French luxury house Louis Vuitton’s first-ever beauty collection – La Beaute – is finally here

French luxury house, Louis Vuitton has launched its first ever La Beaute collection – 55 lipsticks, 10 sheer lip balms and eight versatile eyeshadow palettes – globally on Aug 25 (Monday) through its website. (The products will also be available in-store from Aug 29.) At S$220 for a lipstick or a lip balm, and S$345 for an eyeshadow palette, we’re talking serious money to pretty your face.

It’s not mere cosmetics that Louis Vuitton is trying to sell you. That’s just too basic. Rather, it’s an “expression of identity, artistry, and empowerment.” Where makeup is reimagined as ritual and artifact. Because you can’t just be a luxury fashion house these days, you must be a cultural brand.

What is culture?

“Makeup. It’s power. It’s presence. And it’s personal,” said makeup artist, Pat McGrath.

For over two decades, McGrath created runway makeup looks for the Louis Vuitton shows. Now the creative director of cosmetics at the French luxury house, she said: “Luxury in makeup is about performance, craftsmanship, and sensoriality. It’s about textures that feel exquisite, colours that captivate, and formulas that perform flawlessly.”

“True luxury is when every detail is considered — from the way the pigment melts into the skin to the way a lipstick feels in your hand. It’s the fusion of artistry and technology, of heritage and innovation.”

With respect to Louis Vuitton, even makeup must be “heirloom-worthy”. Read bold, iconic and unforgettable.

The La Beaute collection is all that. Each product has been crafted by McGrath to be an object of desire that is designed to be held, treasured, and worn.

55 SHADES, 55 JOURNEYS AND THEN SOME

The indisputable star of the beauty line must be the LV Rouge Complete lipstick. There are 55 shades in total – a subtle and ingenious nod to the Roman numerals for LV – and embody the maison’s dedication to craft, symbolism, and timeless codes.

It is the biggest launch of lipstick colours, for a debut collection from a luxury brand. Even more impressive: Every shade is said to be universally flattering, because inclusivity has always been an important criterion for McGrath.

The lipstick comes in two finishes, each delivering richly pigmented colour. Twenty-seven are creamy satin textures that glide on with effortless luminosity; the other 28 are velvety matt lippies that make lips look more sculpted and plumper.

Intense pigments and sensual finishes aside, there’s also performance. The lipsticks are made with natural waxes from rose, jasmine and mimosa flowers – the same flowers that are emblematic of the French luxury house. Enriched with shea butter and hyaluronic acid, the skin-loving formulation promises eight-hours, long-wearing vivid colour and 12-hour moisture preservation and long-lasting comfort.

Ten sheer lip balms make up the LV Baume collection – a luminous and translucent counter to a bold lipstick. These illuminating tints offer lightweight wear with a buildable finish and a sensual balm texture. Effortless polish with a soft-focus radiance, they can be used solo or on top other lip products. The formula also boasts shea butter and lip-plumping hyaluronic acid, promising 48-hour hydration and 24/7 comfort and supple smoothness.

What also makes the lipsticks and balms unique and novel: They have a scented signature. A cross-metier collaboration between Pat McGrath and Louis Vuitton’s master perfumer, Jacques Cavallier Belletrud, the lipsticks carry a bespoke blend of mimosa, jasmine and rose, while the balms have a delectable scent of mint and raspberry.

Belletrud shared: “Unlike traditional perfumes built on alcohol, this base had to work in wax and oil. Technically, it's far more complex. But with natural ingredients of the highest quality, we created a scent that lingers softly and elevates the entire ritual. It took us four years to get right and is something I’m very proud of.”

EYE SEE YOU

With eight curated “harmonies”, the LV Ombre Complete Eyeshadows range is set to change perspectives. Each palette is a quad of four eyeshadows: Three are wearable, everyday shades; one is a contrasting twist to the harmony, to give added pop of colour or dimension to peepers.

Bold, intentional and made to be remembered, the shadows explore six finishes ranging from ultra-matt to shiny glitters, to transform the eyes. The colour pay-off is vivid and vibrant, and the shadows glide onto the skin without pulling or dragging, for maximum comfort.

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, FOREVER

One thing that cannot be ignored in today’s context of luxury is sustainability. It’s that buy nice or buy twice argument, which favours the “heirloom worthy” splurge.

Renowned German industrial designer Konstantin Grcic was brought in to give architectural clarity and turn a functional, disposable product into a forever keepsake.

Two things stand out in his presentation of the La Beaute collection. The golden ring – a detail that is inspired by the brass fittings of LV’s iconic trunks – is a nod to heritage and a powerful marker of identity that carries throughout the beauty line.

The second is how sustainability is a foundational element through the collection. Not just about aesthetics, the make-up casing is designed for longevity. The narrative here is that make-up is functional, refillable and worthy of being kept for years to come, where the refill ritual is as much of a luxury experience as the gesture of application. (Lipstick or lip balm refills are S$94; eye shadow refills are S$125.)

The cases are crafted from aluminium and brass and there are even innovative details like a floral motif lock system that only allows lipsticks and eye shadows from La Beaute Louis Vuitton to be housed in their heirloom cases. Every factor, from the way it feels in the hand to the sound of the closure, build the emotional connection with your things, so you’re not throwing things out, easily.

As he summarised: “These are pieces meant to live with you, to be kept, treasured, and used again and again.”