In the Magazine: Lip Service

A lipstick entrepreneur lets it all hang out

Like most bright ideas, Nikki Oden’s patent-pending invention was born from frustration.

“My handbag was always a disaster,” the Delray Beach resident says. “And I couldn’t fit the lipsticks I wanted.”

Today, she has Hickey Lipstick, a line of full-sized, velvety lipsticks nestled inside a rockin’ studded container, dangling from a chain or ribbon. Oden, 51, wanted to create a long-lasting matte lipstick—her favorites were red and hot pinks from Mac and NARS—that wouldn’t irritate her lips but still had a premium formula and pigment. Then, she wanted to find a way to travel with the lipstick without digging through her bag.

For two years, Oden tested more than a dozen formulations before finding the perfect  recipe that would work on multiple skin tones, was unscented, and felt great to put on. After realizing there was no other company with lipstick on a necklace, she developed the studded case in different colors. (The name Hickey Lipstick plays off the classic neck bite.)

“It’s definitely a conversation piece,” she says. “It’s fun; you can change the lids to change the looks.”

Formerly a money manager, Oden left that world for the beauty business, and she has owned three spas, as well as creating ElevenSkin and Foot Rescue. Now, she’s waiting for the patent on Hickey Lipstick to be approved.

“I didn’t think of it as that big of a deal until I could wear it every day, and now I can’t wear anything else,” she says.

You can buy Hickey Lipstick at the Marriott Delray Beach gift shop, Love Shack, Snappy Turtle, and others and online at hickeylipstick.com.