NEW YORK — Ben Einstein, one of the original co-founders of Hard Candy, thinks lip care doesn’t have to be expensive to be luxurious and effective, and he’s hoping to prove that with his new line of lip products, Einstein Lip Theory.
After selling Hard Candy with then-girlfriend Dineh Mohajer (who recently launched her own line of cosmetics, Goldie) to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2001, Einstein (no relation to the famed scientist, for the record) began working as a beauty consultant in Japan. It was during this stint when he realized that price and quality didn’t necessarily go hand in hand when it comes to beauty products. “I don’t want to debunk the cosmetics industry by saying the ingredients in the most expensive brands are a lot of times very similar in performance to those in the less expensive ones,” he said. “But a lot of times, it’s like the emperor’s new clothes — you rub in [the product and] it just disappears.”
Einstein said he stumbled across the idea of pairing affordable pricing with high-end ingredients when he found a bin of countless lip products in his mother’s bathroom. He realized that not only were there too many products out there on the market, but obviously there weren’t enough that were actually effective. “I opened up the box and there were no quality products in there,” he said. “My mom had everything from low-end balms to a La Mer lip product in the $45 range. I wanted to take the high-end cream’s performance and make it into an affordable lip product.”
The line, which is currently sold in a total of 1,000 doors, including select Sephoras, Apothia at Fred Segal and Ulta, will roll out to all Sports Clubs locations (including New York, Los Angeles and Boston) next month. It currently features two products: a Hydrating Cream and a Cooling Relief balm, which retail for $6 each. The Hydrating Cream, which comes in portable pink-and-white packaging and features the brand’s catchy first aid-inspired “cross” logo on its cap, contains vitamins A, C and E, while the Cooling Relief balm, available in similar red-and-white packaging, features cocoa butter in addition to vitamins A and E.
Related Articles
While Einstein declined to comment on sales figures, industry sources expect the line to do at least $1 million in first-year retail sales. And Einstein said he already is working on expanding the line, with plans to launch Hydrastick, a $16 stick formula moisturizer with “antiaging properties,” this fall. “[Hydrastick] has a very light formula — it doesn’t mess up what you already have on your face,” he said.
In terms of future launches, Einstein said he’s in no rush. “If I played you 25 songs that are really great, by the 10th one, it’s like, ‘OK, you do really good music, but can I listen to the rest later?'” he said. “It’s about creating a brand identity that will stand the test of time — it’s about creating solid products and making sure each one really blows away the competition.”