Lips Carpenter – Customizable Sustainable Lipstick KL

Lips Carpenter – Customizable Lipstick!

I’m always trying to find ways to reduce the amount of waste I produce and hence play at least a small role in taking care of our earth. One of the most challenging areas to do this though is with make-up. While painting my lips with a spot of colour might do wonders for my appearance, the trash produced by cosmetic containers is rather shocking. That’s why I was particularly excited to chat with Yifon Law, co-founder of Lips Carpenter, a Malaysian brand with sustainability and customization at its heart.

Lips Carpenter Malaysia

Yifon is the co-founder of Lips Carpenter with her sister Yi-Xian. They began the e-commerce start-up in 2018. When they first founded the brand, they wanted Lips Carpenter to offer clean and personalised beauty products for both personal use and for gifting. They focused on customisable products made with natural ingredients, free from harmful chemicals. A few months into their venture, they became increasingly aware of the importance, both as individuals and as a brand, to be socially responsible. Acknowledging the amount of waste the beauty industry creates, they took a deep dive into their practices and identified three key pillars for Lips Carpenter to be: Clean, Sustainable and Personalised.

Clean

Use healthy and clean products such as moisturising butter and plant-based oils.

Sustainable

Incorporate eco-friendly packaging concepts and reusable containers.

Personalised 

Create personalised beauty solutions such as their star product, Custom Lipstick, where customers can choose casing, colour and scent, as well name engraving.

Sustainable Make-up Malaysia

Yifon says that creating sustainable products allows the brand to do its part in protecting the future and quality of life of human beings. She sees great importance in raising awareness and creating action towards a sustainable future. Instead of being overwhelmed by the big picture, she sees ways for people to take small steps together. She believes that a few people living a perfectly sustainable life is not the answer, but instead inclusiveness and mass awareness as a greater priority. She admits having a long way to go but prioritising sustainability in their decision making is a solid place to start. Using the concept of reuse, refill and recycle as a base, they pack lip balms in degradable paper tubes and the facial cleanser and masks come with refill packs. Another initiative is a packaging donation drive – they collect used bubble wrap and scrap paper from local customers and businesses and give them a second life. 

Staying Motivated

To build motivation, Yifon says that when customers leave reviews, be it on their Google Business Page, Facebook or tag them on Instagram, they read the reviews aloud in the office. That always motivates them to keep spreading the love with their products. Many products are purchased as gifts, so they really take the crafting and packing process seriously. She says each one is wrapped with love. 

Business Over the Pandemic

The pandemic amplified the importance of diversification and business sustainability, Yifon reports. It was essential to be more versatile. They started running from bazaar to bazaar, focusing on validating their product-market fit and getting direct feedback from consumers. Their channels mainly were offline. The pandemic expedited the process of building up an online presence and a digital strategy. Now they are fully online. However, going forward, they plan to continue building a presence in both online and offline spaces.

Lips Carpenter’s Star Product

Lips Carpenter’s star product is their custom lipstick and lip balm. They offer vast casing, colour, scent and name engraving selections for a truly personalised beauty shopping experience. Once finished, it can also be refilled. Personalisation enhances the desire for people to reuse the packaging and opt for refills. The customisation also makes the lipstick and lip balm great gifts. Learn more about the customisation process here.

Lips Carpenter Christmas Gifts

With Christmas coming up, the team at Lips Carpenter have created several exciting new product launches and a variety of Christmas gift sets and bundles with free delivery around KL and Malaysia. All products and gift bundles are wrapped and ready to go as gifts. Do check out their website or Instagram account for the latest updates.

Find more on the spa and beauty scene in Malaysia here and stay up to date with the happenings around KL here and here.