diff --git a/browser/base/content/browser.css b/browser/base/content/browser.css
index c251625b955..f45ef977ff3 100644
--- a/browser/base/content/browser.css
+++ b/browser/base/content/browser.css
@@ -122,7 +122,6 @@ tabbrowser {
   visibility: hidden;
 }
 
-.tab-close-button,
 .tab-background {
   /* Explicitly set the visibility to override the value (collapsed)
    * we inherit from #TabsToolbar[collapsed] upon opening a browser window. */
@@ -131,15 +130,26 @@ tabbrowser {
   transition: visibility 0ms 25ms;
 }
 
-.tab-close-button:not([fadein]):not([pinned]),
 .tab-background:not([fadein]):not([pinned]) {
   visibility: hidden;
   /* Closing tabs are hidden without a delay. */
   transition-delay: 0ms;
 }
 
+.tab-close-button[fadein],
+.tab-label[fadein] {
+  transition: opacity 70ms;
+}
+
+.tab-close-button[fullyopen]:not([fadeinlabel]),
+.tab-label[fullyopen]:not([fadeinlabel]) {
+  visibility: hidden;
+  opacity: .6;
+}
+
 .tab-throbber:not([fadein]):not([pinned]),
-.tab-label:not([fadein]):not([pinned]),
+.tab-label:not([fullyopen]):not([pinned]),
+.tab-close-button:not([fullyopen]):not([pinned]),
 .tab-icon-image:not([fadein]):not([pinned]) {
   display: none;
 }
diff --git a/browser/base/content/tabbrowser.xml b/browser/base/content/tabbrowser.xml
index 7e8d24241b5..2bc3174ec9e 100644
--- a/browser/base/content/tabbrowser.xml
+++ b/browser/base/content/tabbrowser.xml
@@ -1862,6 +1862,7 @@
             this._blurTab(aTab);
             aTab.style.maxWidth = ""; // ensure that fade-out transition happens
             aTab.removeAttribute("fadein");
+            aTab._fullyOpen = false;
 
             if (this.tabs.length - this._removingTabs.length == 1) {
               // The second tab just got closed and we will end up with a single
@@ -3043,6 +3044,7 @@
           this.mCurrentTab.linkedPanel = uniqueId;
           this.mCurrentTab._tPos = 0;
           this.mCurrentTab._fullyOpen = true;
+          this.mCurrentTab.setAttribute("fadeinlabel", "true");
           this.mCurrentTab.linkedBrowser = this.mCurrentBrowser;
 
           // set up the shared autoscroll popup
@@ -4063,6 +4065,8 @@
           if (tab.parentNode != this)
             return;
           tab._fullyOpen = true;
+          tab.scrollTop; // force a layout flush as part of the fadeinlabel transition
+          tab.setAttribute("fadeinlabel", "true");
 
           this.adjustTabstrip();
 
@@ -4702,11 +4706,11 @@
                      role="presentation"/>
           <xul:label flex="1"
                      anonid="tab-label"
-                     xbl:inherits="value=visibleLabel,crop,accesskey,fadein,pinned,selected"
+                     xbl:inherits="value=visibleLabel,crop,accesskey,fadein,fadeinlabel,pinned,selected,fullyopen"
                      class="tab-text tab-label"
                      role="presentation"/>
           <xul:toolbarbutton anonid="close-button"
-                             xbl:inherits="fadein,pinned,selected"
+                             xbl:inherits="fadein,fadeinlabel,pinned,selected,fullyopen"
                              class="tab-close-button close-icon"/>
         </xul:hbox>
       </xul:stack>
@@ -4760,6 +4764,18 @@
       </property>
       <field name="_lastAccessed">0</field>
 
+      <property name="_fullyOpen">
+        <getter>
+          return this.getAttribute("fullyopen") == "true";
+        </getter>
+        <setter>
+          if (val) {
+            this.setAttribute("fullyopen", "true");
+          } else {
+            this.removeAttribute("fullyopen");
+          }
+        </setter>
+      </property>
       <field name="mOverCloseButton">false</field>
       <field name="mCorrespondingMenuitem">null</field>
       <field name="closing">false</field>
diff --git a/browser/base/content/test/general/browser_tabopen_reflows.js b/browser/base/content/test/general/browser_tabopen_reflows.js
index aeaf168019e..2985409b3f6 100644
--- a/browser/base/content/test/general/browser_tabopen_reflows.js
+++ b/browser/base/content/test/general/browser_tabopen_reflows.js
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ XPCOMUtils.defineLazyGetter(this, "docShell", () => {
 });
 
 const EXPECTED_REFLOWS = [
+  // tabbrowser._handleNewTab() flushes layout to start the label+close button fade-in
+  "_handleNewTab@chrome://browser/content/tabbrowser.xml|" +
+    "onxbltransitionend@chrome://browser/content/tabbrowser.xml|",
+
   // tabbrowser.adjustTabstrip() call after tabopen animation has finished
   "adjustTabstrip@chrome://browser/content/tabbrowser.xml|" +
     "_handleNewTab@chrome://browser/content/tabbrowser.xml|" +