Lume Brand Guidelines: Whole-Body Deodorant & Taboo-Breaking Marketing

Lume made whole-body deodorant a category.

Lume is a lesson in medical authority plus candour. It was founded in 2017 by Dr. Shannon Klingman, a board-certified OB-GYN. Seeing patients repeatedly misdiagnosed and prescribed antibiotics for what was often ordinary below-the-belt odour, she developed an external, aluminum-free “whole body” deodorant — safe to use anywhere on the body, targeting odour at its source.

Its positioning is right there in the name: whole-body odour control (underarms, feet, skin folds, and “below the belt”), aluminum-free, direct-to-consumer and then in major retail. But Lume’s superpower is candid, taboo-breaking marketing — frank, funny ads (by Harmon Brothers, the Squatty Potty shop) that openly discuss body odour above and below the belt, often featuring Dr. Klingman herself as the on-camera medical authority. It is deodorant, not antiperspirant — it controls odour rather than blocking sweat.

Lume was acquired by Harry’s Labs in December 2021, and its parent is now Mammoth Brands (the 2025 rebrand of Harry’s, Inc.), making it a sibling to Harry’s, Flamingo and Mando — the men’s whole-body deodorant spin-off Lume’s team launched in 2022. (Honest notes: Dr. Klingman is a real, board-certified OB-GYN and the actual founder — the person in the ads, not a hired character; Lume is a deodorant, not an antiperspirant; its parent is Mammoth Brands (via the 2021 Harry’s Labs acquisition); Mando is a sibling men’s brand, not a Lume sub-line; and no official brand hex is published.)

Lume lives in a warm coral-and-teal palette. Click a swatch to copy the hex.

Lume’s identity is warm, bright and friendly — a warm coral, a soft peach, a fresh teal, a playful lavender, and a warm cream. The palette reads as approachable and upbeat: warm, scent-driven colour coding (a scent is literally named “Wild Coral”) that makes a frank, potentially awkward topic feel friendly and human. It signals honest, approachable body care rather than clinical or embarrassing. The honest caveat: with no published brand hex, these tones are an original, unofficial interpretation, not first-party values.

The lesson is a coral-and-teal palette signals warm, approachable candour. Lume’s world reads as friendly and human. For designers, it is a reminder that warm coral and peach, balanced by a fresh teal, make a taboo subject feel approachable and upbeat, matching a brand built on candid, humorous honesty. The takeaways: use warm bright colour to make an awkward category friendly; balance warmth with a fresh accent; and treat any single hex as unofficial when there is no published spec.

The wordmark spirit is a friendly rounded sans — warm and approachable.

Lume’s identity carries a warm, friendly, approachable spirit — a “Lumē” wordmark (often shown with a macron over the final e) whose rounded forms match a candid, human brand. A friendly rounded sans captures the mood: it is warm and disarming, the register of an approachable, honest brand rather than clinical care. Set against a coral-and-teal palette, the friendly rounded sans feels upbeat and human — exactly the whole-body, taboo-breaking personality Lume carries. It is warm rather than sterile, mirroring frank but funny marketing. (Lume’s real wordmark is a trademark we describe but do not reproduce, and the exact typeface is not something we assert.) Because the specific mark is not ours to use, the honest description is “a friendly rounded sans spirit,” not the Lume logo. The type behaves like the brand: warm, friendly and approachable.

Lume stands for honest body care.

Lume is a lesson in turning candour into a brand. Body odour — especially below the belt — is a subject most brands avoid; Lume, led by a real doctor, addressed it frankly and humorously, and in doing so created and owns the “whole body deodorant” category. That combination of genuine medical authority and taboo-breaking honesty made an awkward topic approachable, built enormous word-of-mouth, and made Lume valuable enough for Harry’s to acquire. The candour, backed by a doctor, is the differentiator.

For designers and brand-builders, Lume offers a clear takeaway: honest, taboo-breaking candour — backed by real authority — can create a category. The lessons: address a real but avoided need directly and humanely; ground the candour in genuine credibility (a doctor-founder on camera); and use warm, friendly design so the frankness feels approachable. It is also a reminder to keep the facts honest: Lume was founded in 2017 by Dr. Shannon Klingman, is a whole-body (not antiperspirant) deodorant, and is now owned by Mammoth Brands via Harry’s Labs — with the palette here an unofficial interpretation. Lume told the truth about odour — proof that candour can be the difference.

Keep Lume’s identity on hand — save it to a board in the Made Good inspiration library.