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Here is the short version: the peptide doing the work in the $20 Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment is Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 — and it is also in the $4.97 Essence version and the $8.99 MCoBeauty version. Identical ingredient, three very different prices.
That does not make the cheaper two identical products. It does mean that if you are buying Rhode for the peptide, you are paying about four times over. What the extra money actually buys is a different, more interesting supporting cast. Whether that is worth it depends on what you want the product to do.
Here is what is in each one.
What the Three Actually Cost
| Price | Size | Ingredients | Peptides | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment | $20.00 | 10ml | 27 | Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 |
| MCoBeauty Peptide Lip Treatment | $8.99 | — | 32 | Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 |
| Essence The Super Peptide Glossy Lip Treatment | $4.97 | — | 20 | Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 |
Note the last column before you read on. MCoBeauty contains more peptides than Rhode does, not fewer.
The Peptide Is the Same in All Three
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 is not an obscure ingredient. It is one of the two peptides that make up Matrixyl 3000, the most-studied peptide blend in cosmetic skincare. It is a signal peptide: it tells fibroblasts to produce more collagen and extracellular matrix, rather than relaxing muscle or hydrating the surface.
If you want the full picture on how that class of peptide works — and how it differs from the “Botox in a bottle” peptides — we covered it in Matrixyl 3000 + Argireline: can you layer them, and should you?
Two things follow from this.
First, no brand has a proprietary claim on the peptide. Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 is a commodity raw material available to any formulator.
Second — and this is the part nobody selling you a dupe will mention — none of these products disclose how much of it they contain. Peptide percentage is not on any of the three labels. A product can list Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 and contain a meaningful amount, or contain barely any. On all three, it sits near the end of the ingredient list, which tells you it is present at low concentration in every case. That is normal for lip products, and it is a reason to buy these for how they feel rather than for collagen results.
Where Rhode Is Genuinely Different
Rhode has four ingredients the others do not, and two of them are real actives rather than texture:
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate — a stable, oil-soluble vitamin C derivative. Unlike L-ascorbic acid it does not need a low pH to stay stable, which is why it can live in an anhydrous balm at all. It is an antioxidant with brightening potential.
Lactic Acid — a gentle AHA. In a lip product, at the level used here, this is about smoothing flaky texture rather than exfoliating in any aggressive sense.
Cupuaçu seed butter (Theobroma Grandiflorum) and babassu oil (Orbignya Oleifera) — both are rich, high-slip emollients. Cupuaçu in particular holds a lot of water for a butter, which is where the “cushiony” texture people describe comes from.
That combination — antioxidant plus mild acid plus two unusual butters — is a genuinely more sophisticated formula. Whether your lips can tell is a separate question.
Where the Cheaper Two Differ From Each Other
Essence is the simplest of the three at 20 ingredients. It adds bisabolol, the soothing component of chamomile, and sunflower seed oil. It contains no fragrance and no colourant. If your lips get irritated easily, this is arguably the better formula of the three, not just the cheaper one.
MCoBeauty goes the other way. It is the most complex at 32 ingredients, adds a second peptide (Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, another collagen-signalling peptide) and castor seed oil, and it is a tinted product — it contains Parfum and the colourants CI 15850 and CI 19140. It shares 13 ingredients with Rhode outright.
So the fragrance question separates them cleanly: Essence and Rhode are unfragranced; MCoBeauty is scented and tinted. If you have reactive lips, that is the single most useful line in this post.
Which One to Buy
Buy Essence if you want the peptide and the shea butter with nothing else going on. It is the cleanest formula here and it is under five dollars. For most people asking “is there a Rhode dupe,” this is the honest answer.
Buy MCoBeauty if you want colour. It is a tinted gloss with two peptides for nine dollars, and it is the closest in feel to Rhode of the three. The trade-off is fragrance.
Buy Rhode if you want the vitamin C derivative and the lactic acid, or if you have tried it and specifically like the texture. The cupuaçu-and-babassu base is not something the other two replicate, and texture preference is legitimate — it is just not a peptide argument.
At $20 for 10ml, Rhode works out to $2 per millilitre. That is the number to sit with.
What None of Them Will Do
A lip product is on your skin for a couple of hours before you eat, drink or lick it off. Peptide research showing collagen effects uses leave-on products at measured concentrations over 8 to 12 weeks.
Expect all three of these to hydrate, smooth and add shine. Expect none of them to change the structure of your lip over time. Anyone promising otherwise is selling you something.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Essence one a real dupe or just similar?
It contains the same peptide and the same primary butter as Rhode. It does not contain Rhode’s vitamin C derivative, lactic acid, or the two speciality butters. “Same active, simpler formula” is accurate. “Identical” is not.
Why does MCoBeauty have more peptides but cost less?
Because peptides at the concentrations used in lip products are not what drives the cost of a lip product. Packaging, brand, margin and the speciality butters do.
Can I use these with a peptide serum?
Yes. Signal peptides like these do not conflict with one another. The pairing that does need care is copper peptides with vitamin C — we covered the timing in Can you use copper peptides and vitamin C together?
Does the vitamin C in Rhode do anything at that level?
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate is a legitimate antioxidant and it is stable in an oil base, which is more than can be said for most vitamin C in balms. At its position in the ingredient list, treat it as a nice-to-have rather than a reason to buy.
Prices checked September 2026 and will change.
