If youre anything like we are, you have a dozen different lip balms stashed throughout your house in coat pockets, backpacks, tote bags, and bathroom drawers. There are probably a few in your car, too, melting in cupholders or tucked into the console. Not all these lip products are created equal: some leave a weird white cast, and others taste vile. But one or two rise above the rest—the holy grail products, the balm you reach for above all the others, one that provides your dry, chapped lips with great moisture for a long time, even in cold winter weather.

　　To save you from adding to your collection of just-ok lip balms, we asked the Outside team to share their best recommendations with you. Your lips and significant others will thank you.

　　MUTHA Pucker Lip Butter ($28) I discovered this product about a year ago when I was selected to be a beauty product tester for a wellness brand. Considering the steep price—its $28 pre-tax—I was happy to have received this item for free. However, its worth the daunting price tag because I have never found a lip balm that keeps my lips soft, plumps them, and requires minimal reapplication due to its phenomenal staying power. I put it on at night and wake up with a smooth, supple pout. Thanks to the balms shea butter and seed oil combo, it also prevents my lips from chafing and cracking while out on cold-weather runs. As a bonus, the balm has a distinct, delectable, minty flavor. —Ayana Underwood, senior health editor, Outside 

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　　Lucas Papaw Ointment ($8.30) This multi-purpose papaw- or papaya-based balm is beloved in Australia and has long been my answer to dry lips. I tried this no-frills (and affordable) option on my own dime before beginning my career as a beauty writer and editor—and after years of testing a seemingly endless amount of lip products, this balm remains the best. Its moisturizing in the moment and beyond, conditioning weathered lips and creating a soft, nourished canvas for whatever else you want to paint on. Fun fact: this fan favorite showed up all over Into the Gloss back in the day (2010–2012), ultimately serving as partial inspiration for Glossiers Balm Dotcom. —Calin Van Paris, digital editor, Yoga Journal

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　　Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Swivel Stick ($3.99) I am incredibly picky about lip balm. If someone hands me a stick of Burts Bees, Ill just hand it back. Fancy $15 lip treatments from Whole Foods? Fine. But nothing can touch my long-time favorite: Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Swivel Stick. Its affordable—under $4 a pop—and comes in a giant tube similar to a jumbo glue stick. The balm itself, infused with Vitamin E and cocoa butter, is magic: immediately moisturizing, with great staying power to protect my lips in the long term, whether Im out for a long backcountry ski or spending the afternoon biking through the desert. Its my holy grail lip balm, and thats true for everyone I know who uses this. —Abbie Barronian, senior editor, Outside

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　　Booda Butter Original Lip Balm ($3.95) I didn’t pay any attention to lip balm until I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, a few years ago. Growing up in the balmy Pacific Northwest, I was entirely unequipped to take care of my skin in the high, arid desert, and my lips were a chapped, bleeding mess as soon as winter set in. Everything I tried was flavored (I don’t want to taste my lip balm, just a personal preference) or only offered temporary relief until a new friend from the area let me try their Booda Butter. The flavorless, lightweight mixture of plant-based oils and candelilla wax is comfortable to wear all day and feels like it actually soaks into my skin. My lips made a full recovery after just a couple of days of use, and I bought five or six tubes to scatter around my car, office, and various bags so that I’d never have to go without. —Miyo McGinn, assistant editor, Outside

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　　Burts Bees Cucumber-Mint Lip Balm ($6.89) This balm smells like the French Alps to me. Before I flew off to one of the most memorable hiking trips of my life—ten days in the French Alps from Chamonix to the Mediterranean Sea—I picked up this moisturizing lip balm at the airport, threw it into my daypack without much of a thought, and then used it every day, at elevations above 10,000 feet. Cucumber-mint is a scent that might evoke, say, Morocco for a lot of people. Still, whenever I pop the cap of this particular lip balm, Im immediately taken back to that adventure: seeing Mont Blanc on a bluebird day for the first time, walking narrow footpaths past dairy cows and waterfalls, and sitting on empty slopes watching low clouds slowly wisp over granite peaks. I cant imagine any other lip balm will ever take its place. —Tasha Zemke, managing editor, Outside

　　Buy from Burts Bees

　　DIY Lip Balm Made with Organic White Beeswax (price varies) Last year, for the holidays, I made lip balms to give to my family and friends. I love making my own holiday gifts. It allows me to control the ingredients and avoid petroleum products and unwanted chemicals. I can customize the flavors. It reduces waste because I package them in used-up plastic tubes. Its cheaper than buying new lip balms. And its fun.

　　There are plenty of recipes online, and depending on what you choose to add, the price can vary. I went with equal parts shea butter, coconut oil, beeswax (I use Sky Organics Organic White Beeswax Pellets), and different essential oils. I made a bunch of flavors: peppermint, lavender, grapefruit, clove, nutmeg, and more. All you do is melt the ingredients together on the stove or in the microwave, add the flavoring, and pour it into the tubes to set (a syringe is helpful). Its so easy and satisfying, and lips love these homemade balms. —Kristin Hostetter, head of sustainability and contributing editor, Outside

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　　Supergoop! PLAY Lip Balm SPF 30 ($12, but currently on sale for $9.60) I discovered Supergoop! PLAY Lip Balm on a ski date in Beaver Creek after realizing I’d forgotten my go-to Chapstick. Annoyed at shelling out $12 at the pro shop on the mountain, I wasn’t expecting much. But as it turned out, this balm was worth every penny. Its lightweight, deeply moisturizing formula saved my lips from the dry mountain air, and I didnt need to reapply as much as usual. I used it until I squeezed out the last drop—and I’ve been loyal to it ever since. The SPF 30 protection makes it a must-have for sunny days on the slopes or anywhere outdoors. —Sierra Shafer, editor in chief, SKI

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　　Blistex Medicated Lip Balm ($7.49 for a three-pack) I got so tired of buying and trying out expensive lip balms, masks, and treatments. It felt like they left my lips drier than they were before I put them on. As much as I love a fun, fruity scent, I decided to forgo whats trendy and get a serious, unscented, boring lip balm that actually works. Thats what Blistex Medicated Lip Balm is. It contains three analgesics to relieve pain associated with chapped lips and dimethicone, which is a lip protectant. Its not cute, nor does it taste or smell amazing (although it is clean and slightly minty), but its my go-to before-bed balm that restores my dry lips overnight. The moral of the story? A lip balm doesnt need to be fancy (or expensive) if it works. —Laura Harold, digital editor, Yoga Journal

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