Welcome to the first post of The Sunbeam Serial, our official blog!
After a year in development, our take on the whipped, airy-matte liquid lipstick is finally ready to hit the market. Before we dive into the process of what it was like for us to come out with our own version, let's talk about what we know about this product.
I was very much into the beauty community when the trend first started in early 2014. Liquid lipsticks have been around for a while, but in 2015 their popularity rose in the beauty market after Kylie Jenner released her first Kylie Lip Kit.
c/o: Cosmopolitan
I was a sophomore in college back then, and I remember spending an egregious amount on those lipsticks -only to be disappointed in its similarity to Colourpop's (back then) Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick. It was an opaque, pigmented formula that went on with one swipe in a thin formula that dried completely matte.
Although it wasn't too appealing to look at in real life -I mean, your lips would've most likely cracked if you haven't exfoliated or put on a balm beforehand- the liquid lipstick craze boomed. Soon enough, every brand was offering their own version of the liquid lipstick. Prominent brands like Huda Beauty, Anastasia Beverly Hills, and KVD Beauty (back then Kat von D Beauty) were one of the more popular ones. Personally, I hated it (but continued wearing it -I'll explain later). 
c/o: Arzan Blogs
The trend made it to the Asian beauty market, although having its fair share of matte lip trends over the years. A brand that had a successful outbreak with their liquid lipstick formula was 3CE's 2017 launch of their Velvet Lip Tints. Lip tints were a thing since the early 2010s in the K-beauty scene, with watery gel stains (eg. Benefit's Benetint) being very popular at the time.
However, 3CE took it upon themselves to reinvent the matte liquid lipstick trend and made it their own. Albeit quite drying, the whipped formula was unlike the liquid lipsticks you'd see in the West. Hazy, soft and matte lips that were blurred out became a popular lip trend in the East. 
c/o: BeauUp.com
Soon, a few Western brands took notice (eg. Colourpop's Ultra Blotted Lip and Lime Crime's Plushies Liquid Lipstick), the West still very much preferred the heavy and opaque matte lip. To cut the long story short, the trend dissipated quickly and most brands discontinued the formula much to my dismay.
In the East, though, the trend of natural-looking and blotted lips continued to grow. Chinese brands like Kaleidos Makeup and Florasis continued to push this look and it flourished successfully. Moreover, Korean brands like Peripera, Etude House, and Missha continuously pumped out similar lip products and marketing.
The K-beauty scene is not new in the Philippines. Etude House has been a long-standing establishment at my local mall since I was in high school (and that was more than a decade ago). This can be due to the similar beauty expectations Asians share such as fair skin and the love for 'natural-looking but not natural' makeup. Either way, the concept is not new here so it was only obvious for the airy matte formula to make its way into our islands sooner or later.
I'm not quite sure which local brand was the first to do it, but the formulas that struck me the most are Sunnies Face's Lip Dip and Happy Skin's Lip Mallow. While I enjoyed both formulas, the color choices of both didn't satisfy me (although I loved the Coffee edition of the Lip Mallows). I've tried 3CE's formulas before and while I loved the formula and finish, it was just way too expensive. I preferred Colourpop's Ultra Blotted Lips and Lime Crime's Plushies.
When I came across the formula development for the Puff Tints, I was initially skeptical because by this time during 2020 there was a mass growth of local brands who were coming out with oil-based lip products. I have tried a handful of them, but hated the way they dried on my lips and the way they blended out was never satisfactory enough for me.
Then my manufacturer sent me a sample of what they could offer me. I immediately fell in love. It might be a bit selfish to say this -but I totally chose the shade Cotton to match my exact lip color (hee hee!). I loved the formula so much, I invited a whole bunch of my friends to try out the samples. Everyone loved them!
I knew then that this would be a hit. I went on to refining the formulation, designing the packaging, accounting, and the whole lot (And yes, we are only a two-woman show). Months later after a grueling process of sending samples over and over again, we were ready to launch. 
The puff tints are an amalgamation of what we love in other brands of lipsticks -the simple packaging, a versatile shade range and most importantly: a stinkin' good formula.
They are a whipped liquid lipstick and at the very core, not so unique to begin with. It's still an oil-based formula, so while it does dry matte it does have that silicone-y slip to it when first applied. The texture reminded us of how soft fabric can be -and that's how the shade names came to be!
Whenever we launch products, so much goes on in my head because I have an arsenal of beauty knowledge in my brain. I mean, I don't want to brag -but heavy makeup research used to be my pasttime. Basically, The Sunbeam Factory is the conclusion of how I used to see myself in makeup.
Back then I was a toxic makeup addict who used to be completely insecure and sought after external validation. I used to cover myself with makeup because that would get the most likes on social media. I remember wearing liquid lipsticks because everyone was wearing them even though I personally hated it!
But that's the thing -me wearing makeup back then wasn't for myself. It was for others. During the pandemic, I really took a break from makeup and gave myself a year-long introspection on who I was and how I saw myself. And that's when I truly changed my perspective on makeup and how I came to believe in self-care in beauty.
Thus, The Sunbeam Factory was born!
I truly hope everyone can see how much thought and care was put into these products. It's easy to get lost in the sea of local makeup brands, and I do know that. My sister and I have gone through our fair share of ups and downs with this brand but we continue to have faith in this because of you! So, thank you. We appreciate all the love and support!
Cheers,
Jamie from The Sunbeam Factory xo