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?

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In addition to my freelance work, I'm in the very beginning stages of possibly starting a side business. Last summer, I started to learn how to hand letter-- that is, basically, that I learned to write pretty. I started posting some of my practice doodles on Instagram and got a pretty good response, including a few people wanting me to address envelopes and create art for certain occasions. And then boom! It hit me. I really enjoy this. It serves a need. Why not do it professionally? But I'm taking baby steps, as it is an awfully big adventure for me and I'm not usually a big risk-taker.

So for the past few weeks, I've kind of been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I've been sleeping maybe five hours a night, working into the wee hours of the morning, and only taking breaks to watch my favorite shows-- Pretty Little Liars and iZombie. I woke up with a killer headache this morning-- almost migraine status, but not quite-- which has given me the excuse to just sit down and have this little chat with you all.

I do have blog posts planned for later this month that I'm excited about. More product reviews, for one, which I really enjoy doing. And I might even do a post on hand lettering, because it is a fun hobby that anyone can take up. I'll also be making a run to Ulta this weekend to pick up some new products I'm interested in, so expect even more hauls and reviews in the coming weeks.

Thank you all so much for sticking with me. And I hope you enjoy the little gift I created for you. It was my first attempt at digital hand lettering. Practice will hopefully make perfect and I'll be sharing more freebies like this in the future because I really, really love you guys.

I know what you’re thinking: that title is a bit of a downer, isn’t it? The truth of the matter is I’m constantly seeing posts that tell others how to grow their blogs or how to make their blogs a success. I mean, that’s the end goal here, isn’t it? For me, not so much. Would I love to make a livable income from this wonderful and fun hobby? Of course. But there are some definite perks that come from being a relatively unknown— or unsuccessful— blogger.

In last month's Target Beauty Box I received a sample of Laneige's BB Cushion Foundation. While cushion foundations have been a big hit overseas for quite some time, they have only recently started to hit the shelves here in America-- especially in the drugstores. Laneige was among the first to bring the trend to the drugstore (though the prices are anything but) and I was pretty excited to give this one a try.


The samples were small but provided enough product for one good application-- in fact, there may have been enough product for multiple applications, but the packaging of the samples only allowed for one as there was no way to close it up and prevent the cushion from drying out. There are four shades: light, medium, medium dark and dark, but only the first three were provided in the sample. I tried out the lightest shade because I'm hella pale and white enough that I use words like hella unironically. A mini version of their antimicrobial puff was also provided:


But, seriously, it was just a little bigger than a quarter. A perfect fit for the samples, but not such a great fit for an entire face. I did try using it but it made applying very difficult so I switched to my Beauty Blender real fast. The regular size of this puff would work well enough, I suppose, but it wouldn't be my preferred method of application.

And here is my before, during and after:


As you can see from the before picture, not only do I have rosacea to contend with, but I've also been dealing with some massive breakouts. Yeah, for nearly the first time in my life, at 26. Fun.

One layer did do a surprisingly good job of evening out my skin tone and reducing the redness of my blemishes. I would say it falls between a light and a medium coverage, but it didn't build very well. I tried a second layer and it looked exactly the same as before. Also, the foundation has a very strong scent. It isn't a bad scent but it aggravated my rosacea-- definitely not the calming effect the foundation claims to have on skin. So it made my skin even more red, which also made it harder to cover. The final photo is my full face of makeup-- finished off with some Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer ad the Kat Von D Shade & Light palette.

I would give this foundation an average C. If you don't have sensitive skin or blemishes, this will do a great job of evening out your skin tone. But if you do suffer from redness or acne, this will not cover it. And if you are not a fan of scented foundation, you will probably want to skip this one. At a $34 price point, it's certainly not cheap, so keep that in mind as well.

Have you tried this foundation? What are your thoughts? Do you like the cushion foundation trend?