We’re always going to be a little skeptical of luxury beauty products with beautiful, ornate packaging, and comically large price tags. To some extent, it’s always going to feel like we’re paying for the packaging, the brand, rather than the actual product which, more often than not, feels a little bit like a dud. This was our fear when the time came to review the drop-dead gorgeous Rouge Louboutin Velvet Matte Lipsticks by the one and only Christian Louboutin.
These lipsticks are encased in beautiful, sculpture-like packages that, according to the brand, are inspired by “Middle Eastern antiquities and the Art Deco movement.” It’s a lot to process for a seemingly simple tube of lipstick, but does it actually work.
This lipstick is, surprisingly, pretty solid—definitely would stand on its own even without the ornate casing. “Velvet matte” is the right way to describe the lipstick. It’s so smooth—but not buttery, which is an important distinction with this finish—without being glossy or shiny. The pigments are also intense. With one swipe, you get medium-full to full coverage, so there’s not a lot of back-and-forth to get the product to show up correctly. And because of the “matte” part of its formula, it also tends to hold for a very long time.
Of course, the price is a huge downside with this product, but after getting some wear time in, that’s not even what we’re most concerned about anymore. Despite being a “velvet matte,” in practice it hews a little bit closer to being a full matte because of how drying it gets after some time wearing it. It’s not the kind of matte that feels like a vise against the lips, but it does grab on to the lips, sometimes exacerbating texture after a period of time.
We’re a little bit shocked at how much pleasure we derived from being able to wear this, not just because the packaging is beautiful, but because it definitely proved our preconceptions about beautiful packaging vis-à-vis product quality wrong. Do we think it’s absolutely worth its price tag? Probably not unless you’re looking to burn some cash. But the formula is high-quality enough to be among our favorites of its kind, and we’re definitely looking towards another opportunity to take advantage of this product, and how beautiful it makes us look and feel.
SUITABLE FOR: All skin types.
Other Information
- The Christian Louboutin Beauty Rouge Louboutin Velvet Matte Lipstick is available 17 shades, mostly dark and bright variations on reds and pinks.
