Burt's Bees

Burt's Bees began in the mid-1980s in rural Maine, where beekeeper Burt Shavitz and Roxanne Quimby turned surplus beeswax into candles before launching the lip balm that would define the brand in 1991. That beeswax lip balm in the iconic yellow tube became one of the best-selling lip products in America and the foundation of a natural personal-care empire that Clorox acquired for roughly $970 million in 2007.

While best known for lip care, Burt's Bees built out a genuine color cosmetics range — tinted lip balms, lipsticks, lip crayons, lip oils, and tinted lip shimmers — all formulated with high percentages of natural ingredients and no parabens, phthalates, or synthetic fragrances. Its sheer, hydrating tinted balms are perennial drugstore favorites and frequent stand-ins for pricier 'lip tint' and 'lip glow' products, making it a go-to budget option in dupe conversations.