Designing a Luxury Lip Balm for Loeffler Randal (2025)

One the second anniversary of my husband’s death I felt a need for a new sundress.

I had spent most of the day wandering Charleston, SC—arguably the unofficial sundress capital of the world.

I had no real reason to enter Loeffler Randal. I collect sundresses as postcards, one for each new place I visit. Charleston being Charleston, I already had two new dresses. I didn’t need another.

But there is no rational thought under the weight of grief. I was almost magnetized in.

The ladies at LR could not have been kinder. I tried on several dresses, all were perfect.

But one felt like the one my husband hand-picked from heaven. Even at first wear, it made me feel as beautiful and cozy as I used to feel sitting next to him.

Needless to say, it’s now my new uniform. (Currently wearing the Gillian Puff-Sleeve Dress with pink birks and layered necklaces, including a pink and orange floral beaded necklace from my middle school days.)

It’s become a bit of a running joke, though an all too true one, that I’m irl Lessons in Chemistry: I’m a young widow living alone with my late husband’s loyal dog. Chemist by training and painter by hobby, I built a lab in my kitchen as my own nerdy form of art therapy.

What started as a simple diversion—something to do with my hands as I began to build back a new life in and around the presence of grief—soon became a new path towards personal fulfillment. Making even the simplest of creams made me feel useful again.

Once I started formulating, I couldn’t stop.

Now, I daydream in formulation, and try to make something new every week.

This week, I want to design a lip balm that would be right at home in the pocket of my Loeffler Randall dress.

I’ve previously formulated best-sellers for indie skincare startups and beauty CPG giants alike. I’ve worked in almost all parts of the beauty world, from personal assistant to co-founder as a cosmetic chemist, product development strategist, raw material expert, content creator, coffee getter, creative director, and now independent product development consultant. (I’m also launching a skincare venture of my own this summer.)

Here’s how I might design a lippy for smart girl tomato summer, Loeffler Randall style.

And for the beauty industry experts and formulation nerds, stay tuned—I’ll follow with a technical deep dive into exactly which raw materials I’d pick at first pass.

The Inspiration

, founder and creative director of Loeffler Randall, revealed her favorite summer color: red.

Having just completed the Piecework Tomato Tomahto puzzle (without looking at the box!) while, of course, burning a tomato candle, I too am on the smart-girl-tomato-summer bandwagon.

Red features boldly in Loeffler Randal’s summer collection, but I’ve pinned the Laney Short Dress and the Appolonia Skirt in particular for this brief’s moodboard.

I’m also drawing on childhood memories of late summers spent in Kansas. There is almost nothing better than the perfect tomato fresh from your grandparents’ garden—with just the slightest drizzle of aromatic olive oil, hint of basil, and dash a salt.

I decided to create a lip balm inspired by the perfect bite into a beefsteak tomato, to pair with a red LR summer wardrobe.

The Goal

Formulate a lipcare-as-skincare balm, to be made in small batches and hot poured by hand into a refillable component. The formula need not be all natural. Instead, shift from a natural-only constraint to a highest-quality-possible perspective, blending old world naturals and modern synthetics into a unique balm praised for its precise, technical formulation and craftsmanship.

The Formulation Challenge

Design a nourishing balm that balances the best of the natural with the best of the precision-engineered. I’ve noticed that, of all the product types, lip balms in particular are almost always fully natural or full synthetic. This may be a unique opportunity to find a balance.

The formula shouldn’t exist just to exist, it needs a purpose in and of itself: that’s why the necessity to think of this as lipcare-as-skincare.

Look to tomato lycopene and pomegranate sterols for a natural antioxidant and barrier-support and story.

The key is to respect Loeffler Randal’s 5 Tenets of responsible craftsmanship, finding a translation for each in the world of beauty product development: (1) Make Only What We Need; (2) Responsibly Source Our Materials; (3) Support Workers; (4) Reduce Waste; (5) Work With An Expert.

A Brief Outline of the Project

• Function: nourishing barrier repair + natural antioxidant defense for lips

• Format: lip balm in semi-solid stick form

• Texture: closer to a butter than a wax; the lippy should feel like a kiss

• Application: clear, with a buildable ever-so-slight pink tint

• Fragrance: option to leave natural, or add in a subtle mint/basil flavor

• Packaging: refillable lip bullets in a distinct Loeffler Randal case

Formulation Method

I’d like prioritize intention over simplicity here, giving us room to add in more oils or actives than may be otherwise necessary in a plain lip balm. Loeffler Randal does not shy away from color and texture, nor should we.

Lip balms are an art in balancing melting point: thoughtfully blend oils with pastes and waxes to achieve the perfect lip-melt.

Where others may source any old oil or wax by default, this project requires the intentional sourcing of ingredients: I’m thinking an aromatic olive oil rich in Oleic Acid plus red raspberry and pomegranate oils, both naturally rich in antioxidants and Linoleic Acid. Pair with sustainably- and ethically-sourced shea butter for nourishment, and beeswax as the main structurant.

For a skincare spin, I thought immediately of lycopene, a carotene essential in the biosynthesis of beta-carotenoid. This is the molecule responsible for tomatoes’ brilliant red-orange color. With its natural role in carotenoids (read: precursors to Vitamin A), we could build an antioxidant story. It can also be sourced sustainably, from tomato skin food waste.

We can also add in pomegranate sterols, a waxy paste to help create barrier support where others use petrolatum or lanolin.

Packaging

In the current beauty landscape it’s a sad truth that more thought often goes into packaging design than into formulation design. I’m devoting my life’s work into bringing more intentional design into technical formulation. But for lip products, I admit that packaging and formula are arguably equally important.

This formula isn’t an add-to-cart upsell; it’s an intentional accessory. Loeffler Randal is committed to only making what is needed. This cannot be a throw-away product.

My mind went immediately to gorgeous refills as done by Fluff, Westman Atelier, and Guerlain. These components help give the formula a true physical presence, with grounding and reassuring weight. These are not items lost in a purse. These are keepsakes.

The lip balm could be hand-poured into refillable bullets, which click satisfyingly into place in a custom metal Loeffler Randal case. The shape and structure could be made universal and constant, while each season a new accessory for the accessory is released to pair. This season, I think a small bow is in order, a scrunchie for the lippy case, if you will.

Concluding Thoughts

My first instinct was to design a full skincare regimen for Loeffler Randall. A five step routine to echo the craftsmanship, playfulness, and elegance that define their distinctive staples.

It felt almost obvious that the routine should be minimal, but complete, with 5 distinct (and distinctive) staples: a cleanser, a moisturizer, an SPF, a morning serum, and an evening serum.

It then occurred to me that the LR girl already has a skincare routine she’s obsessed with. She may be open to trying new products, but doesn’t really need to.

That, and a lack of internal expertise: LR prides themselves on expert craftsmanship. Without an internal expert in skincare, it would off-brand for them to launch high-quality skincare. Not every brand needs to expand into beauty. At best, it may be a nice add-on; at worst, a distraction that dilutes the legacy established in textiles.

I do have thoughts on how to develop a line that would not be seen as a distraction, but a natural evolution. But that evolution starts small. For LR, it could start with a lippy.

This lippy would be feel like a gift to oneself, something small and present at checkout not as an upsell, but as an accessory, something equally at home in a dress pocket or slipped into one of their handbags.

I believe the best beauty products start with a story like this—imagining exactly how the user discovers and immediately falls in love with the product.

From there, you develop a strong, data-backed business case and develop the technical thesis, long before benchwork begins.

Up Next

For those interested in a deeper dive—a raw material-by-raw material approach—I’ll follow up in a few days with a full technical breakdown.

Intentional raw material choice is important in all product development, but for this particular project, a lot hinges on the quality and source of the raw materials. A detail-oriented focus on sourcing can make all the difference between a meh experience and a luxury lippy.

I hope you have the loveliest summer, and that you get to eat a fresh tomato while wearing your favorite sundress.

Ciao!

Lizzy