Celestial Strawberry

 

The extraterrestrial Celestial Strawberry Sponge on Sparkler first shimmered in 1997 (almost 30 years ago!) with the expansion of the Cosmic collection. Sponge on Sparklers were not necessarily new and first originally launched in 1994 under the name Lip Sparkles, but relaunched and would continue to see name changes up until it was discontinued in 2015. 

Nearly 20 years of most Celestial Strawberry labels from 1998-2015.

Celestial Strawberry quickly became MVP status when it launched in 1997, alongside its sister Vanilla Frosting, who got an earlier head start and launched in 1994. Celestial Strawberry was so iconic it stayed in the line-up until the very end, so we got lots of label updates in the course of it's nearly 20 year reign. 

The Sponge on Sparkler formula saturated lips in a galaxy of glossy glimmer with a sheer wash of color and soft silver shimmers that twinkled like the stars. It felt creamy on the lips with decent staying power if you didn’t help to lick it off. It had shea butter and aloe so not only was it a tasty treat, it protected and perfected our puckers. Celestial Strawberry gave lips that sheer, just eaten strawberry effect and lips gleamed with that warm red tone that freshly ripened strawberries have.

Though the color has faded due to age, you can see remnants of the original shade on the applicator tip

Celestial Strawberry was a brand new strawberry flavor from Bonne Bell and probably as iconic and memorable as Chanel No. 5 to the millennial crowd. Think of the juiciest, most mouthwatering strawberry in all of the stratosphere bottled up into a lip gloss. To this day I have never smelled a dupe for Celestial Strawberry though Bonne Bell did reuse this same strawberry in the Strawberry Icicle Sun Smackers, Splashberry Lip Rush, and Strawberry Breeze Flip Gloss. It was also mixed with the original Watermelon for the Strawberry Watermelon Swirl Gloss that proved to be a perfect pairing. 

The very first packaging for Celestial Strawberry featured in this limited edition BOGO duo with Kiwi Kosmos Cosmic Cheeks Gel.

Celestial Strawberry started out with the transparent see thru label that showed the full scope of the glimmering gloss through the tube and was the same design as the existing Sponge on Sparklers at the time; Cinnamon Stick, Vanilla Frosting, Pink Lemonade and Peach Pizzaz. Sadly, Cinnamon Stick (my favorite!) was discontinued shortly after this and didn't make it to the Cosmic Lips update with the existing Sponge on Sparklers. Vanilla Frosting was phased into the Cosmic Sponge on Sparkler line untouched, following Pink Lemonade being renamed Pink Lemon Moon and Peach Pizzaz renamed Peach Stardust. 

Holiday 1997 Shimmery Lips & Glittery Tips duo

Bonne Bell promoted this for Holiday 1997 in the Shimmery Lips & Glittery Tips duo and named Strawberry Sequins, not to be confused with Holiday 2000’s Strawberry Sequins, which was a totally new flavor. The Strawberry Sequins Sponge on Sparkler donned the same Celestial Strawberry flavor and formula we all knew and loved.

The most iconic label that became synonymous with Sponge on Sparklers came in 1998 to match the Cosmic Lip Smackers. The legendary glittery label sparkled like a showgirl on stage in the stars and made it all the more glamorous to pull out of your pocket or purse to apply. 

We continued to see the glamorously glittery label in 2002 when the name got a slight change to Lip Sparkler and even changed to just Smackers branding rather than Lip Smacker. This would be the last we’d see the glittery label too though in retrospect it was entirely short lived. 🥺

Eventually in 2003 we’d get a more 1950’s mid century art pop designed label that I really liked despite losing the glittery luster.  This eventually transitioned into the Super Star collection that full Cosmic Lips line transitioned to around 2004 that donned inspirational quotes on the packaging shown above. Celestial Strawberry's quote was "dreams come true' and was placed on the opposite side of the packaging of where the flavor name was listed. 

Fast forward to late 2005 when the labels matched the Super Star Lip Smacker packaging that felt slightly mid-century space age meets mid-2000's scrapbook graphics, to which played a big part into Bonne Bell's print ads at the time.

Towards the end of the decade, Bonne Bell revamped the Lip Smacker logo to a modern minimalist-meets-the original 1970's logo, that started with the Original & Best Lip Smackers. By this time the Cosmic Lip Smackers, aka Super Star Lip Smackers were again renamed to simply Lip Smacker Shimmers and received a sleek new cursive font that only the shimmer products bestowed. This included the Lip Sparklers that were also renamed to simply Lip Smacker Sparkler. The cap also transitioned in this era from the more opaque silver shimmer studded shade to a transparent sparkle infused stunner.

For Easter 2010, Celestial Strawberry wore a festive, limited edition disguise along with a new name Candy Strawberries, but that didn't fool anyone. It still had it's unmatched, magical strawberry flavor.

The last and final form of Celestial Strawberry saw the graphics change subtly, dropping the cursive font for the more uniform and modern Lip Smacker logo. "Sparkler" was added above the Lip Smacker logo as well, though the shade, formula and flavor mostly stayed consistent with the original. By the end of 2015 this mostly disappeared from the market and was discontinued when the Bell's sold the brands. 

Bonne Bell logo's on Celestial Strawberry's packaging with the famous Lakewood, Ohio 44107 zipcode that later changed to their Westlake, 0hio address then Santa Monica where their marketing offices were moved to.

Celestial Strawberry was one of many amazing Sponge on Sparklers in the star studded lineup and gained a cult following quickly when it launched in 1997. The Cosmic Lips Sponge on Sparklers offered a galaxy of so many yummy lip smackin’ flavors like Mystic Malt, Pear-a-dise, and Bubble Gum Blowout to name a few, that came out alongside the all-stars that outlasted other flavors until the end in 2015. There is not a single lip gloss on the market today that's as exciting as Sponge on Sparklers were, 🌠

Sponge on Sparkler title changes and scripts from 1998-2015.

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