In 2022, Hailey Bieber—the influencer responsible for inflicting the “glazed donut skin” trend on all of us—founded her own skincare line. Rhode's flagship product is an (excellent, might I say) lip balm. When Hailey and her influencer cadre teased a dedicated lip balm phone case last week, selected corners of the internet (and our Gear Team) collectively freaked out. A lip balm holder? In a phone case? We need it.
The case is available for $35, and you can join the wait-list here. It’s available for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15, plus the respective Pro versions, and there's a dedicated storage slot for the Rhode lip tint or treatment. Unfortunately, it’s available only in sage green, but its silken silicone curves are so alluring. And you'll be able to find your lip balm whenever you want! As long as it's Rhode's, anyway. But maybe that's good enough for now.
Let's get the hard truth out of the way: If you get this case, you are essentially turning yourself into a walking, unpaid Rhode advertisement. Every time you take a mirror selfie, put your phone down on a table, or send a text at the coffee shop, Rhode’s lip treatment will be front and center. It's a case that's designed to draw attention and not do much of anything else. You have to remove the case for wireless charging, and you can kiss your mount or MagSafe card wallet goodbye.
We haven't gotten our hands on it, but what happens if Rhode stops selling lip balm. (God forbid!) What are the odds that it fits a Summer Fridays lip balm or even Aquaphor? The product page says that the case is made of silicone, but beyond that, details—specifically those regarding sustainability—are nonexistent. The company has not responded to a request for comment.
With that said, I'm a huge advocate for feminine tech and tech accessories. (Rhode’s Watermelon Slice Lip Treatment is really good.) This simple, curvy lip-balm phone case highlighted the fact that there is an entire universe of gear that has yet to exist—especially for women. Most phone cases are just boring. We can and should be doing better.
We use our phones for everything. They’re our cameras, our wallets, our maps, our books. They’re one of the few items on our checklist of things to have before we leave the house. There are a lot of pretty utilitarian ways to make use of the back of the phone. Not a fan of phone grips? Try straps, rings, or suction mounts. Prefer being risky and going caseless? There’s a skin for that. If you’re a photographer, you can add lenses. If your device has a charging port, you can add a dust plug. Or if you’re practical, you can add a wallet. Gamers might want charging cases, and so on.
But a phone case could be so much more. I've been doing my best with the options that are available, but there just isn't that much. For example, Apple still hasn’t made a hot-pink iPhone, so I have this case, paired with a butterfly wrist strap and a giant gemstone PopSocket.
My phone looks like me, if I were a phone. I could pick it out of a giant pile with zero issues. Maybe there's a world in which my entire makeup routine is built into my palette phone case. How does that not exist yet? Bailey Hikawa, for example, is a designer that makes phone cases with lumps and bumps and all sorts of finishes—and not only do they look neat, but they double as ergonomic grips and functional phone stands. Clicks is an iPhone case that doubles as a keyboard. Kerf makes cases out of wood.
Where is my weird and wonderful case that fits my lifestyle and is ergonomically designed? Maximalist phones are the future I want. From mobile gaming controllers to PC-inspired coolers to decoden folding cases, there’s a market for hypercustomization.
If we can’t return to the funny-shaped T-Mobile Sidekicks and LG Rumors of yesteryear, we should keep moving forward. It shouldn't be groundbreaking news that your pocket-sized tablet is now a pale pink rather than a pale silver; designers should be pushing the envelope. Life is too short to have a boring-looking phone. To quote Bailey Hikawa on her website, “Do you have one pair of shoes you use for every activity? No, I didn’t think so.”
Why does my phone case need a wallet? My phone has all my cards in it already. So many phone accessories are just different versions of the same thing. It’s time for something new. Let lip balms be just the start. (Also, if you don't like Rhode's lip treatment, there's always a Burt’s Bees PopSocket instead.)
