They say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but there’s no harm in making something good, even better. That’s how Peter Philips thinks. The creative and image director of Christian Dior makeup was in Paris for the big reveal of his latest innovation, giving the cult Dior Addict Lip Glow, (the OG lip balm), a 2025 glow-up.

First launched in 2009, as a pioneering hybrid of skincare and make-up, Lip Glow quickly found a permanent home in make-up bags the world over. If you wanted a moisturising, lightweight, dewy lip, with intense colour and a magnetic sheen, Lip Glow delivered with every swipe. And although it came in many shades, the high-tech formula reacted to the individual pH balance of each wearer, creating a final colour unique to them. Brilliant!

The innovative product went viral before viral was even a thing, its popularity propelled by word of mouth, but Dior wasn’t done. Its labs continued to work on the formula. Now, 16 years after it was first launched, and 11 years after Philips joined the house, he is finally ready to unveil the results.  

Lip Glow’s original formula would always produce a cold, pinky undertone, explains Philips, to the handful of beauty insiders who have gathered in a 17th Arrondissement Paris art gallery for the big reveal in. “For many years, we’ve been trying to get a warm undertone because not everyone wants to have a cold undertone.” Beaming in front of a display of the new, expanded and upgraded Lip Glow range, including a curious pastel yellow and pastel blue stick, he says, “We finally cracked the formula for the pH reaction.” If you want it warm, Dior has now got you covered.

For the most natural look, the warm balm comes in a yellow stick, which enhances the natural colour of your lips and changes colour according to your individual skin pH. The corresponding blue stick does the same but gives the original colder undertone. And if you want more of a colour boost there are several new shades to choose from, in either warm or cool iterations but all with the custom sheen. The original 001 Pink is joined by juicy pinks, fruity and coral reds, intense wild berry and sweet candy shades, alongside, ice cool pastels and natural, rich nudes.

“It’s a yummy product that’s appealing, that feels nice, that’s caring, and gives a boost of colour,” he says. “It’s not like lipstick; it adds a veil of intensity.”

Explaining how he’s integrated it into his own practice Philips says, “I like to use when I do a shoot or I make somebody up who doesn’t have makeup changes, because once it’s there, it kind of stays, because it gets into your skin”. The first time he used the product was for a Raf Simons Dior show and he, didn’t quite appreciate its staying power or the way it boosts the colour of any product put on top. His team applied Lip Glow to a few models to hydrate their lips, then applied the show lipstick on top. “There were three or four girls with really bright pink lips, and then we couldn’t get it off! That’s when I really discovered how powerful it is.”

Philips advises using it on its own for a natural look or treating it as a colour boosting primer and layering it under or even over lipstick depending on the desired effect. “I like to use first the lip scrub to remove all the dead skin and then add a bit of a Lip Glow. If I have to do a red lip, I don’t mind using a coral or red one,” he says. The effect is intense. “The colour boosts naturally again, and it hydrates your lips, and it will just enhance the colour on top of it,” he explains.  It can also be layered over matt lipsticks to give a dewy, but not tacky, texture.

The high-tech stick comes in subtly redesigned packaging, featuring Dior’s signature oblique logo, and is composed of a 97 per cent lip care base, which gives 48 hours of moisturisation and eight hours of smoothing. Cherry oil contributes to the moisture lock-technology and the properties of shea butter and sunflower all help lock moisture in the lips. The playful nature of the product is reflected in the colourful new campaign, starring Dior ambassadors Jisoo, Anya Taylor-Joy and, for the first time Willow Smith.

“I love the texture of the formula. It’s almost like a candy, you know, it’s not matte, it’s not shiny. It’s got this gummy texture. I think it’s visually a very appealing,” says Philips of the finished effect. Go with the glow.

dior.com