Review: Josie Maran's Argan Luscious Lips

$16, Sephora

I first got into argan oil when a hair stylist in Chicago used Moroccan Oil on my hair. I loved how it smelled and how it seemed to slow the inevitable onset of split ends. Josie Maran is famed for introducing argan oil to all other aspects, especially the face. While I have yet to try putting argan oil on my face (I have a trial-size bottle waiting in the medicine cabinet), I did try this argan lip oil. It came in an adorable set that is unfortunately no longer available.  I have to say, that I am not impressed.

I am a huge lip product junkie and have used a lot of lip butters, lip glosses, lip balms, etc. This one is not the worst, but it most certainly is not the best. It has a weird smell, which I can't really describe, except that it has the whiff of cooking oil. (Which is not that surprising, since argan oil is used for cooking in some countries.) Anyway, it doesn't have that wonderful scent of Moroccan Oil. The texture depends on the temperature, but usually it is thick and viscous. It does go on smoothly, but it doesn't seem to absorb very well. In fact, sometimes it feels a bit gritty and grainy on my lips.

The delivery system is not bad. You can get exactly as much as you want and it glides easily. The tube is not very cute, but it's not ugly. The oil also seems to last a while; I've used it a lot this month and I still have more than 3/4 of a tube left. As a side note, I had a cold this week and all the coughing, and nose-blowing, and mouth breathing (because of congestion) has led to really gross, rough, chapped, icky, red lips. This oil did very little to heal my lips, but I do believe that it prevented my lips from getting much worse.

I have seen no marked improvement in my lips since using this regularly at night. When I wake up in the mornings, my lips are usually a little dry. I've used it both before and after exfoliating with my fresh sugar lip polish, and exfoliating does not make it absorb more easily. I've been using it for the past month and I am definitely going to try something else.

tl;dr: Not the best, not the worst. Spend the money elsewhere unless you have a hoarding problem.