Natural beauty: Onest launches lip balms with conceptual collaboration

Onest was founded by passionate lovers of all forms of worldly beauty only three months ago. The small, natural Czech cosmetics brand was a dream-come-true project for Ondřej Elsner, editor of the Prague-based lifestyle magazine Dolce Vita, and his life and working partner, hairdresser Jan Sippl. Together they join forces to create a cosmetics line as pure, natural and beautiful as everyday life.
'It all started with the belief that things can be natural, beautiful and sincere at once,' explain Elsner and Sippl. The duo, with experience in cosmetic and fashion editorial work, launched their first line of lip balms.
The ingredients and formulas were found and produced in the Czech Republic. 'Cold-pressed castor seed oil, one of the oldest products with healing effects in the world, helps to get active substances from other ingredients. Thanks to that, the complexion does not become dry; it is more resistant and can be healed more easily,' explain the founders of their first products, including the 'Propolis' and 'Pink Rose' and 'Bronze Rose' lip balms. All the products provide light texture with a subtle touch of colour and gloss.
But the philosophy of Onest is not just about the products themselves. The brand also embodies a complex message of quality and honestly-produced content. The founders commissioned Czech fashion and conceptual photographer Karin Zadrick to create a series of atmospheric black and white photos, revealing her personal expressions of the products in simple images of great fragility and purity. The series is the first of the upcoming collaborations Onest will commission from various artists and designers for each of its new lines.
To complete the artistic vision of the products, the duo asked prolific Czech packaging designer Jan Činčera to produce a simple origami-inspired paper box to deliver the Onest lip balms to their customers. 'If you do something honestly, you do not have to hide it in long explanatory texts, you do not have to pretend anything; you can just show the essential and proudly stick with it,' conclude Elsner and Sippl.
The founders, Ondřej Elsner and Jan Sippl, commissioned Czech fashion and conceptual photographer Karin Zadrick to create a series of atmospheric black and white photos, revealing her personal expressions of the products in simple images of great fragility and purity.
Onest is inspired by everyday life; a labour of love by founders Ondřej Elsner and Jan Sippl.
The philosophy of Onest is not just about the products themselves. The brand also embodies a complex message of quality and honestly-produced content.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Onest website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Adam Štěch is an architectural historian, curator, writer and photographer, based in Prague. He is the author of books including Modern Architecture and Interiors (2006), editor of design magazine Dolce Vita and a contributor to titles including Wallpaper* and Frame, while also teaching at Scholastika in Prague.
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy design
Creativity leaps the screen at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s record-flying roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
The modernist home of musician Imogen Holst gets Grade II listing
The daughter of the composer Gustav Holst lived here from 1964 until her death, during which time the home served a locus for her own composition work, which included assisting Benjamin Britten
By Anna Solomon Published
-
This fun and free-spirited photography exhibition offers a chromatic view on the world
‘Chromotherapia’ at Villa Medici in Rome, explores how we view colour as a way of therapy, and how it has shaped photography over the last century (until 9 June 2025)
By Tianna Williams Published