French Luxury brand Hermès has unveiled its first-ever beauty range, Rouge Hermès, launching with a debut lipsticks range.
It will be available in selected Hermès boutiques and retail outlets across 35 countries beginning 4 March.
The new lipstick collection is the result of five years of research and development spearheaded by Hermès Perfume & Beauty CEO Agnès de Villers. It is made up of 24 high-pigment hues in matte and satin finishes. The matte finish lipsticks were inspired by the brand’s famed Birkin bag; while the satin finish lipsticks were inspired by its sprawling silk archives.
Leather and silk are two of Hermès’s strongest product categories; it has over 900 leather shades and over 75,000 silk shades in its archive.
The lipstick range offers a pigment-rich formula that deposits colour with a single stroke. In addition to the permanent collection, Rouge Hermès will also be supported by a bi-annual launch of three limited-edition lipstick shades.
The French luxury brand has also launched a lip care balm, a poppy lip shine, a universal lip pencil, and a lip brush in lacquered wood. A small collection of leather makeup accessories, made up of a leather case and moon mirror, complement the range.
“We approach this new métier in our own way, and with a great deal of pleasure,” said Hermès Chief Executive Officer Axel Dumas. “Beauty is part of who we are: a house where everything comes from creation, driven by artisans who seek to accompany the men and women of today with elegance, and with the integrity and authenticity that we represent.”
According to the company, the breakthrough beauty launch was a collaborative effort between Hermès’s different creative divisions.
The lipstick tube was designed by Hermès Jewellery and Shoes Creative Director Pierre Hardy; while Hermès Women’s Universe and Women’s Silk Creative Director Bali Barret injected a feminine influence on its design.
Hermès Beauty Creative Director Jérôme Touron was responsible for translating the brand’s ‘excellence and know-how’ into the lipstick range; while Hermès Fragrance Director Christine Nagel gave Rouge Hermès its signature scent.
Touron explained: “Materials carry colour. They give it its strength and its subtlety. They give it a particular finish. At Hermès, colours travel. They are reinvented from one material to another.”
The lipstick tubes feature lacquered, brushed, and polished metals in black, white, and gold. Every lipstick tube is assembled by hand. They are also fully rechargeable and use no plastic. As an added element of exclusivity, Rouge Hermès is packaged in miniature versions of the brand’s signature orange box.
Commenting on the design of the lipstick tubes, Pierre Hardy said: “I love the simplicity of pure shapes that colours have the ability to animate. Intuitively, to become timeless, this object had to be able to morph, remain iconic, but stay fluid, be part of a connected sequence, and perpetually recognisable. A constant yet ever-changing object.”
“Like a silk scarf gracing a woman’s neck that creates radiance and reveals her beauty, for Hermès Beauty we wanted to discover or rediscover the emotion of colour as a fundamental feminine trait,” explained Bali Barret. “At Hermès, colour is an irrational, intoxicating passion, a craftsmanship of nuances, an obsession with striking the right tone, and a language all of its own.”
For Hermès Artistic Director Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Rouge Hermès showcases the brand’s distinctive approach to beauty. He said: “Our approach to beauty is fundamental. It is to reveal and highlight what is naturally there, with elegance, comfort and pleasure. I like the idea of Hermès as an intimate companion, revealing one’s deepest self. I associate Hermès’s beauty objects with self-fulfilment, with the colour of an individual’s personality,”
Hermès Beauty will be extending its beauty range with new launches every six months beginning September 2020. It aims to have a full make-up range by 2023, with plans to launch skincare not too long after.
Going strong on Globuy
As a lead business partner of The Moodie Davitt Report, Hermes’s story will also appear in Chinese and with a consumer voice on fast-growing Chinese B2C WeChat social media account Globuy [玩转全球免税], as part of a new collaboration between Globuy owner Extra-Aile Media in Shanghai and The Moodie Davitt Report. Globuy aims to become “the KOL of Chinese travel retail” and already has 400,000 followers and a monthly audience of 1 million views for its WeChat social media platform promoting new launches, product availability, promotions and special offers. Underlining the strong affinity and complementary nature of the two companies’ work, Globuy has dubbed The Moodie Davitt Report “the KOL of travel retail B2B media” Under the agreement, selected stories from The Moodie Davitt Report.com’s lead brand partners in beauty, fashion, luxury, confectionery and premium spirits are also published by Globuy in Chinese. These include product reviews by the Globuy team. Globuy is promoting The Moodie Davitt Report’s platform to China’s travel retail sector and to its own consumer audience in China. The Moodie Davitt Report subsequently also publishes a curated selection of Chinese consumer feedback on the chosen stories and will reveal the results of regular consumer surveys conducted in association with Globuy. |
