On the lips, not the hips

The next time your boss smells Dark & Stormy on your breath, it may not be because you were drinking.

Stewart & Claire, a high-end cosmetics company, have come up with the perfect way to partake of your favourite beverage without the alcohol-induced effects by developing a Dark & Stormy flavoured lip balm.

Kristin Donelly, co-founder of Stewart & Claire with her husband Philip Cooper, introduced the new product last month.

It is the second time they have based one of their lip balms on a drink, as they also have an old fashioned. But they have plenty of other scents including la Nuit, Winter, August and Tiki.

The Dark & Stormy comes in a 0.15 ounce tan tube and has three wooden rum barrels on it. The product retails for $6.

Concocting

Ms Donelly told the Bermuda Sun: “We had done a lip balm before called Old Fashioned. It didn’t exactly mimic the cocktail, but I was trying to create a cocktail that smelled like bourbon.”

She concocting the lip balm involved using cedar, bitter orange, vanilla, and cinnamon.”

Ms Donnelly said former New York Times food writer Amanda Hesser, who is also an author, created a website called Food 52 (www.food52.com).

“Amanda was a big fan of the lip balms and she wanted to do something with us and we brainstormed an idea and came up with the Dark & Stormy. That was much easier to create based on the real cocktail.”

Ms Donnelly said a special Valentine’s gift package was created for the Food 52 website, which the lip balm was a part of, but not that the lover’s holiday is finished, she can sell individual samples of the balm.

She said the Dark ‘n’ Stormy is popular in New York.

“Cocktails are very big in New York City, where I live, and… being a cocktail geek is very big so I feel like Dark ‘n’ Stormies are around all the time. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had one.”

Ms Donelly, who is a writer for Food & Wine magazine, said Stewart & Claire was launched in the summer of 2011.

She said prior to starting the company, she had tinkered around with various ideas.

Ms Donelly said her favourite flavour is The Bare, which is unscented.

“I work fulltime at Food & Wine magazine so I’m tasting all day. I like it best because it doesn’t interfere with eating and drinking.”

To find out more go to www.stewartandclaire.com.