Get the latest gossip

‘It’s a form of advertising’: how the humble lip balm became a status symbol


In this week’s newsletter: Lip products are trending, now carrying the kind of cultural cachet once reserved for It-bags. So what’s behind the rise of ‘IYKYK’ beauty?

Today, customers queued for hours outside the US skincare brand Rhode’s first London pop-up in the hope of buying its £18 peptide lip treatments, which come in flavours such as salted caramel and watermelon slice. Meanwhile, the Celine website experienced a surge in traffic as it launched its first product from its debut beauty range – a £62 red lipstick that is engraved with the house’s monogram and comes cloistered in a faceted gold metal case. Isamaya Frrench’s provocative £80 lipstick.Every element of these new lip products is made to be shared socially, whether that’s for an online audience on TikTok or randomers jostling to use the pub bathroom mirror on a night out.

Get the Android app

Or read this on The Guardian