Summer Fridays Skincare: Is Lip Butter Balm Worth It?

The name alone sounds to me like the small luxury of stepping away from your inbox, and the beginnings are just as human. Marianna Hewitt was a TV host who had built a beauty audience online, and Lauren Ireland was a broadcast journalist and blogger in Los Angeles. They started the brand in 2018, after Lauren's pregnancy sent her looking for skincare she could trust that still worked. Two former bloggers calling labs until they found a partner who shared their clean beauty aims is a story I enjoy more than I should.

The Jet Lag Mask came first, in March 2018, and it set the tone: a few practical products over a crowded routine. The Lip Butter Balm followed in 2020 and took that soft, hydrating feeling to the lips. The line has since grown into lip care, suncare, hybrid makeup and body care, with both founders still leading it.

What I find compelling is how familiar the textures are. They slip into real life, whether that means a long flight or a five-minute reset at night.

The Summer Fridays trick I care about is that one product can stand on its own while the others make a routine easier to carry. The Jet Lag Mask works as a moisturizer by day or night, or as a leave-on mask when I want a longer hydration step. The Jet Lag Eye Patches come in a 6-Pack and a 15-Pack. I would try the smaller one first, and keep the larger for before work or after a flight. The Jet Lag Skin Soothing Hydration Mist is the easy refresher.

Then there are the minis: The Lip Butter Balm Minis, Sweet Summer Minis, Sweet Pink Lip Butter Balm Birthday Duo and Marshmallow Minis Set, which are made for a pocket or a guest bag. The Jet Lag Essentials Set turns the steps into travel companions, and the ShadeDrops Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Mineral Milk Sunscreen handles daytime. Babymoon Belly Balm is the richer body step, and The Bronzer Brush belongs next to a bronzer, not alone in a bag.

I would pick one routine anchor first, then add only the minis I know I will carry.

If I were adding to this edit, I would want new textures more than another shade beside the lip balms. Lip Butter Balm Sugar Plum and Mocha Bonbon give two color directions, Flushed Lip Stain in Plum and Slipper is the more defined lip, and the SoftLine Lip Liner in Pecan and Cinnamon shapes either one. Dream Lip Oil in Midnight Berry and Warm Beige is the softer alternate for days I do not want a stain.

For the face, Blush Butter Balm, Sheer Skin Tint, Illuminating Drops and the Bronzer Butter Balm shades in Sienna and Haze feel like a small makeup bag, with Bronzing Drops to mix in. On the care side, Pink Dew Gel Cleanser, Cloud Dew Gel Cream Moisturizer and Jet Lag Deep Hydration Serum are a tidy start-to-finish trio, and Rich Cushion Cream and Heavenly Sixteen All-In-One Face Oil suit a slower night. Jet Lag Overnight Eye Serum, Midnight Ritual Retinol Renewal Serum, CC Me Serum and Light Aura Eye Cream round out the treatments. After a shower, the Pistachio Milk and Pink Guava body butter and fragrance mist go together, and Sunlit Vanilla Eau de Parfum stands alone. I went deeper on a related idea in Body Butter Got the Skincare Treatment.

I would choose one lip product and one complexion product first and build around them. What I would skip on a busy morning is stacking the lip stain, liner and oil together. One clear texture is plenty.

I keep coming back to Summer Fridays because the first idea still makes sense: skincare should fit your life instead of becoming another project. The Jet Lag Mask carries that thought, and the newer lip, sun and hybrid makeup pieces widen the routine without losing its relaxed California mood. For a trip, I would start with the Jet Lag Essentials Set and one Lip Butter Balm mini, and add the rest only if I know I will use it. Although I admit the second mini usually sneaks in.