Louis Vuitton Beauty has landed – here’s everything worth buying
The Parisian fashion house’s debut beauty collection has been created by lauded MUA Pat McGrath
The wait is finally over, beauty fans. Louis Vuitton Beauty (or La Beauté Louis Vuitton, if you want to be Parisian about it) drops online today – and it goes hard. Created by highly-respected makeup artist and founder of her own eponymous beauty business, Dame Pat McGrath, who was announced as the creative director of La Beauté Louis Vuitton back in March, the debut collection spans lipsticks, balms and eyeshadows, all offered in luxe packaging inspired by the fashion house’s signature trunks.
If you’re tuned into Beauty Tok, you’ll know that, even before launch, the first Louis Vuitton lipstick has gone viral. Why? An eye-watering £120 price tag. To put that into perspective, the equivalent from Chanel and Dior will set you back £42 and £41, respectively.
So, how is Louis Vuitton justifying the price? Part of it is, undeniably, the hype generated by making fans wait quite so long to get their fix. While Louis Vuitton has had fragrances for some time, when it comes to beauty, it is extremely fashionably late to the party. Practically every other major fashion house, from Victoria Beckham and Hermès to Gucci and Stella McCartney, has been in the beauty game for years. If the online frenzy surrounding La Beauté Louis Vuitton is anything to go by, being last in can be a highly lucrative move.
But a brand cannot survive on hype alone – and it’s undeniable that plenty of investment has gone into the development of these products. Take, for example, the packaging. While, sadly, it seems that the lipsticks don’t come with the adorable miniature trunks shown in the marketing materials (these, alongside the beauty cases, will accompany a series of limited-edition products, while a selection of beauty-focused small leather goods are also on offer), the standard packaging has been created by renowned German industrial designer, Konstantin Grcic.
Eschewing plastic in favour of aluminium and brass, there’s some serious heft to these lipstick and eyeshadow cases, each of which is based on a brass fitting from an archival Louis Vuitton trunk. “It’s a nod to heritage, but also a powerful marker of identity within the beauty line,” explains Grcic. “The way it feels in your hand, the sound of the closure, the temperature of the materials – these are all part of the emotional connection. This isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s about creating makeup that is functional, refillable, and worthy of being kept for years to come.”
Above all, of course, are the formulas. After all, no one wants to spend a small fortune on a flaky eyeshadow or low-pigment lipstick. So, how does La Beauté Louis Vuitton shape up? We got a sneak peek ahead of launch and here’s what we think.
LV Rouge lipstick
The first thing to note about Louis Vuitton’s debut lipstick is that it comes in a staggering 55 shades of red (a nod to the Roman numerals LV), meaning, whatever your complexion, there will be something to suit you. Twenty-seven promise a creamy satin finish, with the remaining 28 leaving a matte hue. Each bullet is also refillable (refills are priced at £52), if you don't find your exact match first time around.
First impressions are that the lipsticks feel tactile and expensive. The packaging is undeniably beautiful – these aren’t products you’ll want to be hiding in bathroom cupboards – and they smell great. McGrath worked with Louis Vuitton master perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud to infuse them with a signature scent of mimosa, jasmine and rose; it’s subtle but noticeable and safe for sensitive skin.
On the press release, McGrath is quoted as saying lipstick is “a signature in a single stroke”. In reality, we found it took three or four strokes to achieve the desired pigment. It’s possible the LV team took the desire for ‘buildable’ formulas a little too far – if you’re after a more natural look, you’ll likely love these – but it might not be the first choice for a bold red lip. Once in place, however, the effects were long-lasting and didn’t smudge or seep.
LV Baume
Sheerer still is Louis Vuitton’s wardrobe of ten lip balms, which run the gamut from entirely transparent to deep burgundy, each of which glides on with just a mere whisper of pigment. Infused with shea butter, hyaluronic acid, mimosa wax and berry extract, as well as a refreshing mint and raspberry fragrance, they’re lightweight, nourishing and don’t require a mirror for precision touch-ups.
At £120, these are hardly your average Carmex and do contain actives proven to improve the condition of parched lips, but they’re also not designed to revolutionise your beauty routine like a great lipstick can. On the other hand, their sheer colour does mean you may get better cost-per-wear out of them, making the investment more digestible.
LV Ombres eyeshadow
“The eyeshadows really set the tone for La Beauté Louis Vuitton – they are bold, intentional, and made to be remembered,” says McGrath of the brand’s collection of eight eyeshadow palettes. Each palette offers four highly-pigmented hues, largely in the brown, caramel, peach, rose and cream families, with formulas enriched with smoothing squalene, softening camelina oil extract and, in the glittering formulas, ‘light-up technology’; a transparent gel which reflects light for increased luminosity.
The squalene and camelina oil are both used to help the eyeshadows adhere to the skin and stay put. And, while we did find they were prone to a little under-eye dusting on application, in general, the pigments were strong, buildable and went on smoothly, making them a strong choice for precision looks. The range of shades is somewhat limited for now, tending towards natural-looking smoky eyes and daytime looks, rather than anything bold, trend-led or editorial, but there’s plenty of room for future expansion.
