Pat McGrath and Nicolas Ghesquière have spent more than a decade creating the Louis Vuitton woman backstage. Now, customers can recreate some of that magic with the first La Beauté Louis Vuitton collaboration. This limited-edition collection brings together the creative flair of Louis Vuitton Artistic Director of Women’s Collections Nicolas Ghesquière and Creative Director, Cosmetics Dame Pat McGrath DBE.
The result is two contrasting worlds built around two Monogram canvases, Monogram Dune and Monogram Infrarouge. At first glance, it resembles an encounter between an angel and a devil, with one expressed through luminous whites and soft neutrals and the other through blackcurrant tones and dramatic red-and-black finishes.
The contrast is striking, moving from desert-light minimalism to sci-fi darkness. However, it is also the perfect culmination of a backstage partnership spanning more than a decade that has now moved center stage. Each theme, Monogram Dune and Monogram Infrarouge, features three makeup products and five corresponding accessories. Dune presents LV Ombres, LV Rouge, and LV Baume in matte sand and warm rose-gold finishes, accompanied by pale Monogram canvas. Infrarouge offers the same three product formats in lacquered red, black-and-red canvas, and holographic darkness that is honestly even more appealing than its counterpart.
Dune is also far more interesting than a conventional nude collection. Its LV Ombres palette combines luminous icy white, radiant rose gold, bluish hematite gray, and anise with soft pink reflections. Infrarouge’s palette offers an elegant rosy beige, cool taupe, sparkling bluish anthracite, and velvety burgundy. Despite its dramatic red-and-black packaging, the colors are surprisingly wearable. Perhaps the collection’s most unusual product is the LV Baume 099 Galactic Veil topper. It is a sheer, deep-black balm infused with multidimensional holographic glitter.
Now comes the part that is even more exciting than the makeup itself, the packaging. The eyeshadow palettes are the only makeup products housed in actual Monogram canvas cases. For the first time, the canvases appear directly on a La Beauté compact. The Dune lipstick and balm use matte sand-toned metal with a rose-gold ring, while the Infrarouge lip products use matte-black metal with a lacquered-red Monogram signature. True to the La Beauté Louis Vuitton philosophy, every piece has been designed with longevity at its core. Each case houses recyclable refills of eyeshadow, lipstick, or balm, allowing the objects to function as lasting beauty keepsakes.
“Nicolas and I have been building looks together backstage at Louis Vuitton for so many years now there is a shorthand between us: a trust and a creative cohesion. What we have created with this collection for La Beauté is the natural next step of that conversation. The products did not begin with a brief; they began with a feeling, the same feeling we always create together backstage before a show. That is what makes it so extraordinary. It is not a collaboration in the traditional sense. It is an evolution of our partnership,” shared Dame Pat McGrath.
The finishing touch is a collection of accessories that extends the two canvas stories beyond the makeup. Utterly feminine and innately irresistible are the Lipstick Pouches and Mini Vanities, which carry the collection’s lip and eye offerings. Then there is the delightfully extravagant Mattifying Paper Case, containing 200 Monogram-adorned blotting sheets, a built-in mirror, and a card slot. The collection also includes the Poche Toilette, a washable toiletry pouch measuring 15 x 10 x 4.5 cm, and the Lip & Eye Brush Set that brings the entire look to life. The set contains five synthetic-fiber brushes, while its case incorporates a washable lining and built-in mirror.
The LV Ombres palette retails for $340, while the LV Rouge lipstick and LV Baume topper cost $195 each. Buying all six makeup products, stunning as they are, will set you back $1,460. The five accessories in either canvas total €3,350, or approximately $4,000. For the truly committed La Beauté collector, buying all six makeup products and all 10 accessories across both collections would cost approximately $9,500. This delicious limited edition La Beaute LV makeup collection will arrive in Louis Vuitton stores beginning August 27.
