Although it feels like we’ve only recently been toppled by a wave of cannabis beauty products, the hemp plant — and all its benefits — has been utilized for thousands of years (there’s archeological evidence that places hemp all the way back in 8,000 B.C.E. Mesopotamia). In the early days, it was cultivated for fabrics and inks; today it’s making a major comeback in the skin and body products we keep stocked in our medicine cabinets. Now, thanks to EOS’ new Moisture Hit collection, it’s coming for our lip balms, too.
The brand best known for those cute spherical balms you buy in bulk while checking out at Ulta is launching two new flavors formulated with hemp seed oil. Although it’s not the first hemp-derived lip balm on the market — Milk Makeup launched its first hemp lip balm in late 2018 — it’s perhaps the most affordable, and definitely the cutest, option out there. Available in two flavors, Happy Herb (like an an earthy piña colada) and Baked Brownie (a coconut-spiked dessert), the Moisture Hit collection is here to do exactly what it says: hit your lips with intense moisture.
To be clear, Happy Herb and Baked Brownie do not include the sexiest ingredient in the hemp industry: cannabidiol, a.k.a. CBD, mostly known for its anti-inflammatory benefits in topical pain relievers as well as some sunscreens and acne treatments. Instead, EOS’ Moisture Hit balms use the hemp plant’s seed oil, which is similar to other carrier oils such as argan oil, jojoba oil, and sunflower oil.
But if hemp is nothing new, then why is EOS hopping on the bandwagon now? According to the brand’s Chief Marketing Officer, Soyoung Kang, EOS’ research and development team has been tinkering with the ingredient for months. When they realized how beneficial it could be in a lip treatment, they decided it was time to make the brainstorm a reality — and a limited-edition one, at that. Kang explains that since these are being distributed through what EOS is calling a "micro-batch strategy," only a limited amount of Happy Herb and Baked Brownie were made. Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.
But why? Considering the connotations that often come with an ingredient like hemp, Kang says that this launch isn’t so they can appeal to the masses, but so they can introduce an innovative, nourishing ingredient to the brand’s most loyal and curious consumers in a way they may not be able to do if selling through a mass retailer rather than directly through their website. This way, if fans are curious about hemp seed oil, they can experience the benefits without all the over-the-top marketing that often comes with cannabis-derived beauty products.
Considering just how cheap these two balms are (under $5, to be exact), you can expect Happy Herb and Baked Brownie to go fast. So set your calendar for April 18, when the Moisture Hit balms officially go live — because who knows how long the high will last?
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Source: Refinery29 – Samantha Sasso