The thrill around back-to-school beauty—from 5 a.m. skincare routines and skilled first day makeup to controversial 30-inch wigs—has hit an all-time high.
And this energy continues—especially now that Homecoming season is in full swing. Specifically, The Lip Bar is partnering with the HBCU Culture Shop to launch a limited-edition HBCU-inspired lip gloss collection.
As a FAMU alumni, The Lip Bar founder Melissa Butler says college was the muse of her success. “My first customers and employees went to HBCUs,” she tells ESSENCE. “I wanted to point out some love in honor of how much love HBCUs have given men and girls for hundreds of years, especially FAMU,” Butler adds. “I owe a lot to my HBCU and the richness of the culture is unsurpassed.”
Her favorite shade within the 7-look collection? Red “Rattlers”, after all. “Beyond that, I actually love the shades ‘HBCU girly,’ ‘Hampton U,’ and ‘Jaguars,’” she says, calling out the neutral brown, taupe, and deep brown shades she wore during her college days. “We were deeply into smoky nude glosses, ice blue shadow, and eye liner,” says. “We wore business casual to the club and our hair was fried. Flat irons hated to see us coming.”
Nevertheless, the most recent collection to hitch The Lip Bar’s current offerings—including lipstick, lip liner, and lip oil—is just not like the opposite products. “The sheer wash of color within the HBCU Collection is an innovation we’ve got not done before,” Butler says, with the intention to develop a universal lip. And, protected to say, they succeeded.
The limited-edition collection is offered on thelipbar.com while supplies last.
