I Tried Everything in the Kiehl’s x Milk Bar Collection
What do you get when you cross a decadent baked good with a luxurious lip balm?
Image Courtesy of Kiehl's
Milk Bar has really upped its collab game lately. The beloved New York City bakery chain, founded in 2008 by renowned pastry chef Christina Tosi, has recently given fans an opportunity to enjoy its most popular flavors in Krispy Kreme doughnut form and to make its most iconic treats at home from packaged baking mixes.
Now, the purveyor of premium sweet treats has partnered with the prestige skincare brand Kiehl’s, also founded in New York City and now in its 175th year, to launch a new line of dessert-inspired skin and lip products.
"Joy lives in the details, the swipe of frosting, the fudgy center or crispy edge of a cookie, the ritual of showing up for yourself every day. Kiehl's has that same DNA,” Tosi says in a press release. "This collaboration is like speaking the same language in two different kitchens. Theirs is skincare, ours is dessert … both are about creating little big moments that make you feel good in your own skin, sometimes literally, sometimes with a slice of cake."
Ahead of the arrival of the Kiehl’s x Milk Bar collab, which is available now nationwide, I had a chance to try out every element of the collection. Each one smells absolutely delicious.
What's in the Kiehl’s x Milk Bar Collection?
It's a limited-edition collection of four products — three Lip Balm #1 flavors and a Soothing Oil-to-Foam Cleanser — that take inspiration from “Kiehl’s most beloved products and the bakery’s iconic treats,” according to the two brands.
Each flavor in the collection is “bursting with rich, dessert-inspired aromas,” and each formula is “powered by skin-loving ingredients” that promise to “hydrate, soften and soothe.”
The four limited-edition items are suitable for all skin types and aim to help you “indulge your senses.”
“Sweet, comforting and irresistibly nostalgic, this collab transforms everyday care into a crave-worthy ritual,” the brands say.
Here's what's included:
- Creme de Corps Cereal Milk Frozen Swirl Smoothing Oil-to-Foam Cleanser: Evoking the flavor for which Milk Bar is probably best known, this new version of Kiehl’s classic body cleanser starts as a “nourishing” oil and then “transforms into a light, fine foam to remove dirt and oil and gently cleanse skin, leaving skin feeling soft and velvety smooth.”
- Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 Cereal Milk Frozen Swirl : This hydrating lip balm is described as a “comforting, creamy lip treat that captures the cozy scent of cereal milk with hints of Salt, Honey and Cornflake” and keeps your lips "soft, smooth and cared for all day. “
- Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 Buttercream Birthday Cake: This balm blends the aroma of “rich Buttercream, Vanilla Bean and Whipped-Icing Sweetness” as well as a finishing “touch of Brown Sugar Sprinkle” and “locks in moisture to soothe dryness and leave lips feeling plush and pampered.”
- Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 Red Velvet Truffle: This conditioning balm is described as “velvety-smooth” and “infused with layers of Cocoa Powder, Chocolate Buttercake and Creamy Cheesecake, balanced by a hint of Salt and Warm Brown Sugar Vanilla.” It promises to deliver "deep hydration for lips that feel soft, supple and deliciously smooth.”
The lip balms are vegan and free of petrolatum, lanolin and beeswax.
My thoughts on the Kiehl’s x Milk Bar Collection:
I loved the smell of the Creme de Corps Cereal Milk Frozen Swirl Smoothing Oil-to-Foam Cleanser so much I kept sniffing my hand after trying it out. I definitely smelled the promised notes of cream, honey and toasted cornflakes reminiscent of Milk Bar’s Cereal Milk flavor.
I found the scents of the Cereal Milk and Buttercream Birthday Cake Lip Balms, which are made with squalene, shea butter and vitamin E, to be lip-smackingly tasty. I wasn’t so into the Red Velvet Truffle lip balm. Cosmetics that smell and taste like chocolate just aren’t my thing. I am a chocolate lover, and they scramble my brain. But I’ll definitely reach for the other two again and again. I found them to be lightly sweet, soothing and seriously appealing; sweet creaminess just makes sense to me as a lip balm flavor.
Where can you get the Kiehl’s x Milk Bar Collection?
The collection will be available for a limited time exclusively at Kiehl’s stores nationwide and on the brand's website. Each lip balm costs $14 for a 0.5 fluid-ounce tube, and the cleanser costs $35 for an 8.4 fluid-ounce bottle.
Kiehl's says it will also offer a limited-edition Body and Balm Set featuring the Cereal Milk Frozen Swirl and Buttercream Birthday Cake lip balms along with its Crème de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter in a custom pink jar.
Shop the Kiehl's x Milk Bar Collection
Related Content:
