How are Love Island lips surviving all that kissing? We found the answer

The subject on everyone’s lips right now? Love Island. And while we’ve been obsessing over the drama, we’ve also noticed that the girls’ makeup is consistently, effortlessly on point. This season we’re zooming in on the lip routine: the lip oils, lip combos and hydrating lipsticks giving them that glossy, moisturised finish. Here’s your edit. 

Let’s be honest. You’re not just watching Love Island for the drama (okay, maybe mostly for the drama). But somewhere between the recouplings and the heart-rate challenges, you’ve clocked something: everyone in that villa is kissing constantly — and somehow their lips still look moisturised.

Not a chapped, faded, or flaky lip in sight.

Meanwhile, you’re sitting on your couch in the middle of a South African winter, peeling your lip balm off with your teeth, wondering just how much gloss is in that villa glam room.

We’ve been watching closely. Here’s what’s keeping their lips that good — and the locally-available products that get you there too.

First, let’s talk about what hydrated lips actually need 

Before we get into the products, the formula is simple: hydration + moisture + colour. That’s it. Three layers, and your lips go from winter-wrecked to villa-ready.

• Hydration pulls water into the lip tissue (think hyaluronic acid, aloe, Vitamin C)
• Moisture seals it in and protects the skin barrier (think oils, butters, squalane)
• Colour gives you that glossy, tinted, effortlessly done look that photographs beautifully and survives sipping on warm beverages.

The best lip products right now do all three at once. Which is exactly why the lip oil, lip combo, and hydrating lipstick era is having its moment.

Shop lip balms + moisturisers:

Vaseline Lip Therapy, R34.99 at Clicks

Blistex Daily Conditioning Treatment Lip Protectant + Sunscreen, R147 at Clicks

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Nourishing Lip Balm SPF20, R390 at Clicks

SKOON Soentjies FullPout Hydrating Balm with Jojoba + Chili Extract, R 289.95 at Woolworths

The lip oil: Your new non-negotiable

If the Love Island girls have one secret weapon, it’s a lip oil. It’s the product responsible for that lit-from-within shine that doesn’t look like you’re wearing anything, but clearly you are.

Lip oils sit right at the intersection of skincare and makeup, which is exactly where beauty is living right now. They treat while they tint, they hydrate while they glow and go the distance throughout the day.

ALSO READ: The CHANEL Sublimage facial is the winter skin reset I didn’t know I needed

Why it works: Our winters are dry and the wind is brutal — Joburg and Cape Town peeps, you know. Lip oils form a protective seal over the lip surface while pumping in nourishment, making them ideal for the kind of cold that turns lips into sandpaper overnight.

What to look for: Plant-based squalane (locks in moisture without heaviness), castor oil (adds that juicy plump), and a non-sticky formula — because nobody wants gloss that catches their hair in the wind.

The finish? Sheer tint, mega shine, looks expensive, takes two seconds to apply.

Shop lip oils: 

Essence Hydra Kiss Lip Oil, R75 on Takealot.com

Maybelline Lifter Glaze Lip Oil Balm with Hyaluronic Acid, R96 on Takealot.com

Clarins Lip Comfort Oil, R450 on Bash.com

The lip combo: The move that’s all over the internet

You’ve seen this on TikTok. A lip liner, a gloss, sometimes a stain underneath — layered in a specific way to create a look that’s fuller and longer-lasting than any single product could achieve alone.

The Love Island cast (most notably Season 7’s Olandria Carthen) essentially made the lip combo mainstream again.

Contestants have been spotted using lip stains as a base, layering a creamy tinted liner on top, then finishing with a gloss for that plump, glossy-but-defined look that stays through everything.

The reason this works is simple: you’re building in layers. The stain gives you lasting pigment. The liner gives you shape and colour depth. The gloss gives you the shine and the hydration hit. Together, they create lips that look done — not overdone.

Get the look:

Essence line n’ Stain! Tattoo Lip Liner, R67 on Takealot.com

Stain’d Trio Lip Set Berry, R129 at The FIX

Maybelline Superstay Teddy Lip Tint, R231.95 on Bash.com

MAC Lipglass Air Non-Sticky Gloss, R400 on Takealot.com

The hydrating lipstick: Because colour shouldn’t cost you comfort

Here’s the thing dry-lip winter does to your relationship with bold lipstick: it ruins it. You swipe on a beautiful red or a rich berry, and within an hour it’s sitting in the lines of your lips, fading unevenly, and making your lips feel like they’ve been through a blizzard.

The hydrating lipstick — a formula built around moisture-binding ingredients rather than just pigment and wax — changes that entirely. You get full colour, but the formula moves with your lips rather than against them. No settling. No cracking. No “that was a mistake” feeling at 3pm.

And visually? It’s the difference between lips that look painted and lips that look alive.

What to look for in a hydrating lipstick: Hyaluronic acid, shea butter, vitamin E, and formulas described as “comfort wear” or “cushion” — these are the ones that deliver colour and care. Bonus if it has a slight sheen rather than a full matte finish, which tends to emphasise dryness.

Shop lipsticks:

Essence 8H Matte Liquid Lipstick, R79.95 at Clicks

Stila Stay All Day® Liquid Lipstick, R520 at Woolworths

Clarins Joli Rouge Velvet, R560 on Takealot.com 

Estee Lauder Pure Color Hi-Lustre Lipstick, R645 at Woolworths

Powermatte High Intensity Lip Pencil, R710 at NARS

This article was not sponsored but contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, ALL THAT will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions expressed are those of the editorial team.