October 2024 Monthly Adventure Series
I don't know how I ended up with ads on Instagram for the Lip Lab, but it's a good thing I did because it gave me something new to do this month and I love the idea of a custom lip product.
Background
Earlier this month my mom and my sister came to Austin so we could all go to a concert together. My sister and mom stuck around for the day after the concert and I had an extra day off from work, so I wanted to take our mom to do something fun in the city. My mom loves makeup and I thought it would be a good idea to take her to the Lip Lab. She's been searching for a specific lipstick color and what better way to find it than by working with experts to make it yourself! I booked a reservation on their website so we could get there right when they opened at 10:00 AM and that would be perfect timing to get barbecue for lunch shortly after our session.
Getting to the Lip Lab & Parking
Driving is the fastest way to get to the Lip Lab location in Austin, Texas which is just off South Congress Avenue. However, the location can also be reached by bus with ease if public transit is your preference. Street parking is available in the area and charged at an hourly rate. This area now has paid street parking as of not too many weeks ago, so make sure to pay for parking according to the signs posted around SoCo! We easily found parking on the street because we arrived just as business were starting to open for a Wednesday morning. The odds of finding parking so easily dramatically worsen as the day continues or if it's the weekend. I recommend booking for an earlier time if you can if plan to drive and park your own vehicle.
Lip Lab Experience
We were warmly greeted by the two team members (I'll call them "the experts") there to help us that morning as we entered the bright and vibrant Lip Lab storefront. My mom and I were the only ones getting custom lip products as my sister came along just so she could be there to spend time with us. We sat down at stations where we found client cards with our respective names on them and we were given the rundown on how the whole Lip Lab process works. Here's a quick summary of the steps:
Choose your product type(s)
Create your custom color and select a finish
Name your custom color
Pick a scent
Decide on a product case
Select a font for the tube etching
Purchase any add-ons as you wish
My mom wanted a very specific shade of purple for her lipstick and quickly worked with the expert to identify the correct shade in a single attempt. Turns out, mixing colors for lip products is all about ratios of different colors to achieve whatever the final color should be. I opted for a sheer finish lipstick and wanted a pinkish brown shade for a more natural look. The first attempt was a bit too pink, so the expert swapped the pink and brown ratios in the second attempt which resulted in just the right color.
Then, I got to pick a tube and chose purple because it's my favorite color and I named my shade "sheer grace". The other expert took us to the laser so we could get the names of our shades etched into our lipstick tubes along with an optional emoji. We were given protective goggles and watched the laser go to work on very quickly finishing up our lipstick tube designs. Watching the laser was one of my favorite moments in this experience!
Following that, we worked on processing payment as our lipsticks continued to cool and set. Once set, the experts got them into the tubes and packaged up for us to take home.
Want to see more photos and video (yes, video!) from my Lip Lab experience? Be sure to follow Kimi's Travel Thoughts on Instagram where I post all my exclusive content that you won't see on my website!
Wrap-Up
Are you wondering how much it costs to make a custom lipstick, lip gloss, or lip balm at the Lip Lab? Well, that will vary depending on the product. They have a menu that details pricing for individual and bundled products whether they be custom or premade lip products. The custom lipstick was $65 which isn't a bad deal because it's a color that is uniquely mine and it was part of an experience. The best part is that I can re-order the shade in the future because they save each formula! We also got to benefit from a special that was being offered during our Lip Lab experience in which we got a free lip liner with the purchase of a lipstick. The Lip Lab a place that I would absolutely return to in the future -- perhaps to create a custom lip balm. It's the type of experience that would be great to do as a solo activity, with a small group, or for a party (which they have a party room for). While I may never know how I ended up with Instagram ads for the Lip Lab, I'm sure glad I did because I love customized experiences and products!
On to the next adventure!
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