By Gabriela Afanador
Thursday 11, June 2026
Photo via @rhode on Instagram
Rhode has built its identity on a specific kind of restraint, the glazed skin, the minimal packaging, the sense that everything in the lineup exists because it solves a real problem rather than because the category demanded another product. Since Hailey Bieber launched the brand, it has operated less like a traditional beauty label and more like an extension of a very specific aesthetic philosophy, one where skincare and makeup are not separate categories but a single continuous idea. Glazing Milk, the Peptide Lip Tints, the barrier-focused skincare, all of it has existed within the same visual and textural world, dewy, hydrated, slightly undone in a way that always reads as deliberate.
The acquisition by e.l.f. Beauty for one billion dollars in May 2025 gave the brand the infrastructure to scale that philosophy into new territory, and the timing of that move has shaped everything that has come since. A direct-to-consumer brand built on scarcity and viral drops needed a different kind of backbone to support a permanent retail presence, and the September 2025 nationwide Sephora launch was the first real test of whether Rhode could hold onto its identity while becoming available everywhere rather than only during limited windows. That launch generated an estimated ten million dollars in sales within its first two days, and it set the stage for the Summer ’26 Collection to be the brand’s biggest seasonal release yet.
Released on June 9th, 2026, the Summer ’26 Collection generated a waitlist of over 700,000 people before launch, and what is most interesting about it is not the number but the direction Rhode chose to take. Rather than chasing trend-driven color drops the way most beauty brands do in summer, Rhode extended its skin-first approach into bronzer and highlighter, two categories that are often the most heavy-handed and least skin-friendly in anyone’s makeup bag, and tried to make them feel like an extension of skincare rather than a departure from it. The Pocket Bronze and Highlight Milk are the anchors of the collection, and everything else, the lip tints, the liners, the tools, the accessories, builds outward from that same idea of warmth and glow rather than coverage and contour.
The overall feeling of the collection is sun-warmed and a little undone, in keeping with Rhode’s visual language generally, the kind of glow that is supposed to look like it happened naturally rather than like it was built in layers. I have not tried any of these myself yet, so here is a rundown of each product and what people who have are saying about them.
Photo via @rhode on Instagram
Pocket Bronze
The Pocket Bronze is a cream bronzing stick built around firming peptides and tamanu oil, designed to melt into the skin rather than sit on top of it, and it comes in eight shades developed specifically to avoid the chalky or orange undertones common in bronzers at this price point. On dry and normal skin, the formula has been described as easy to blend with real slip, leaving a sheer wash of color rather than a visible product, and the shade range has been noted for holding natural undertones across deeper skin tones rather than turning ashy. On oily or combination skin, some users have noted the emollient base can shift or fade in heat and humidity, so it may behave differently depending on your skin type and climate.
Highlight Milk
Highlight Milk is Rhode’s first liquid highlighter, built on the same base as the brand’s Glazing Milk but with micro-fine pearlescent shimmer added, along with a Ceramide Trio, Vitamin E, and glycerin for hydration. In natural light the translucent shades have been described as a clean, dewy sheen, and it has been used as a multipurpose product, as a primer, mixed into heavier foundations to sheer them out, or worn as a highlight on the collarbones and shoulders. Under indoor lighting or camera flash, the shimmer reads differently for some users, and on oily skin an all-over application has been noted to shift by midday, so a more targeted application seems to be the general consensus for that skin type.
Peptide Lip Tint, Summer Shades
The summer collection added three limited-edition Peptide Lip Tints, Colada, Macadamia Butter, and Honey Mango, each blending sheer bronze or peach pigment with a tropical scent. Some shade comparisons online have noted similarities between these and existing permanent shades, Colada to Toast and Macadamia Butter to Ribbon, so if you already own those it might be worth comparing swatches before adding the new ones to your routine, though the seasonal scents are a nice touch either way.
Peptide Lip Shape
The Peptide Lip Shape liner range expanded with three new shades, Push, Squeeze, and Jump, moving into deeper, bronzier tones to match the rest of the collection. Built on peptides and plumping emollients, these are designed to glide on smoothly without dragging, and the feedback on this one has been fairly consistent, generally functioning as a reliable way to define and deepen the lip without the dryness that liners can sometimes bring.
Pocket Brush
The Pocket Brush is Rhode’s first tool, a dual-ended synthetic brush meant to make blending the new cream products easier on the go. Opinions on this one have been mixed, with some users finding the bristles too sparse for their preference and reaching for their fingers instead, while others may find it works fine for quick touch-ups. I have not tried this one either, so it might come down to personal preference on brush density.
The Extras
Rounding out the collection are the seasonal accessories, the Terry Bag, the Terry Towel, and limited-edition MagSafe Lip Cases in Colada and Bronze. These round out the summer aesthetic of the drop and have become part of what people are buying into when they buy into a Rhode collection, the full picture of the brand rather than just the products inside it.