LA BOUCHE ROUGE

Last year during the Harrods beauty event I discovered that French lipstick brand La Bouche Rouge had made its way into the UK store. I was so excited to be able to pick up one of their beautiful refillable lipstick cases, which I had engraved in-store with my initials, along with a couple of refill lipstick shades. I now have five shades in total from a selection of their balm, matte, and satin finishes that I will swatch for you today.

As a recap from the Harrods post, La Bouche Rouge is a sustainable, cruelty-free and vegan-friendly brand that offers plastic-free lipstick cases, with fine leather and vegan leather options, and eco-friendly colour refills that are totally free of micro-plastics and beeswax.

Despite the recent ban on micro-beads in cosmetic scrubs, most cosmetics (including many lipstick formulas) still contain even smaller micro-plastics such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and nylon that contribute to marine pollution. This article contains some good information about which micro-plastic ingredients to look out for and what purposes they currently serve in the beauty industry.

Not only does LBR not use any of these ingredients in their lipsticks, they are also committed to having plastic-free stores and do not use silicone molds in their manufacturing process. The refillable lipstick cases are made from recyclable stainless steel, the boxes and refill packaging are made out of paper and are completely recyclable, and the refills which have ‘eco-based mechanisms’ can be taken back to store for recycling.

The lipstick cases retail for £60 (cheaper than when I purchased!) and come in a selection of colours. They are amazing quality, very weighted and luxurious feeling, and have a magnetic closure. They also come with a little drawstring pouch.

The lipstick refills come in a hard paper tube and are available in three different finishes:

• Balm, £36; a moisturising lip balm available in clear or tinted shades.
• Satin, £36; an extremely comfortable satin lipstick with a semi-opaque finish (bold colours seem more opaque than the nudes).
• Matte, £32; a fairly opaque formula with a demi-matte finish (not too drying or flat looking).

You can choose from any of the existing shades in the range, or you can create your own using the Pantone colour chart, available in store and online.

The lipsticks and cases are available to purchase on the Harrods website and in-store, with case engraving offered in-store only. Harrods offers the full line along with four of its own exclusive shades. You can also purchase directly from the La Bouche Rouge website, which offers worldwide shipping.

Shades and Swatches

I currently have five refill shades: one balm (peach), three satin lipsticks (Knightsbridge Nude, Nude Pink, and Burgundy), and one matte lipstick (Passionate Red).

The peach balm is actually very pink in colour, despite its name. The formula is fairly nourishing, but on the thinner side and only gives a very subtle tint that isn’t particularly long-lasting. It’s pretty much the opposite of my favourite Dior Lip Glow lip balm, but it’s just a matter of preference as many people may prefer the LBR formula. Still, looks quite pretty on the lips!

The satin formula is incredibly comfortable and moisturising and they glide on so smoothly without accentuating dryness. This is by far my favourite of the LBR range, and is even one of my all time favourite lipstick formulas (right up there with the Surratt Lipsliques!). The shade Knightsbridge nude is my absolute favourite everyday my-lips-but-better shade, and is one I will continue to repurchase in the future.

When it comes to red lipstick, I tend to prefer a longer lasting formula with a more matte finish that won’t smear all over my face. The deeper satin lipsticks are still quite nice, and for me they wear better than my Chanel Rouge Allure reds for example, but as you would expect they aren’t particularly long lasting. The matte formula lasts longer, especially when blotted on with a finger as a lip stain. This is my preferred application method as I have recently noticed the texture on the bullet to be slightly lumpy when I apply directly to my lips. This isn’t a Jaclyn Hill situation though, as the texture smoothes away when I rub my finger over it, but I don’t remember it being like this when I first bought it so I’m wondering if maybe it has started to expire (still smells fine though). Once applied, I find the formula to be very comfortable, especially for a matte lipstick. You can see in the swatches that it has a demi-matte finish, even with a little glow to it on initial application.

My only complaint with these lipsticks is that they do not contain parabens (like many other “clean beauty” brands), probably due to the popularised misinformation and scaremongering that puts people off buying beauty products that contain parabens. Parabens are well-researched and completely safe preservatives that stop your products from going bad quickly and producing more waste! An expired, mouldy lipstick is definitely way more harmful than any parabens could ever be (aside from the small minority of people who are sensitive to parabens). I highly recommend checking out Lab Muffin’s article on this topic. Anyway, I have had my lipsticks for over a year and they are still perfectly fine! Although perhaps this could explain the texture of my matte lipstick. I heard Michele Wang saying that her LBR lipsticks had gone off quickly, so I keep doing a sniff test each time I pull them out.

All-in-all, I absolutely love these lipsticks and cases (especially at this less extortionate price). The care La Bouche Rouge put into their sustainability is something all brands should aspire to do, and I highly recommend them, especially if you’re looking for a boujee lipstick or a special gift for someone.