In 2026, beauty consumers are well familiar with Black Honey’s story. Clinique first released the sheer, plummy lip shade in 1971. But in the TikTok age, new generations of beauty fans have rediscovered the Black Honey Almost Lipstick over and over again, leading the Estée Lauder-owned skin-care and makeup brand to launch shade extensions to the line, like Pink Honey and Nude Honey, and interpret the Black Honey shade in new formats like an on-trend lip liner and lip oil.
On Wednesday, Clinique expanded the Black Honey franchise once again, this time to a new category for the famed shade: nails. The Black Honey nail polish is part of a new lineup of limited-edition Black Honey products, which also includes a Black Honey mascara and eyeshadow quad.
“Black Honey has become more than a shade. It’s almost become a personality,” said Anna Vitale, vp of global makeup marketing at Clinique, of the new collection. “It’s not about launching into the nail category. But it’s about giving you a way to experience the shade in a new, unexpected way, and really give you that opportunity to be fully Black Honey, head to toe.”
The limited-edition collection will be available for six months, or while supplies last. Clinique will follow up the launch with global Black Honey activations, including the inaugural “Almost Lipstick Day” on July 28. To promote the launch throughout the summer, the brand will launch a Black Honey billboard in Times Square, partner with an undisclosed “cool” brand and work with creators in and out of the beauty category on Black Honey-themed content.
“We’re not only looking at beauty creators, but we’re also looking to create a Black Honey world. So we may be looking at a cake decorator, having someone create a Black Honey-colored cake. We may be looking at a tablescape artist and have a Black Honey-inspired tablescape,” said Vitale. “Anyone who’s a beauty lover doesn’t look and think only about beauty; they have content that they consume based on all aspects of their life.”
Black Honey has had notable longevity. According to Vitale, Black Honey is the No. 1 selling prestige lip color shade in the U.K., Mexico, Spain, Italy and France. In the U.S., Clinique’s Black Honey, Nude Honey, and Pink Honey are the top three-selling lip color shades in prestige beauty.
While older consumers have long been familiar with Black Honey, new launches and activations give the brand a chance to target younger consumers, as well.
“Our core consumer tends to skew in some markets a little bit older, so we always want to go after the Gen Z and the younger and older millennial consumer,” said Vitale. “But importantly, we never want to alienate any of our consumers, and I think that’s something Black Honey does so well. It can look beautiful on someone who is in their 40s or their 50s, who may be put off by harsher colors or really strong opaque lip colors.”
But the makeup category as a whole has been sluggish in recent years, with lip products among the few growth areas in a market dominated by growth in fragrance and hair. According to data from Circana, makeup was the softest beauty category in terms of U.S. retail sales in the first quarter of 2026; the market analytics firm reported mass makeup sales were up 5% and prestige just 2%.
In its third-quarter 2026 earnings report published in May, the Estée Lauder Companies described makeup net sales as flat, with a double-digit decline in Clinique net sales, largely due to a dip in the foundation category.
Nails, however, have emerged as a hot beauty topic in recent weeks — albeit driven by the bare nails trend. But Vitale is not concerned about launching a deep nail color shade while bare manicures are trending.
“When you look at makeup trends in the industry, you’re always seeing multiple things be true. So you may see a really high-impact look trending at the same time as bare skin minimalism,” she said. “One thing we do see is that the Black Honey shade family, whether it’s rebranded as merlot or as burgundy, it comes back every fall. And it comes back with a new skin and a new face.”
While new beauty brands are experimenting with new categories like pet care and allergy care, in expanding the Black Honey family, Clinique joins other established brands in reinvesting in their hero products. In March, Glossier launched You Soie — its fourth flanker to the original You scent in just three years. Bath & Body Works is doubling down on its signature scents like Japanese Cherry Blossom in a bid to connect with young consumers.
“There is innovation fatigue sometimes. There are so many new products every day,” Vitale said of the importance of hero products. “I think sometimes there is power in going back to what’s true and trusted.”
