In summer 2025, Louis Vuitton, a brand owned by French multinational LVMH, launched its first cosmetics line, La Beauté Louis Vuitton. The lineup features 10 tinted lip balms, 8 eyeshadows and 55 lipstick shades.
The attention-getter in the lineup is the LV Rouge Satin Lipstick, which retails for $160 in its luxury case. The case has a magnetic closure and other luxurious design features that make up most of the cost. Refills are available for a comparatively more affordable $69.
While mass market color cosmetic brands such as Revlon and Maybelline sell lipsticks for less than $10, luxury brands can command far higher prices. Chanel offers its 31 Le Rouge lipstick for $195 in its case and $90 for the refill.
Guerlain, another LVMH brand, has a refill for $42 and cases ranging from $85 to $650. But comparing luxury to mass market brands is the wrong frame of reference. Compared with other products offered by luxury brands, such as bags and clothing, the lipsticks are more accessible entry points.
In many prestige cosmetics, the product ingredients may justify the cost. They often contain relatively expensive botanical extracts that may offer anti-aging benefits to the skin. For lipsticks, this is less obvious.
The claims made by the luxury lipsticks are related to lip hydrating and plumping effects — in the case of Louis Vuitton, supported by a four-week clinical test. Louis Vuitton also claims that its formula is composed of 86% naturally derived ingredients, a calculated value based on ISO standards 16128-1 and 16128-2.
Formula Features: Silky, Smooth, Durable and Glossy
To formulate a lipstick with a silky feel during application and the desired shiny or matte appearance, the balance of waxes and oils in the formula is critical. Many lipsticks contain carnauba wax, which has a relatively high melting point and provides hardness to the product, in combination with candelilla wax that melts at a somewhat lower temperature.
Emollient oils impart a smooth feel on the lips and make the product glossy and translucent. Film-forming resins, such as silicone copolymers, provide wear resistance and cohesion.
Ingredient Disclosure: Prestige vs. Mass
Comparing the ingredient list of the Louis Vuitton lipstick to that of mass market products (see below for full disclosure), the LV product contains a more complex wax mixture and lower amounts of silicone oil-derived ingredients.
Surfactants and emollients: The first ingredient on the INCI list is polyglyceryl-2 triisostearate, a nonionic surfactant and w/o emulsifier that is used to improve lipstick texture and color pigment dispersion. Following the surfactant are emollients including squalane, octyldodecanol and ethylhexyl palmitate, to soften and lubricate the lips and help disperse the pigments.
Wax mixture: The LV lipstick formula incorporates a complex wax mixture based on sunflower seed wax (Helianthus annuus). This is a hard wax with a relatively high melting point of 75-80°C, so it hardens and thickens the formula. At lower levels, the formula also contains beeswax, rice bran wax, shea butter and candelilla wax. Together, these give the lipstick its hardness and texture.
Sensory and thickening ingredients: Several other ingredients are present to give the product its silky feel. Lauryl PEG-10 tris(trimethylsiloxy)silylethyl dimethicone is a synthetic silicone emulsifier that creates a smooth, silky finish and forms a protective, wear-resistant film on the lips. In addition, disteardimonium hectorite and trihydroxystearin are thickeners that make the lipstick last longer.
Other oil phase ingredients: Three flower waxes round out the oil phase. Flower waxes such as jasmine give the product a long-lasting, gentle fragrance, although some suppliers don’t recommend their use in lipsticks. This is because they are generally extracted with solvents like hexane and ethanol and traces of these solvents may remain in the wax. Still, such traces can be removed to meet cosmetic-grade specifications.
Stabilizers and antioxidants: The formula contains several stabilizers. Antioxidants include propyl gallate, tocopherol, and pentaerythrityl tetra-di-t-butyl hydroxyhydrocinnamate.
Summary
In summary, the Louis Vuitton lipstick uses a sophisticated formula design with several luxury ingredients. The formula has a relatively high natural ingredient content and is offered in refillable packaging to appeal to sustainability-minded consumers.
Ingredients: Louis Vuitton LV Rouge Satin Lipstick: Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Squalane, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax, Octyldodecanol, Bis-behenyl/Isostearyl/Phytosteryl Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Trimethylolpropane Triisostearate, Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Calcium Carbonate, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Lauryl PEG-10 Tris(Trimethylsiloxy)silylethyl Dimethicone, Olus Oil (Vegetable Oil), Propylene Carbonate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter Unsaponifiables, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Parfum (Fragrance), Acacia Decurrens Flower Wax, Jasminum Grandiflorum (Jasmine) Flower Wax, Rosa Centolia Flower Wax, Trihydroxystearin, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Candelilla Cera (Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax), Propyl Gallate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Rose Flower Oil/Extract, Vanillin, Tocopherol, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake), CI 77492 (Iron Oxides), CI 15850 (Red 7), CI 42090 (Blue 1 Lake).
Ingredients are listed as shown on the company website as of Nov. 20, 2025, with some variations in pigments, depending on the shade.
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