The $35 Australian lip treatment 18 months in the making that could replace your gloss and lip balm

Balm can be sensible but boring; gloss can be gorgeous but sticky; lip oils have had their time, but I still find myself wanting something that gives me that glossy, juicy finish while actually feeling like lip care.

That’s where High Tide, the latest launch from Australian skincare brand eseí skincare, comes in.

The Lip Nourisher has been 18 months in the making, which is a surprisingly long time to spend developing something that will probably live in your handbag and get applied approximately 27 times a day.

But that time makes sense when you hear where founder Deahn Sakkas came from.

Deahn spent a decade working across makeup artistry, cosmetic nursing, giving her a fairly unique perspective on what people actually want from their beauty products.

High Tide was created to occupy that slightly elusive space between lip care and gloss, combining the look of a glossy lip with a formula designed to nourish and hydrate.

The formula features peptides, three types of ceramides, multiple forms of hyaluronic acid and squalane. In other words, this is not simply a shiny coating designed to make your lips look good for five minutes.

The appeal is the combination. High Tide is designed to leave lips looking juicy and glossy while offering a nourishing feel without the stickiness that can turn a beautiful gloss into a hair-catching nightmare.

Anyone who has ever applied lip gloss on a windy day will understand the importance of this.

Deahn says the idea came from wanting something she would genuinely use every day.

“I wanted to create something I’d genuinely reach for every day, something that felt nourishing on the lips but still gave me that juicy, glossy finish I love ,” she says.

That everyday usability is probably what interests me most. Beauty has become increasingly complicated, with routines that can involve an alarming number of steps, actives and products.

A lip product does not need to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes you simply want something sitting beside your keys that makes your lips feel comfortable and gives them a little sheen.

The fact it took 18 months to get there is also telling. Deahn says she did not want to compromise on the formula or feel simply to get the product to market sooner.