Rhode vs Summer Fridays: Lip Balm, Moisturizer and Price Compared

Rhode vs Summer Fridays: the short answer

Pick Rhode if you want the cheaper lip tube ($20 vs $24) with a peptide in the formula, or face products that all cost $32. Pick Summer Fridays if you want 14 lip flavors instead of 5, or face products backed by clinical hydration measurements, not only customer surveys.

Rhode and Summer Fridays are Los Angeles brands built around a lip tube plus a short line of hydrating face products. This is a label-and-data comparison of eight products, four per brand, not a hands-on test, using prices, ingredient lists, and results read from rhodeskin.com and summerfridays.com on September 29, 2026.

The lip formulas share 10 ingredients, so they are closer than the price gap suggests. The face lineups split more clearly: every result Rhode publishes for these products is a consumer self-assessment, while Summer Fridays backs Cloud Dew and Jet Lag Deep Hydration Serum with clinical measurements of skin hydration.

Choose this if

• Choose Rhode if you want a peptide lip treatment for less. Peptide Lip Treatment costs $20 and lists palmitoyl tripeptide-1, and the Unscented version lists no fragrance or flavor ingredient.
• Choose Summer Fridays if flavor choice matters. Lip Butter Balm lists 14 shades and flavors, against 5 for Rhode.
• Choose Summer Fridays if you want measured results. Cloud Dew and Jet Lag Deep Hydration Serum cite clinical studies of 35 and 34 participants that measured skin hydration.

Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment vs Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm: which lip balm?

Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment costs $4 less and adds a peptide, while Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm comes in 14 flavors and is sold by weight rather than volume. The table compares the Unscented Rhode tube with the Vanilla Summer Fridays tube.

A milliliter and a gram measure different things, so the fair comparison is the checkout price: $20 against $24.

The two formulas share 10 ingredients, including diisostearyl malate (second on both labels), hydrogenated polyisobutene, polybutene, microcrystalline wax, and shea butter. The differences sit lower down. Rhode adds palmitoyl tripeptide-1, one of the peptides used in skincare, at 17th, then babassu oil (18th), cupuaçu butter (19th), tocopheryl acetate, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, lactic acid, and stevioside. Summer Fridays adds murumuru seed butter (11th), sodium hyaluronate (12th), vanillin (13th), mica, and BHT.

Flavor is where the labels part ways. The Unscented Rhode tube lists no fragrance, and the rhode vanilla version lists the same ingredients plus Fragrance (Parfum) at the end. Both Rhode versions list stevioside, a sweetener. The Summer Fridays Vanilla balm lists vanillin as its flavor ingredient and does not list fragrance, parfum, or flavor.

Both brands' lip results are consumer self-assessments taken right after use. Rhode surveyed 32 people: 100% agreed it reduces the appearance of dry lips, and 90% agreed lips feel softer and more supple. Summer Fridays cites an independent consumer study of 39 people aged 20 to 55: 100% agreed their lips looked healthier, and 97% agreed they felt hydrated.

Rhode cites a 2022 Allure Best of Beauty award for Best Untinted Lip Balm, and Summer Fridays calls itself the #1 lip brand based on YipitData's 2025 US prestige sales ranking. Our best lip balm guide compares more tubes.

Which moisturizer is better, Rhode Barrier Restore Cream or Summer Fridays Cloud Dew?

Rhode Barrier Restore Cream costs $6 less and lists shea butter 4th plus four peptides, while Summer Fridays Cloud Dew is a gel cream the brand says is best for oily skin, with a clinical hydration result behind it.

Barrier Restore Cream lists niacinamide 7th and squalane 8th, ahead of four peptides: acetyl tetrapeptide-2, palmitoyl heptapeptide-27, palmitoyl oligopeptide-78, and palmitoyl octapeptide-24. In Rhode's consumer study of 46 people after 30 days, 89% agreed it gave their skin enough moisture and 83% agreed their skin looked healthier. A 2000 study reported that nicotinamide increases biosynthesis of ceramides and other stratum corneum lipids. That study tested the ingredient, not this cream, and Cloud Dew does not list niacinamide.

Cloud Dew lists coconut fruit water 5th, two forms of hyaluronic acid, ceramide NP, 15 amino acids, and palmitoyl tripeptide-1, the same peptide Rhode puts in its lip treatment. Summer Fridays calls it a newly improved formula, with coconut water and cherry extract added and pineapple enzymes removed. In an independent clinical study of 35 participants aged 18 to 50, 100% showed a significant measured improvement in skin hydration, though the page gives no timepoint. In a separate consumer study of 35 people, 96% agreed their skin felt soft and nourished after one week.

How do Rhode's glazing products compare with Summer Fridays Jet Lag?

Rhode's two glazing products cost $32 each, less than Summer Fridays' Jet Lag Mask at $49 and Jet Lag Deep Hydration Serum at $44, but only the Summer Fridays serum has a clinical hydration measurement behind it. For the glazed look itself, our glass skin routine covers layering order.

Glazing Milk vs Jet Lag Mask

Both list the same three ceramides, NP, AP, and EOP, but they do different jobs. Glazing Milk is a milky essence you shake before use. Jet Lag Mask + Moisturizer is a cream that Summer Fridays says works as a day or night moisturizer, a rinse-off or overnight mask, a hand cream, or an eye cream.

In Rhode's study, 97% agreed Glazing Milk leaves skin dewy, radiant, and glowing. Summer Fridays reports that 100% of participants saw an increase in moisturization and hydration 8 hours after applying Jet Lag Mask. That wording sounds like a measurement, but the page's footnote describes a consumer study.

Peptide Glazing Fluid vs Jet Lag Deep Hydration Serum

Glazing Fluid's peptide, acetyl hexapeptide-8, is sold under the trade name Argireline. A 2002 study described it as a synthetic hexapeptide with antiwrinkle activity, but Rhode makes no wrinkle claim for Glazing Fluid, and that study cannot tell you what this serum does. In Rhode's consumer study of 48+ people, 92% agreed skin felt hydrated after one use.

The Summer Fridays serum has the stronger evidence type. In an independent clinical study of 34 participants aged 18 to 55, 100% showed a significant increase in measured skin hydration immediately after application and after 24 hours.

Who owns Rhode and Summer Fridays?

Rhode is owned by e.l.f. Beauty, and Summer Fridays is majority-owned by the private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners, as reported by WWD and BeautyMatter. They are separate companies.

Hailey Rhode Bieber launched Rhode in 2022 with co-founders Michael D. Ratner and Lauren Ratner. On May 28, 2025, e.l.f. Beauty signed a definitive agreement to acquire it for $800 million at closing ($600 million in cash and $200 million in e.l.f. stock) plus a potential $200 million earnout over three years, a deal valued at $1 billion. The deal closed on August 5, 2025, according to StockTitan's summary of e.l.f.'s 8-K filing. Bieber stayed on as Founder, Chief Creative Officer, and Head of Innovation. e.l.f. reported Rhode's net sales at $212 million for the 12 months ended March 31, 2025.

Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Ireland founded Summer Fridays in 2018 and launched it with Jet Lag Mask as a Sephora exclusive. On July 25, 2024, TSG Consumer Partners announced what its release calls a strategic growth investment, with the co-founders keeping a significant stake. The release does not say majority; WWD (via Yahoo Finance) and BeautyMatter reported that TSG took a majority stake, on undisclosed terms. WWD cited industry estimates of around $100 million in sales at the time.

Which is cheaper, Rhode or Summer Fridays?

Rhode is cheaper in every pairing: its four products total $116, against $155 for the four from Summer Fridays.

Unit prices follow the unit each brand prints: per fluid ounce for products sold by volume, per gram for the two sold by weight. Rhode's pages list Glazing Milk and Peptide Glazing Fluid in ounces only, so the 124 mL and 50 mL figures come from the labels printed on Rhode's own product photos. Barrier Restore Cream gets no unit price because its page lists 1.7 oz without saying whether that is fluid ounces or net weight, and gives no milliliters.

Summer Fridays' 15% Subscribe and Save discount narrows the gap on repeat orders, bringing Lip Butter Balm to $20.40 and Cloud Dew to $32.30. Rhode sells little sizes at $20, including Barrier Restore Cream in 1.0 oz. Rhode ships free in the US on orders over $45, and Summer Fridays on US orders of $35 or more.

Which is better for sensitive lips and skin, Rhode or Summer Fridays?

For lips, Rhode's Unscented tube is the only version here with no flavor or fragrance ingredient on its label, while the Summer Fridays Vanilla balm lists vanillin. For face products, the brands tie: none of the six lists fragrance, and none of the eight products lists denatured alcohol.

Benzyl alcohol works as a preservative and is also on the EU list of labelable fragrance allergens. We read the labels for two Rhode lip versions and one Summer Fridays flavor only, so check the list for any other flavor.

Summer Fridays states that all four of its products suit all skin types, including sensitive. Rhode states all skin types for its four, and the Glazing Milk FAQ names sensitive skin. Glazing Milk, Jet Lag Mask, Cloud Dew, and Jet Lag Deep Hydration Serum carry the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance, according to their product pages. Both brands state that all eight products are vegan and cruelty-free.

What we would buy

• A lip treatment with no flavor ingredient, for the lowest price: Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment, Unscented.
• A flavored lip balm with the most choice: Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm.
• A daily face cream for $32: Rhode Barrier Restore Cream.
• A gel cream with a measured hydration result, for oilier skin: Summer Fridays Cloud Dew.
• The lowest price per fluid ounce: Rhode Glazing Milk.
• A hydrating serum with clinical data: Summer Fridays Jet Lag Deep Hydration Serum.
• One tube that works as moisturizer and mask: Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask.
• A peptide serum for $32: Rhode Peptide Glazing Fluid.

Sources

• Rhode product pages and ingredient lists for all four products, including the rhode vanilla lip version, rhodeskin.com, captured September 29, 2026
• Summer Fridays product pages and ingredient lists for all four products, summerfridays.com, captured September 29, 2026
• e.l.f. Beauty press release, May 28, 2025, and StockTitan's summary of the e.l.f. Form 8-K on the closing
• TSG Consumer Partners press release, July 25, 2024; WWD via Yahoo Finance (July 2024); BeautyMatter
• Tanno O et al. Nicotinamide increases biosynthesis of ceramides as well as other stratum corneum lipids to improve the epidermal permeability barrier. The British Journal of Dermatology, 2000 (PMID 10971324)
• Blanes-Mira C et al. A synthetic hexapeptide (Argireline) with antiwrinkle activity. International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2002 (PMID 18498523)