$7 Lip Balm Loved by Beyoncé Has a Spot in The Smithsonian
As a superstar whose job requires physicality and extensive time in front of the camera, Beyoncé has beauty routines that keep her glowing and healthy. Her fans love learning about her skincare regimen and how she achieves her looks.
While it’s true that she has a top-notch dermatologist and make-up artist at her fingertips, the singer doesn’t always opt for diamond facials and luxury lip gloss.
One of the affordable products she’s touted has a reputation that precedes it, and it even earned a spot in the famous Smithsonian’s archives.
Beyoncé praised Rosebud Salve as a catchall
Watch any Beyoncé video, peep her Instagram photos, or catch her in a photo spread, and you’ll note her makeup choices range from barely there to full-on glam. Sometimes, underneath her lipstick and eye makeup is a hint of Smith’s Rosebud Salve. Queen Bey once told Allure:
“I love the Rosebud Salve in the blue can. I wear it with my lipstick. I did this trick last summer, when I was on vacation: I used it to prime my lashes before curling. It was like a natural mascara. It made the lashes hold the curl and look shiny. I use it for everything!”
She’s not the only celebrity to co-sign on it. Others such as Naomi Campbell and actress Chloë Sevigny use it too, with the latter once telling Vogue, “Always Smith’s Rosebud Salve. I can’t live without it. If I leave the house without it, I have an anxiety attack and have to run by American Apparel and buy one.”
More than a lip balm, it’s used for bug bites, cuticles, frizzy hair, and skin protector.
What’s the history behind Smith’s Rosebud Salve?
Formulated in the late 1890s, the Rosebud Salve comes in a signature blue tin and is still sold in the tiny packaging, and nowadays, also comes in a tube.
Its creator, George Smith, was a pharmacist who began selling this balm out of his own drugstore in Woodsboro, Maryland in 1892. According to The Baltimore Sun, the product became popular through door-to-door sales and mail order.
During those early years, he also created Smith’s Strawberry Lip Balm and Smith Mentholated Salve, and all three items can be found in stores today.
They retail around $6 or $7 dollars and are sold in places like Sephora, Amazon, and Ulta. You can also order it directly from Rosebud Perfume Co. Moreover, the recipe stayed in the family for generations and business survived the Great Depression.
There’s a listing for it in the Smithsonian Museum
Smith’s Rosebud Salve filed a trademark patent in 1908 that was granted in 1914. The old-time beauty balm was remarkable enough to land a place in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Listed as part of the institute’s online archive, Smith’s salve is categorized as a medicine and hygiene/beauty product. The museum has a tin from the early 1900s and notes that it’s an OTC liniment used for medicinal and dermatological purposes.
A closeup of the old container shows that back then, it was only $.25. You won’t be able to see this relic on display, but if you want to experience the Beyoncé-approved salve for yourself, hit up your local retailer for a modern-day tin or tube of Smith’s.
