HEALTH+BEAUTY
This summer’s musthave? Tinted lip balm
THE HUMBLE LIP balm, a mainstay of coat pockets and handbags everywhere, has long been an everyday essential. Handy, reliable and a little bit boring. Until now.
Space NK has seen searches for ‘lip treatment’ rocket by 283% in the past year, while Sephora reports an uptick of 440% interest in their own-brand lip balm. The basic balm’s meteoric rise up the status ranks is also evident on TikTok – where else ? – where #TintedLipBalms has racked up over 70 million views.
Sure, Chapstick, Vaseline and Carmex are trusty chapped lip companions, but they’re not exactly sexy. The new breed of balm – tinted, stuffed with active skincare ingredients and pretty enough to be papped – are no ordinary ointments.
A bold red lip screams ‘look at me’. A simple swipe of tinted balm? Low-key and très chic. Just ask Sofia Coppola. The director was distressed to learn that her favourite pink lipstick had been discontinued, but a quick call to skincare behemoth Professor Augustinus Bader saw the German scientist rustle up three subtly pigmented versions of his OG lip balm formula (another Coppola fave). Salvation.
‘Blurry lips are a hot trend for summer,’ says make-up artist Yasmin Salmon, and tinted balms are foolproof enough that anyone can master them. The vibe?
‘Natural, just-kissed and a subtle pop of colour that doesn’t overpower your look.’
TikTok got wind of Clinique’s Almost Lipstick in Black Honey – a buttery barely there lip stain launched in the ’70s – and 300 million views later the brand can barely keep up with demand. Since Sofia Rich
