Lip Balm Users Rejoice, EOS Lawsuit Settled As Quickly As It Began

Just a couple weeks ago, we wrote about the new class action lawsuit over the insanely popular Evolution of Smooth (EOS) lip balm. In that suit, the plaintiffs allege that even though the EOS packaging claims the product makes lips “moist, soft, and sensationally smooth,” the lip balm allegedly caused blisters and rashes around the mouth. We questioned whether there was any inherent difference between the ingredients of EOS lip balm and its competitors, and in so doing, and we became curious how the suit might fare. Well, according to new reports, the wait is over. Unfortunately, questions remain.

As reported by Today, EOS has announced that it resolved the lawsuit as soon as it began. While the full terms of the settlement are unclear, EOS will not be required to change any of its ingredients, but the packaging will contain more details about those ingredients and how to use the product safely. The financial terms of the settlement have not yet been disclosed.

EOS had the following to say about the agreement:

We are pleased to announce that the class action lawsuit brought against eos earlier this month has been resolved. Our products are safe — and this settlement confirms that. Our lip balms are hypoallergenic, dermatologist tested, made with the highest quality ingredients, meet or exceed all safety and quality standards set by our industry and are validated by rigorous safety testing conducted by independent labs. We love our customers and their enjoyment of our products is our top priority. We thank them for their continued support.

The quick settlement of this class action suit is quite interesting. Clearly, EOS wanted to send the simple message that there is nothing defective about its product. Resolving the case early and with a statement that all of the product ingredients will remain the same certainly makes good business sense and likely puts the clamps on loyal customers who may have thought about switching to a competitor.  But, the question remains, at what cost? For a product that is safe, we hope for EOS sake that any financial settlement was in the cost of defense range.

The most intriguing part of the settlement is, of course, the agreement to add instructions to the product packaging on how to use the product safely. While we are admittedly novice lip balm users and in no way consider ourselves to be experts, we are curious as to how users could use lip balm in an unsafe manner. It seems inherent in the name that lip balm is to be applied to the lips. But, surely, that is not the issue. Maybe the instructions say something about not applying the lip balm obsessively every five minutes? But, if the product keeps lips “moist, soft and sensationally smooth,” how can constant application be a bad thing? We are so confused.