EXCLUSIVE: A Discontinued Lipstick Inspired Sofia Coppola’s Augustinus Bader Collaboration
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Augustinus Bader is getting into lip color — and has tapped a high-profile collaborator for the move.
The brand is unveiling three tinted incarnations of lip balm in partnership with Sofia Coppola, simply called The Tinted Balm. It will debut on the brand’s website, as well as select retailers, for $43 on Thursday.
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“The Bader lip balm is one of my favorites so I was excited when the brand agreed to collaborate on a tinted version,” Coppola said in a statement. “Shade 1 is based on a favorite sheer deep pink lipstick I hoarded after it was discontinued, that’s easy and adds a brightening, subtle tint. Shade 2 is a red coral I like for summer or at the beach, and Shade 3 is a burnt, earthy plum.”
Coppola first met the brand’s chief executive officer and cofounder, Charles Rosier, at a dinner with mutual friends, the executive said, recounting her interest in a tinted version of the brand’s existing lip balm. “She sent a benchmark of colors saying, ‘If one day you create something like this, it would be amazing, but it’s not a request for collaboration.’ We decided to make the product and make her a part of it,” he said.
“That type of journey is very engaging for a consumer. For a young brand like us that is not necessarily known by everybody, they allow us to be creative and have new ideas in new segments. They allow us to benefit from the creativity of other minds,” he continued.
Augustinus Bader also has a longstanding skin care collaboration with Victoria Beckham Beauty, comprised of a serum and two priming moisturizers, one of which has a tint. The new lip balms are the brand’s next step into color.
“We need to be consistent with what makes sense and the expertise we have,” Rosier said of the category expansion. “That’s in science, and in [proprietary hero ingredient] TFC8.” Pointing to his collaboration with Beckham as an example, he said, “She has clean, high-quality products and it’s an alliance to have our skin care technology there.”
Collaborations with megawatt names also “attract new people into the brand, and it’s always interesting to share a bit with your communities,” Rosier said. The brand’s core business, though, is still on fire. In 2022, the company was said to have retail sales of about $200 million.
“We are experiencing growth rates between 30 and 40 percent, and we are doing very well in the U.S.,” Rosier said. “The feedback we have from retailers is that in the premium side of the business, that’s not necessarily the case for everyone.”
Similarly, 40 percent of the brand’s direct-to-consumer business comes from customers on subscription. “Most brands are happy with 20 percent,” Rosier said. “It’s a big pillar of the brand. We don’t lose our customers, and they potentially bring in new ones. A lot of those switch to replenishment, and we can see that our growth is super healthy.”
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