Can Louis Vuitton’s $160 Lipstick Entice Customers in This Economic system?

In line with the “lipstick index,” gross sales of lipstick go up in instances of financial downturns. The speculation, for those who imagine it, says customers in the reduction of on giant purchases and as a substitute go for smaller, extra reasonably priced luxuries.

So what’s the probability of success when a model launches a $160 lipstick on this economic system?

We might quickly discover out, due to Louis Vuitton’s new La Beauté line, launched this month with Dame Pat McGrath as its inventive director. The acclaimed British make-up artist was dubbed some of the influential folks on the planet by Time in 2019, and her personal make-up model, Pat McGrath Labs, was as soon as valued at over $1 billion.

The road formally launched Friday and consists of $160 lipsticks and lip balms, $250 eyeshadow pallets, every with 4 shades, and a line of equipment starting from a $2,990 mini Louis Vuitton trunk that holds precisely one lipstick to an $870 self-importance case that holds, paradoxically, 4 extra.

The merchandise look as beautiful as one would count on from the enduring French style home. Lipstick circumstances and the precise bullet are imprinted with the LV brand, whereas the equipment are emblazoned with the model’s iconic monogram sample.

Nonetheless, the costs are remarkably excessive, even on the planet of luxurious magnificence. You should purchase a Chanel or Dior lipstick, as an illustration, for a 3rd of the worth ($50) of Louis Vuitton’s, and Hermès lipstick ($81) for about half the worth.

The debut comes throughout a broader slowdown in luxurious that is hit even the most important manufacturers, together with Louis Vuitton’s guardian firm, LVMH, whose lengthy checklist of manufacturers consists of Dior, Fendi, and Givenchy. LVMH’s income was down 4% within the first half of 2025 in comparison with the identical time interval a yr prior, the corporate mentioned in its July earnings report.

Customers are being ‘choiceful,’ however they’re nonetheless splurging

“Shopper sentiment proper now’s fairly sophisticated,” Tamara Appeal, a accomplice at McKinsey who focuses on shopper insights, instructed Enterprise Insider. Sentiment shouldn’t be fairly as little as it was a number of months in the past, however customers are nonetheless cautious and price-sensitive, she mentioned.

“Nevertheless, we additionally see customers actually splurging,” she added. “However it’s for the precise factor on the proper time.”

Appeal mentioned luxurious consumers can typically be divided into two teams: these for whom these worth factors should not out of attain, and these she calls aspirational luxurious consumers, who nonetheless buy luxurious items regardless of it being a attain for them.

Whereas the previous — common luxurious consumers — are nonetheless spending on luxurious as regular, she mentioned it is the latter who’ve gotten pickier about after they splurge.

“Luxurious manufacturers want this aspirational luxurious shopper, and the aspirational luxurious shopper is being much more choiceful proper now,” Appeal mentioned, including that the purchasers she works with are considering so much about what the present tendencies are and what would possibly nonetheless get customers to “attain up.”

Sometimes, customers are keen to splurge on tremendous fashionable and of-the-moment objects, particularly on the subject of social media-heavy Gen Z, in addition to companies or objects which have an actual “deal with your self” vibe.

“One thing like a small expense that provides an outsized punch of enjoyable or indulgence is oftentimes the place you see the splurge,” Appeal mentioned, which may bode properly for Louis Vuitton’s new magnificence merchandise, for those who purchase into the lipstick index.

Hannah Reed, a analysis analyst at Walnut Collective, instructed Enterprise Insider that buyers have positioned the next worth on skincare and cosmetics in recent times, demonstrating a willingness to pay extra — or “make investments,” as magnificence followers prefer to name it — for the precise product.

“Clearly, with Louis Vuitton, it’ll be on the higher finish, but when it is a good product that works, customers will see worth in it,” she mentioned.

The lipsticks are additionally refillable, with refills costing $69, so some customers would possibly view the flowery case as extra of a pleasant trinket or souvenir. “Then you definately’ve acquired one thing for all times, however you should buy the product as and if you want it or run out,” Reed mentioned.

She added that novelty can also be a giant draw, and the LV-monogrammed lipstick and eyeshadow circumstances are the form of factor that Gen Z consumers would possibly love, particularly if they’ll use them as bag charms.

Deena R. Merlen, a accomplice at Reavis Web page Bounce who has labored with luxurious manufacturers, mentioned that regardless of its comparatively excessive worth level, the wonder line continues to be extra reasonably priced than Louis Vuitton baggage and will function an entry level to the model. In that sense, she mentioned, the expensive lipstick could possibly be extra about optimism reasonably than a recession indicator.

“Perhaps you’ll be able to’t afford that $6,000 Louis Vuitton bag but, however you are up-and-coming, you’ll be able to afford a $160 lipstick, as a result of instances are good and solely getting higher,” she instructed Enterprise Insider.

The trick for luxurious manufacturers is to seek out the precise product on the proper time and worth level to encourage customers to splurge regardless of their financial worries.

“Worth is within the eye of the beholder proper now,” Appeal mentioned. Simply have a look at what some customers are keen to spend on Labubu dolls.

“I believe we will proceed to see luxurious merchandise the place a few of us actually do not perceive who’s going to purchase it,” she mentioned, “and others of us could not perceive why the remainder of the world would not notice what a price that is.”