color and feels properly weightless. Armani's Prisma Glass has 15% squalane and a prismatic shine that catches the light, YSL's Loveshine is an oil gloss with hyaluronic acid, and Gucci's limited edition Gloss à Lèvres comes in a deep red called Rosso Ancora. Fara Homidi's Soft Glass is the makeup artist's pick, a plumping oil, and Sisley and Chantecaille are the quiet luxury pair for anyone who would rather the logo stayed in the bag.

 

A pairing I like: a matte or satin lipstick with a clear gloss on the center only. The color stays crisp, and the light lands in the right place.

 

What I would skip: high shine on a windy day with long hair. You will spend the afternoon peeling strands off your mouth.

A habit worth borrowing: balm at night, gloss by day. Lips need a break from shine, and the best balms here do their work while you sleep, then double as a glossy tint in the morning.

 

Guerlain's Kiss Kiss Bee Glow comes in two forms, a honey-infused tinted balm and a tinted lip oil, and both give that just-bitten flush with very little effort. YSL's Loveshine Lip Oil Stick is made with six nourishing oils and is the one I would keep in a coat pocket. Sisley's Phyto-Lip Twist is colored like a lipstick but shiny like a gloss, which is exactly the point of a glossy balm. Clé de Peau's Lip Glorifier is a moisture-rich tinted balm, Hermès's Hermèsistible is a lip care oil the house says is 93% active-care ingredients, and La Mer's Lip Volumizer is the serum-strength treatment for anyone who wants plumping without a sticky gloss. Tom Ford's Soleil Lip Balm rounds it out for glowing hydration.

 

A pairing I like: one of these under the Lip Maximizer on chapped lips. Give it a minute to settle before the gloss goes on.

 

What I would skip: a heavy balm and a sticky gloss on the same day. Pick one texture and let the other take the night shift.

I think the best Dior lip gloss routine is small. Serum at night, Lip Maximizer in the morning, and a balm in the bag for whenever your lips feel dry. Add another brand's gloss only when you want a different finish.

 

Meyer and Palmer wanted to understand a fluid in an eye. Start with the serum and the Lip Maximizer, live with them for a couple of weeks, and only then decide whether your bag needs a second gloss. Most of us get by on two tubes and a balm. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Buxom Lip Plumper and the Plumping Glosses That Actually Tingle and Dior Addict Lip Tint and the Tints That Look Like Nothing.

If you are drawn to tinted balms more than glosses, I sorted the Dior lip balm shades and the other tinted balms by color.

To choose a color before you buy, I laid out the Dior lip maximizer shades from Pink and Opal through Coral and Berry.