Christian Louboutin’s first foray into beauty was nail polish, which made total sense–his famous shoes adorn and accent a woman’s feet, just as nail color so often does. Louboutin’s next beauty venture, lipstick, also makes a certain amount of sense–his signature color is a vibrant red, after all, and no place in beauty is the color more beloved than on the lips. His just-launched lip colors start with Rouge Louboutin and go far beyond.
There are a few things you’re going to notice about this lipstick up front. First, it’s a weird shape. The tubes are shaped like literal bullets for some kind of very large gun, which is a play on the industry practice of referring to standard lipstick packaging as a “bullet.” As always, a little cheeky, Mr. Louboutin. It won’t sit flat on a vanity, but instead, the tube is meant to hang around your neck as a pendant. It has a little loop and everything. (Chain sold separately, as far as I can tell.)
Second, is, of course, the price tag. Each Louboutin lipstick will set you back $90, which makes the line the new high-price leader in the field; the most expensive non-limited edition lipsticks out there are from brands like Sisley, La Prairie, Guerlain and Tom Ford, which all fall somewhere in the $50 to $60 range. Louboutin has them all beat by a good bit of cash. (If you’re feeling luxurious, we did find a $300 limited edition lipstick in a crocodile tube from Givenchy.)
Third, the colors are great. I usually stick to a fairly narrow array of shades, but the more I looked at Louboutin’s lipsticks, the more many of them started to look like near-perfect representations of the colors they were supposed to be. Instead of being “good…but just a little too pink” or “nice…but not exactly what I’m picturing in my head,” they were spot-on. That’s not usually an experience I have when looking at lip colors, but if you’re going to charge a premium, I guess it’s important to get it right.
The line debuted with a ton of shades and three different finishes (matte, satin and sheer–each finish has a slightly different bullet casing), all of which are currently available via Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Net-a-Porter and beyond. For a slightly smaller splurge, Louboutin’s lipliners will set you back $40.
Check out the three finishes below. Could you ever see yourself spending $90 on one lipstick?
Christian Louboutin Mate Lipstick in Djalouzi
$90 via Bergdorf Goodman
Christian Louboutin Satin Lipstick in Let Me Tell You
$90 via Bergdorf Goodman
Christian Louboutin Sheer Lipstick in Rouge Louboutin
$90 via Bergdorf Goodman
