Sometimes drugstores come out with amazing and affordable dupes for pricier high-end products. I've had my eye on the Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil for quite some time, but it's not very easy to get in my area and as a rule I don't buy just one product online-- unless it's at Sephora where I get free two-day shipping as a VIB Rouge member. (Yes, I spent that much money in a year. Judge me all you want.) So you can imagine my excitement when I heard about the new Milani Moisture Lock Lip Treatments, which seemed to be a pretty convincing dupe at first glance.

Besides the packaging differences-- the Clarins tube is square where this one is round-- the most obvious difference between the two products is the selection. Clarins has two options: Honey and Raspberry. Milani has eight different lip oils to choose from, each with a different blend of oils to help treat specific problems.

You can choose from Moisturizing Almond Coco, Healing Lemon Honey, Rejuvenating Peach Mango, Conditioning Grapeseed, Repairing Primrose, Revitalizing Grapefruit, Protecting Pomegranate, and Nourishing Raspberry.

I picked up the lemon honey shade, hoping it would be the closest match to the Clarins product. The first thing I noticed about it was how big the applicator is; it's size definitely diminishes the amount of product that is actually in the tube and, in my opinion, it picks up too much product.


I have seen reviews of other shades-- such as Bailey B.'s YouTube review-- and the consensus seems to be that these lip oils don't really have shades, only different oil combinations. There may be a slight difference in color when applied to the lips, but not enough that you would need to buy multiple shades. Many of the reviews I've seen also say that the different shades also seem to work similarly; again, I don't think you would need to buy multiple shades depending on the state of your lips.

The thing that surprised me about this product was that it didn't really feel like an oil. It had more of a gel-like consistency, a little thick and goopy. And I think that consistency sort of kept it from sinking into my lips. It felt like it just sat on top of my lips. That may be why I felt like it did nothing for my lips-- it basically acted as a gloss for me. But it didn't make my lips worse, either, which I have heard some reviews say.

Overall, it's not a bad buy if you're looking for a gloss that may nourish your lips at the same time. But, because I've heard so many good things about the Clarins lip oil, I don't think this qualifies as a dupe.

Have you tried the Milani Moisture Lock Lip Treatment? What did you think?