Pucker up: Lip balms for every moment

Artisanal or oozing with luxury, lip balms are having a moment.

Joining cutesy offerings intended for children and go-to standards around for years are newer lip scrubs, colour tints and balms that ask buyers to put their money where their mouths are for good causes.

The world market for lip care products is projected to reach US$1.7 billion (S$2.16 billion) by next year. In the United States alone, lip treatments were valued at US$534 million in sales last year.

“There’s definitely an explosion in popularity. It’s sort of the Angelina effect,” said Erin Flaherty, beauty and health director for Marie Claire magazine, referring to the lip-endowed Angelina Jolie. “Moisturised lips look plumper, so it’s a cheap and easy way to make your lips look bigger and sexier.”

Balms and other treatments come in a range of price points, from S$2 items you can find at Daiso in Singapore to the fancy Creme de la Mer’s The Lip Balm at S$82. High end or economical, consumers are interested year-round.

Flaherty said that when Marie Claire recently asked around 20,000 readers about lip balm and other beauty tips, 48 per cent cited lip balm as their must-have beauty solution at the office. When asked for the one beauty product they’d want on a desert island, other than sunscreen, 36 per cent said lip balm.

“Women wear a little bit less makeup now than they used to,” Flaherty said. “There’s more of an emphasis on great skin and looking effortless. And a lot of women are intimidated by lipstick.”

Treating lips with some bonus colour is definitely happening, Flaherty added. But she finds it telling that 35 per cent of respondents in Marie Claire’s “most wanted” survey picked the clear, medicated Maybelline New York’s Baby Lips Dr. Rescue, launched last year, as their favourite product. Flaherty herself likes the Sugar balms from Fresh for sunscreen and tint. She’s also a fan of Dior’s Addict Lip Glow Sheer, which reacts to the wearer’s pH balance for a customised, long-lasting flush.

Interestingly, fashion designers are fond of lip balm collaborations, such as Rachel Roy’s limited-edition set for eos, which aims to evoke a sense of travel with flavours called Aloha Hawaii Strawberry Kiwi and St. Barth’s Sunrise Pink Grapefruit. Some designers have struck out on their own with branded balms, including Anna Sui, whose balms come in a distinctive rose-motif tin.

“The fact that you’re seeing designer collaborations in lip balms proves just how much of a moment lip balms are having,” Flaherty said.

Luxury treatments have also reached the lips. The geisha-inspired company Tatcha offers a touch of gold with its Camellia Nourishing Lip Balm — actual gold. There’s a hand-laid, 24-karat gold leaf that sits across each jar. The idea is to drag a finger across the balm and the leaf, which crushes on contact and offers an added shimmer. “It’s sort of a bridge between skincare and cosmetics,” Flaherty said.

But it’s not only the women who are getting it. Stewart & Claire, a Brooklyn-based outfit founded by Kristin Donnelly, sees hope in guys and balms. About 30 per cent of her customers are men and one of their favourites is a floral called La Nuit, with jasmine.

“In the way that coffee has gone very speciality and ice cream has gone very speciality, more micro lip balms are following suit,” Donnelly said.

She blends natural ingredients into her Mint Julep and Old Fashioned flavours; and her Autumn balm was inspired by Indian Chai and includes ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and black pepper.

“I tried to think about it like a perfumer where you have top, middle and base notes,” she said. “I wanted to do something more grown-up.”

It seems like when it comes to the business of lip balm, there’s definitely more to it than lip-smacking looks. AP