The Lipstick Making a Compelling Case for Beauty Being Taken More Seriously
There are plenty of lipsticks with good backstories… very few have a reason to exist quite this substantial.
Code8’s Evie Dove – a bright, almost-neutral coral that manages the rare feat of being genuinely universal – is not just a beautiful shade. It is also part of a wider story about grief, kindness and the very practical ways beauty can sometimes do good in the world (despite its reputation as one of the ‘softer’ industries).
At first glance, a lipstick and paediatric healthcare training have very little to do with one another. Here though, the two – happily – intertwine; 20% of every Evie Dove lipstick sold goes towards The Evie Dove Foundation, the charity set up by Katie Dove after the death of her 13-year-old daughter, Evie, in March 2022.
“We wanted to do something where we could see a tangible result”
“We had the most exceptional care through the NHS,” Katie tells me of Evie’s treatment at both the Royal Marsden and King’s College Hospital. “Really, really extraordinary. And when we needed people the most, they were there for us.”
“We wanted to do something where we could see a tangible result,” she goes on. “You never quite know where your money goes with larger charities. We wanted to know exactly what it was doing.”
Set up in August 2022, the foundation focuses on funding training for paediatric healthcare professionals across the UK – supporting those who might otherwise not have access to further education through standard NHS routes. It is deliberately hands-on.
Evie and Katie Dove. Image – Katie Dove
Applications are reviewed personally. “This person is really lovely. This person does an incredible job. This person deserves to be funded,” Katie says, describing the process.
Four years on, the foundation has raised over £500,000, supporting more than 250 healthcare professionals across 43 hospitals in the UK.
One of the earliest recipients, healthcare assistant Cuba Parris, who worked on Evie’s team, has since gone on to train as a doctor with the foundation’s support.
“He just brought light to our lives,” Katie tells me. “He made Evie laugh, made her smile. We used to look forward to seeing him.”
Now, she explains, “he’s finishing his training this year and will be a doctor… because of Evie.”
Evie, Katie says, was “the kindest, loving, giving child… one of those people that just wanted to mother everybody.” Toys rarely stayed in the house for long. “She would give everything away,” she adds. “She just wanted to make people happy.”
“What do you do on the day after your child’s funeral?”
The lipstick in her name, meanwhile, came about completely by accident. The day after Evie’s funeral, Katie found herself in London with her husband and son, Teddy, filling time. “What do you do on the day after your child’s funeral?” she asks me. “Even I don’t know.” Wandering through Burlington Arcade, they randomly stumbled into Code8’s Mayfair store.
Inside, they were invited to sit down and try the brand’s bespoke lipstick service. “They just made us feel so welcome,” she says. “No questions. Just kindness.”
Asked what shade she wanted to create, Katie instantly chose the colour Evie used to ask her about the most while watching her apply makeup. “She used to say, ‘Mummy, what’s your favourite colour?’ And I’d say, ‘You know it’s coral.’ She just loved that.”
Image – Courtesy of writer
Working with a Code8’s assistant, Katie created “a bright coral-y, red-y, pinky shade – but not too blue. Something that would just lift me.”
The lipstick was named Evie Dove.
What followed is the sort of thing that rarely happens outside fiction. After Katie shared the story on Instagram, Code8 reached out and offered to produce the shade commercially, with a portion of sales going to the foundation. “I was like, what, me?” she says. “But they’ve been incredible. They’re genuinely invested.”
They continue to donate 20% of profits from every sale – a figure that, as she points out, is unusually high for this kind of collaboration.
“Even if you’re having a really terrible day, you put it on and it gives you something”
Having been lucky enough to try the Evie Dove, the shade in and of itself is worth mentioning too – regardless of its charitable impact.
Corals are notoriously difficult to get right, but this one strikes the perfect balance; bright, but not brash; warm, but without tipping too orange. It’s also universally flattering and never makes your teeth look yellow (my main bug bear with coral tones). Available in a matte finish, it offers a classy splash of colour, without dominating the rest of your makeup – and (thanks to the vitamin E and squalene here) without drying your lips.
“It’s like a neutral coral,” Katie says. “There isn’t really anything else like it.”
“Even if you’re having a really terrible day, you put it on and it gives you something,” she says. “A bit of confidence. A lift.”
She has seen that effect extend beyond her own experience. NHS staff supported by the foundation have bought and worn it; others gift it to friends. “It gives people permission,” Katie adds. “To wear something bright. To feel a bit more like themselves.”
Code8 makeup artist Sasha applying Evie Dove to Katie. Image – Katie Dove
As Code8’s Global Head of Artistry, Sasha Ghodstinat, explains; “Colour has an incredible ability to shift our mood, how we see ourselves, and even change the course of our day.”
Her advice? “When you find a shade that feels right, wear it boldly. Layer it so you can really see the colour against your skin. You can always blot.”
The takeaway
The Evie Dove lipstick has since become a starting point for further collaborations, including an upcoming swimsuit in the same coral shade. The new project feeds back into the same idea; something thoughtful, done well, with a portion of proceeds going towards paediatric healthcare.
“We just want to help as many people as possible,” she says. “To do something positive.”
The Evie Dove lipstick is £45 and available to buy online from Code8 and from the Evie Dove Foundation.
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