Louis Vuitton
Beauty
Is the Beauty World Ready for a Super‑Luxury Makeup Line?
Louis Vuitton has officially entered the beauty arena. The new makeup line, La Beauté Louis Vuitton, launches globally on 29 August 2025.
Pat McGrath: The Beauty Queen Behind the Line spent over four years developing the brand.
Pat McGrath is a beauty institution—her own brand, Pat McGrath Labs, grew into a $1 billion business by 2019 and became Selfridges’ top-selling line. Louis Vuitton has tapped her artistry to elevate their first beauty venture—fusing heritage with innovation.
Louis Vuitton isn’t the first fashion house to venture into beauty—but they’re setting a new bar. Traditional designer makeup lines from Dior, Chanel, and Hermès largely hit lower luxury tiers.
But La Beauté targets the high end of prestige cosmetics, rivaling La Prairie, By Terry, and Clé de Peau Beauté—brands already known for sky-high pricing.
Consumers may appreciate the quality and McGrath’s legacy, but there is no doubt this is a bold leap in a climate where luxury scrutiny is mounting. This isn’t just “designer-accessible”—it’s investment-tier with lipsticks priced at £120, and brushes as high as £860, positioning this collection firmly at the ultra-luxury end.
What can we expect from the collection?
The collection includes:
55 lipsticks (satin and matte finishes, lovingly named to nod at LV’s Roman numeral inspiration) infused with shea butter, hyaluronic acid, and floral waxes, each lipstick is also infused with aroma extracted from the House’s fragrance atelier Les Fontaines Parfumées, imagine mimosa, jasmine, and rose on your lips. All housed in refillable monogram packaging.
10 lip balms Also containing hyaluronic acid and shea butter and flavoured with mint and raspberry delivering 48 hours of hydration.
8 eyeshadow palettes (quads combining wearable tones with one standout shade) Across all the palettes there are six finishes, from matte to glitter.
Accompanying accessories include artisanal trunks and makeup pouches.
Pricing That Raises Eyebrows
| Product Type | Price | Refill Price | Comparison Hermès |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lipstick & Balm | £120 | £52 | Hermès £62–£29 |
| Eyeshadow Quad | £190 | £69 | |
| Decorative Lipstick Trunk | £2130 | — |
The Tariff Twist: Cost Pressures Behind the Glamour
This launch comes at a turbulent time for LVMH. Tariffs on Chinese imports have surged, nearly doubling production costs for iconic goods like the Speedy bag.
Luxury brands are navigating a fine line: either raise prices (risking consumer backlash), absorb costs (squeezing margins), or diversify sourcing (a challenge given brand heritage)
The Verdict: Fashion Forward or Pricing Misstep?
With economic caution biting, is the average consumer—or even the luxury buyer—willing to splurge hundreds on a single product with a premium packaging label?
This launch raises a bigger question: When luxury costs escalate—not just for profit, but to offset global tensions—does prestige still justify the price?
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