I’ve heard so many good things about Clarins’ Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector and Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil that when I spotted them in a mini lip kit set last Christmas, I just knew I had to pick them up to finally test them out for myself.
I feel like Anna from The Anna Edit was a big contributor to the Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector hype, we’re talking 7-8 years ago (not kidding! Here are some of her posts dating from 2011, 2013 and 2016); it has to be good, right?!
Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil - 02 Raspberry
Now that it’s summer and I’m looking for a glossy finish on my lips (as opposed to the mattes I wear the rest of the year), these are perfect!
Starting with the Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil in 02 Raspberry, this range is completely colourless (despite what the colourful bottles may make you believe), so it just comes down to flavour. Although raspberry is delicious (we all tend to eat our lipglosses, don’t deny it!), if I were to pick one out for myself it would have to be the 04 Candy.
Anna also had a post about these Comfort Oils. This raspberry one is super glossy, delicious and although leaves your lips nice and hydrated after it’s worn off (lasting power 1-2 hours), it’s sticky! Now it’s not by far the stickiest lipgloss I’ve ever worn (mostly during my teenage years), but I did have multiple hair-stick-to-lips situations with this one, so be warned.
Yap it’s official, I understand the hype!
Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector - 01 Rose Shimmer
Just as Anna said, this Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 01 Rose Shimmer really feels like a balm consistency on the lips. And although it has a slight tackiness to it in order to stay on the lips, it’s nowhere near the hair-in-gloss kind of sticky (no said incident and lasted 2 hours on the lips). As a side note; the only glossy lip products that I ever found with zero stickiness to them were the KIKO Shine Lust Lip Tints, which sadly were discontinued. Seriously why do the Makeup Gods do this to us?!
This lip perfector gives a sheer wash of baby pink colour and contrary to what the “shimmer” in the name might suggest, there are no glitter particles.
Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector - 06 Rosewood Shimmer
Again, this Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 06 Rosewood Shimmer has the exact same balm-like formula as the one above, but with a sheer wash of brown. I thought these lip perfectors would be a bit more pigmented honestly but they’re really not, meaning that if you own one in a particular tone, I feel like you own them all.
Clarins’ Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector VS Revlon’s Kiss Plumping Lip Crème
Because the packaging looked so similar I thought the Revlon’s Kiss Plumping Lip Crème in 540 Velvet Mink would be a dupe for the Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors…lol. Just goes to show how misleading packaging can be.
The plumping lip crème in no way feels like a rich balm, but it does have a glossy finish that I would say is a tad less sticky than the Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors (yes, it’s possible!).
More pigmented than the latter, the plumping lip crème does apply a bit patchy though (easily remedied by spreading the colour with your finger or by rubbing your lips together).
They’re not kidding about the plumping property either; it has the horrible burning/tingly sensation which is common with these plumping types of products. Personally, I don’t notice a difference in the size of my lips, just the discomfort of wearing the product (the sensation does wear off after 30 minutes though). Would not recommend, unless you don’t mind that burning/tingly sensation.
Clarins Joli Rouge Velvet - 742 Joli Rouge
While all the other products in the lip kit were in generous quantities despite being minis (that comfort oil is going to last ages), the lipstick was a bit of a let-down. Literally the amount you see in the photos is it, the bullet doesn’t twist up any more than that! I feel that once you’ve applied this lipstick of couple of time and the pointed end has worn down, it’s going to be a difficult lipstick to apply straight from the bullet. I see a lip brush being needed in its future.
Despite this, Joli Rouge Velvet in 742 Joli Rouge (the namesake), is a really gorgeous red. It’s not quite as matte as I would expect a velvet finish to be, it transfers quite a lot though. So I would personally stick to my favourite transfer proof red lipstick the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in 01 Always Red or the slightly more pink toned 03 Strawberry Kissed (swatches in my Sephora Cream Lip Stain post).
There you have it, my thoughts on the Clarins Instant Light Comfort Oil and Natural Lip Perfectors. Never too late to jump on the bandwagon, right?!
Have you tried either of these super-hyped products? What are your thoughts?
Do you have a tried and tested drugstore dupe for the Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors?
Have you ever found a zero-stick gloss? Drop the names please! I have to find a replacement for those KIKO Shine Lust Lip Tints. ;)
What’s your go-to red lipstick?
xxxemma