Clinique’s viral Black Honey lipstick is beloved by beauty fans, but some say they prefer a £4 lip butter
Beauty lovers can’t get enough of Clinique’s viral Black Honey Almost Lipstick, reportedly sold seven times every minute. The £24.50 satin-finish product is beloved by reviewers, who praise the ‘flawless’ and ‘natural’ finish created by the sheer lipstick.
As one impressed customer puts it, “This lipstick that’s not a lipstick is gorgeous. It’s lightweight and so subtle yet enough to make your lips look kissable.” The product description adds: “Black Honey Lipstick by Clinique is famous for its chameleon-like ability to flatter all skin tones yet look different on everyone. Not quite lipstick, not quite gloss—its texture is more like a tinted lip balm you can easily layer. Transparent pigment glides on a sheer, glossy slip of lightweight colour.”
However, a £3.50 17. Tinted Lip Butter Deep Honey might be ‘as good if not better’ if social media is to be believed. Beauty gurus are convinced the lip butter is a brilliant bargain alternative.
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TikTok beauty guru @beautyglowgirl amazed fans after showing off the cheaper lip product in a viral video. “POV you heard there was a product in Boots that worked just like the viral Black Honey Almost Lipstick but it’s £20 cheaper,” she wrote. According to the product description, shoppers can expect a ‘buttery smooth formula enriched with jojoba seed oil for lips that feel soft’.
While the creator didn’t test the lip butter in her TikTok video, lots of commenters said they’d tried and loved the product. One claimed: “I have both, the 17 lip butter is ELITE.” A second suggested: “Love this, it’s just as good if not better that Black Honey.”
A third commented: It’s lighter but it’s the best [alternative] defo repurchasing.” Meanwhile, another added: “For £3.50 this is amazing, I went to buy another but my boots was sold out,” and someone praised: “Love this, it feels lovely on and a great colour.”
A fan revealed: “I have this one and the Clinique and I find this one much less drying than the Clinique one. I prefer the 17 one.” However, someone commented: “I have this and it doesnt have any colour payoff, am I missing something?” A viewer replied: “I find that you have to build and layer but it shows up eventually.”
The lip butter has also received lots of praise on Boots’ website. Someone claimed: “Really love it, almost identical to the Clinique Black Honey Lipstick but much more hydrating.” Another shared: “Got this as my Clinique black honey had run out. I’ll be repurchasing for sure.” However, someone else said: “The formula is very waxy with very little colour which is more of a brown than a cherry. Not for me.”
It’s also worth mentioning lots of Clinique reviewers loved the brand’s offering, calling it ‘super hydrating’ and praising the ‘hydrating all day wear’. But, once more, the shade wasn’t for everyone, with a reviewer writing: “I am quite a fair person with pink lips. But Black Honey made them look brown! Like I had just melted chocolate and smeared it over my lips.”
For those who like similar shades, beauty fans who like Black Honey also recommend Burt’s Bees’ £6.79 Hibiscus Tinted Lip Balm and E.L.F’s £7 Ecstatic Hydrating Core Lip Shine.
