[unpaid/affiliate] I did a reel on Instagram last week asking whether £62 for a lipstick has gone over the point of what’s acceptable to pay for a make up item. It was genuinely so interesting to get the responses – mostly people said they wouldn’t be prepared to pay that, a few people said they’d already bought some and others said they’d pay that amount for skin care but not for make up.
The thing is, as a luxury brand, Hermes would never produce a make up item that wasn’t in line, price wise, with their brand. Everything at Hermes is priced for full pockets and it’s a heritage brand that has carved its own place in the luxury market. Relatively speaking, £62, is a bit of a snip for that coach & horse logo that echoes their roots as saddle makers.
Luxury brands are a breed apart – they’re not interested really in your ‘average’ customer – they’re interested in a clientele for whom price is not even a thought. There’s the reverse psychology aspect of making things so unattainable they become completely desirable but this is a brand that works tightly within the luxury space – they’re so sure of the customer they want that they don’t need to pay any attention to those they don’t. It’s arrogant but they are perfectly able to do it. The reverse would be that Primark isn’t catering to the wealthy, they don’t need them or court them – it’s the same, but the other way around. Interesting though that Chanel doesn’t out-price what is a very lucrative corner of the market and nor does Dior. They keep their beauty products at affordable luxury prices – desirable and just attainable while ensuring their fashion arm stays at the top end.
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Personally, I love the packaging. I always thought that Hermes should do one limited edition ‘perfect red’ lipstick in their signature orange coating and release a new limited shade each season. As it happens, one of the two shades I have here is limited editions- and £66!
This is Rouge Cinabre in a matte finish – I expected it to look much more brickish when on but actually, I rather like it. For a matte, it’s exceptionally smooth and non-drying. I usually get a feeling of having to remove mattes if I wear for any length of time – it’s just not the texture for me – but I didn’t get that sense of dryness at all with this. And, to be honest, I’d expect it to be a next level formula. I’ve looked through the ingredient list and it doesn’t seem to be anything particularly special but you can’t, from reading the list, tell what quality the ingredients are.
This is Rouge H (£62) in a satin finish – it’s way too deep a shade for me to naturally pick although once on, I was surprised to actually quite like it. The upshot is that if they feel special to you (and they are rather special – heritage, design, quality) then they’re probably ‘worth’ every penny. I try not to make assumptions about BBB readers’ budgets – I think like all cross-sections there will be a variety – but feel that we’d all want to know how a £66 lipstick justifies itself. Well, it doesn’t. It doesn’t have to, and that’s how the luxury market survives I guess.
On the bottom, Rouge Cinabre, up top, Rouge H. However, at Selfridges, rather than the Hermes site, both are £62 which is inexplicable and a poor attention to detail from a brand that prides itself on such things. They’re HERE. They’re all refillable and refills are £33.
Non-affiliate HERE.
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