Why I Created Phatstix
A Beauty Industry Veteran's Personal Quest
After nearly 20 years in the beauty industry (which feels incredible to write), you might think I'd created Phatstix as some grand business venture. But honestly? It started because my lips were constantly chapped, and I was tired of it.
The Lip Balm Box of Disappointment
Picture this: I had drawers – actual drawers – filled with lip balms. From La Mer to Burt's Bees and everything in between. Some would nourish my lips beautifully but vanish faster than a Digestive in tea. Others would stick around but felt like I was painting my lips with candle wax. Between my eczema-prone lips and my growing frustration with nearly-but-not-quite-right products, something had to give.
From Kitchen Experiment to Breakthrough in a Tough Time
So one winter, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Not to start a business, mind you – just to make something for myself. I'd made soaps before, so how hard could a lip balm be? (Spoiler alert: quite hard, actually.)
The first version was pretty close to what Phatstix is now, and I handed it out to friends and family as gifts, not thinking much more of it. But then something interesting happened. A year later – yes, a full year – my mum asked if I could make her another one because she was just finishing her first. When I checked in with others who'd received it, they were still using theirs too. That, combined with an unexpected health diagnosis, got me thinking about doing something more with this.
Phatstix became more than just a product – it became a way to channel energy during a tough time, something creative and useful that grounded me while everything else felt uncertain. And out of that chapter came something else too: Cheekbonez.
Finding the Perfect Formula
Fifteen different formulations later (and some questionable results that we won't talk about), I knew I was onto something but needed help getting it just right. That's when I found this amazing husband and wife team at Here2Grow in York. They took my kitchen experiment and turned it to gold – though remarkably with pretty much the same ingredients. They helped stabilise it for a 12-month shelf life without a single artificial or petrochemical ingredient. Just pure, natural goodness.
Why So Big?
The size? Well, that was another frustration of mine. Why are lip balms so tiny? At around £4.69 for 4.2g, you're paying £1.12 per gram for most basic balms. It's madness. So I thought, let's make it big. Really big. Not just for the sake of it, but because it actually makes sense.
No Compromises
I took some rather strong stances during development. No fragrances or flavours (thanks to some excellent advice from Jane Cunningham). No petrochemicals or other nasties. And absolutely no compromising on quality. The ingredients had to be perfect – from the beeswax to the shea butter from Ghanaian women's cooperatives (a cause close to my heart from my Body Shop days), to the remarkable raspberry seed oil with its vitamin A benefits.
What's in a Name?
The name? That's my inner '90s child coming out. It had to be 'phat' with a 'ph' – meaning excellent or first-rate – plus it’s a nod to the natural fatty acids in our nourishing ingredients. And well, it is literally a fat stick of lip balm.
More Than Just a Lip Balm
Phatstix was born during a tough patch in my health — which makes it deeply personal. I take what I do seriously, but not myself (or the beauty industry, for that matter). Let’s be honest: a lip balm isn’t going to change the world, but it can be something that genuinely works, feels good to use, and brings a little joy along the way.
That’s where Cheekbonez comes in — a small reminder not to give up when life feels a bit skull-shaped.
The Story Behind Cheekbonez
Cheekbonez began as a sketch. A bit cheeky, a bit dark — a grinning skull with a raised brow (if he had brows). He captured exactly where Phatstix came from: not just the need for a better balm, but the moment that sparked it into being.
He first appeared as a pin badge in our earliest orders — a quiet emblem of the journey. And then something lovely happened: people started asking for him. So by popular demand, Cheekbonez pins are back. Still grinning. Still cheeky. Still ours.
The Journey Continues
What started as a selfish solution to my own chapped lips has grown into something I'm genuinely proud of. It's not perfect – I'm still on the hunt for a British manufacturer for our tubes (if you know anyone, give me a shout). But it's honest, it works, and it's exactly what I wanted to create: a proper lip balm that actually does what it's supposed to do, without any of the usual beauty industry nonsense.
Phatstix is real, it works, and it comes with a little message on the back to remind you of something important several times a day. Because sometimes the best solutions come from personal frustrations, and the best products come from simply refusing to settle for 'good enough'.