Update: Spoliler-alert — today, Olivier Rousteing, Balmain's creative director, posted preview pics of the exact lip shades of the much-anticipated Balmain x L'Oreal lipstick collab, hitting drugstores this September. With shade names like: Dominance, Liberation, Confession, and Confidence — these teasers of the Tribe Rock collection have us excited to get our hands, and lips, on these designer, affordable lip colors (now there's a oxymoron for you).
Here's a sneak peak at some of the lipstick shades from the upcoming line, for your viewing pleasure:
So whether you're into plums, berries, or nudes, it's likely that this collection will have something for you.
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This story was originally published on May 3, 2017.
Update: Considering how the Balmain x L'Oréal collaboration isn't dropping until September, we fully expected we'd have to wait months before getting a sneak peek at the new lipstick line. Alas, thanks to social media, such is not the case. Olivier Rousteing, the creative director for the fashion house, posted a string of close-up photos for your viewing pleasure. Observe:
Yeah, we're going to go ahead and say the wait for these lipsticks will be worth it.
This story was originally published on May 3.
Brace yourself for more #Balmania. This morning, Balmain and L’Oréal announced that they have collaborated on a capsule collection of lipsticks in 12 new colours for the beauty brand’s bestselling lipstick range, Color Riche. This marks creative director Olivier Rousteing’s first foray into makeup, following a successful haircare line and broad fragrance collection. We anticipate that Rousteing's celebrity (and lipstick-loving) clique, including Kim Kardashian, Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid and Jourdan Dunn, will be among the first to sport the products.
You’ll have to wait a little while to get your hands on the dozen shades, as they won’t be released until Paris Fashion Week in September 2017. The line, containing three themes of shades, will be available at all drugstores that sell L’Oréal, with an exclusive ‘jewel edition’ lipstick sold in Balmain stores.
Under Rousteing’s vision, Balmain has been transformed into a hard-edged glamorous fashion house, all body-conscious shapes and hyper-embellishment. Every inch a celebrity-endorsed brand, Rousteing’s army of Balmain girls is fierce, sexy and bold. He will bring this aesthetic to his first beauty line, according to a joint statement with L’Oréal:
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“L’Oréal Paris and Balmain share the same strong vision of femininity and the same goal, to empower women and offer them diverse ways to express themselves,” Rousteing explained. “With this collaboration, I’m thrilled to make this idea tangible for every woman around the world.”
Noting that one Color Riche lipstick is sold every three seconds globally, this collaboration echoes the many designer and mass brand ventures that bring high fashion to a wider market: “The crossroads of high fashion and affordable beauty, the Balmain aesthetic reaches a new audience through the world’s most-loved lipstick.”
This isn’t the first high street collaboration on which the 31-year-old creative director has embarked with Balmain: In 2015, the faux fur and sequin-heavy collection for H&M sold out instantly online and in-store, showing the mass appeal of Rousteing’s aesthetic for the brand, and the influence and power that celebrity endorsement really has over our shopping habits.
Will this line signal a future Balmain beauty collection? All eyes on you, Rousteing.
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