Sheer lipsticks are the latest '90s trend making a comeback

For years, swiping on lipstick felt like a commitment. Overlined edges, high colour payoff, and formulas so matte they barely moved. But as beauty continues to move away from anything that feels overly engineered, a softer alternative has quietly taken centre stage. Sheer lipsticks, those translucent, balm-like formulas that deposit just enough colour to make you look more polished, but never overdone, are having a major resurgence. If 2025 was the year of the glossy lip oil and peptide treatment, 2026 belongs to the sheer lipstick. 

The appeal lies in its subtlety. A sheer lipstick doesn’t announce itself in the way a classic red or deep nude does. Instead, it works with your natural lip tone, enhancing rather than masking. The result is that elusive your-lips-but-better effect: slightly bitten, softly blurred, and infinitely wearable. In many ways, the trend feels like a return to the understated glamour of the 1990s. This was the era of pared-back beauty, when Jennifer Aniston made taupe lipstick and beige-toned makeup part of every woman’s mood board, and Paris Hilton perfected that glossy, barely-there pout that defined the early 2000s. Lips were polished, but never overly “done.” The finish was effortless, as though the colour had faded beautifully over the course of the day

Few products capture that spirit better than Clinique Almost Lipstick. Originally launched in 1989, the formula occupies a category of its own– somewhere between lipstick and balm. Its cult shade Black Honey has endured for decades because it adapts to the wearer, delivering a wash of berry that feels personal rather than prescriptive. But it’s not just nostalgia. Their return is deeply connected to the broader evolution of beauty.

After years of full-coverage foundations, sculpted contours, and heavily lined lips, the pendulum has swung towards makeup that feels lighter and more intuitive. The focus is no longer on transformation, but enhancement. This is the philosophy underpinning the less-is-more aesthetic championed by Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner. Their approach goes beyond the now-familiar “clean girl” look. Rather than appearing meticulously polished, the goal is to look naturally refined– as if glowing skin, brushed brows, and softly tinted lips are simply part of your everyday baseline.

The sheer lipstick provides just enough colour to bring life to the face, but remains breathable and low-maintenance. There are no sharp lines to perfect, no need for a mirror, and no fear of obvious fading. The lipstick wears away gracefully, leaving behind a stain-like trace that only adds to its charm. The modern formulas are also far more sophisticated than their predecessors. Today’s sheer lipsticks are informed by the skinification of makeup, blending colour with treatment-level ingredients like hyaluronic acid, peptides, and nourishing botanical butters. Chanel’s Rouge Coco Baume Satin delivers a whisper of colour with the comfort of a lip mask. Westman Atelier’s HydroBalm Tinted Lipstick offers a translucent finish with a skincare-first sensibility. Lancôme, Glossier, and Violette_FR have all embraced the same easy, lived-in approach.

Perhaps the strongest indication that sheer lipstick has moved beyond nostalgia is the way artists like Nina Park have reinforced the idea that makeup should look effortless rather than obvious. Her soft-focus aesthetic mirrors a larger cultural shift towards products that fit seamlessly into real life: formulas that can be swiped on in the back of a cab, reapplied without a mirror, and worn from morning coffee to late-night dinner. That is precisely what makes sheer lipstick so compelling. It offers all the emotional satisfaction of lipstick—the ritual, the polish, the confidence—without any of the pressure. In a beauty landscape that increasingly values authenticity over artifice, sheer lipstick feels like the perfect product for the moment. Nostalgic yet modern, polished yet forgiving, it captures the kind of effortless beauty that never really goes out of style.

Below are some of our favourites. 

Lancome Lip Idole, ₹3,500

Chanel Rouge Coco Flash, ₹4,750

Clinique Almost Lipstick In Pink, ₹2,400

YSL Loveshine, ₹4,000

MAC Lustreglass Sheer Shine Lipstick, ₹2,800

Givenchy Le Rouge Sheer Velvet, ₹4,700

Gurlain Kiss Kiss Bee Glow, ₹4,200

Lead image: Getty

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