Happy #FrenchFriday guys! I know it's still spring, but I'm sick and tired of the gloomy May Gray we're having here in San Diego, so I decided to feature a summer lippie today in the hope it will bring the sun back out! May Gray is this infamous time of year in Southern California when we get low clouds every single day for weeks on end... Sometimes the clouds break in the afternoon and we get a bit of sun, but it's been particularly bad this year. I'm hoping May Gray won't be followed by its evil twin June Gloom, cause I'm done with the depressing gray skies!

Anyways, the star of the show today won't be a cumulonimbus, but the Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil by Clarins. The brand first launched this lip oil in the end of 2014 I believe, then due to popular demand brought it back in 2015 with two colors, Honey (01) and Raspberry (02). This year for summer they have launched a new shade, Red Berry (03), that I grabbed a couple weeks ago.

Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil: 02 Raspberry, 01 Honey and 03 Red Berry

In the Clarins Instant Light family, the Lip Comfort Oil is the Natural Lip Perfector's younger sister: sheerer, glossier, juicier, with a fruity scent and flavor, but also more nourishing. If you're not sure what the Lip Perfectors are, take a look at the review I did last year. The Lip Comfort Oil also fits nicely into the current lip oil trend that has been growing slowly, especially among French beauty brands. If you like sheer, moisturizing lip colors, you can now choose between this one, the YSL Tint-in-Oil and the most recent Lancôme Juicy Shaker.

Here's what Clarins has to say about the Lip Comfort Oil: "transforms lips from dry and damaged to plump and luscious while adding just a hint of color. The formula nourishes, soothes and enhances the natural way, with oils of mirabelle plum, jojoba and hazelnut for lips that look comfortable and appear fuller. Its innovative gel-like, non-sticky texture hugs your pout in gorgeous color."





Let's see what I like and don't like so much about this Red Berry baby!


- The pretty packaging. It's a transparent rectangular tube with a square base and a pale gold cap. It's not as long as your classic gloss tube, but chubbier. It think it looks cute, and it's perfect to throw into your purse for use throughout the day.



- The unique applicator. The best way I can describe it is that it's shaped like a thumb. It's much wider than your classic doe-foot applicator, so you can apply more product at once, but the rounded tip makes it easy to control. It wouldn't work with a highly pigmented product because it wouldn't be precise enough, but it works very well with this formula. It's also very soft and flexible on the lips, which makes it feel really luxurious.



- The texture. Don't be scared off by the "oil" in the name, it's not a greasy mess at all! In fact it feels more like a thick gel. It's neither too slippery nor sticky at all, and it feels very cushy on the lips. This is one of the most comfortable lip products I own. Maybe THE most? I'd have to re-test all the lippies in my drawer to confirm and that would take me a year or two... So let's say one of the comfiest.

- The finish. This is a high-shine, super glossy lip oil with a wet effect, but no shimmer. It's actually very flattering, making my lips look juicy and sexy, with just a hint of color. You can also use it on top of lipstick to add shine and comfort.

- The color. It's super sheer, but Red Berry does give my lips a subtle red tint. Paired with the shiny finish, this is a perfect everyday moisturizing treatment that makes the lips look naturally pretty. Just as Clarins claims, it enhances the lips and makes them look radiant. Just a heads up: Nordstrom has the wrong name for this shade, but they sent me the correct product when I ordered it online. At the time I placed my order, they had it called "Cherry", and now they've changed it to "Red Cherry". One more try Nordie and you may end up getting it right!




- The scent and flavor. Red Berry smells and tastes exactly like I expected after seeing it in the tube: grenadine syrup. Grenadine is a French classic, a sweet and tangy syrup made with red berries and other fruits. Next time you visit France, sit at an outdoor table of a neighborhood café and order a diabolo grenadine (grenadine syrup + limonade, which is not the American lemonade but a soft soda similar to 7up), or, if you are of age a Monaco (blond draught beer + limonade + grenadine, a favorite of mine) or a tomate (pastis, an anise liquor mixed with water + grenadine). The slight tartness of the fruits saves the scent and taste from total sweetness overload!

- The hydration. The Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil is truly moisturizing, unlike a lot of similar products that make the same promises but barely keep lips from drying out during wear. It feels very nourishing and soothing to my chronically dry lips, and after a day of wear they're very supple and healthy. This is really a lip treatment as much as, or even more than, a makeup product.

- The smoothing effect. Because it's on the ticker side, glossy and so moisturizing, the Lip Comfort Oil makes my lips look a lot smoother, erasing the visible lines. My lips appear plumper and fuller. It's not one of those plumping glosses that contain irritating ingredients like menthol or cinnamon and burn your lips, it just creates the illusion of fuller lips by getting them well moisturized and shiny.

- The ingredients. The Lip Comfort Oil contains a good amount of natural oils extracted from plants: jojoba, hazelnut, sunflower, soy. Clarins mentions mirabelle plum oil but I don't see it in the formula for this particular shade. As far as I can tell it's free of parabens and silicones. Here's the full ingredients list:
Polyglyceryl-2 ISO-Stearate/Dimer Dilinoleate Copolymer - Dilinoleic Acid/Propanediol Copolymer - Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil (Jojoba) - Corylus Avellana Seed Oil (Hazel) - Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil (Sunflower) - Parfum/Fragrance - Vanillin - Tocopheryl Acetate - Ammonium Glycyrrhizate -  Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract (Gromwell) - Glycine Soja Oil (Soybean) - Diisostearyl Malate - CI 42090/Blue 1 Lake - Bixa Orellana Seed Oil (Achiote) - Tocopherol.

Clarins Lip Comfort Oil in Red Berry lip swatch

- The price. $25 for a lip treatment is steep. Really steep. I've traced the Lip Comfort Oil price from back when it was first released in late 2014 - early 2015 and it was $23 then. I didn't know inflation was so high...

- The weight. Like I said this is a thick gel with a cushy feeling. If you prefer weightless lip products that you can forget you're wearing, you're likely to find this lip oil too heavy for you.

- The wear. That shouldn't come as a surprise: considering its texture, the Lip Comfort Oil doesn't last long. The shine and hint of color wear off in a couple of hours, less if you're eating and drinking, so you'll have to re-apply regularly to keep your lips glossy. Not really a problem for me since the scent makes the application a real pleasure!

Wearing Clarins Lip Comfort Oil in Red Berry

As you can probably tell, I really love this Lip Comfort Oil in Red Berry. It has a great fruity scent, a pretty red tint, it feels amazingly comfortable and it looks very flattering. If you have dry lips in need of a serious amount of moisture, or if you prefer subtle lip products that enhance without adding much color, you'll really enjoy this lip oil too - as long as you don't mind forking out $25 for it!




The product featured in this review was purchased by Lulle. I received no compensation to write this post, which only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links.