lbr2

Mirror Mirror
8
ed a crowdfunding scheme this
year. If he gets the amount he’s
aiming for, he’ll use it to develop
a silicone-free matte lipstick. An
important part of the LBR concept
is the refillable case, made
from a highly luxurious leather.
The idea is that a customer
buys not only the lipstick (€45)
but also the case (€135). Gerlier
spared no expense in developing
the most beautiful leather
case. His work was preceded by
an extensive search. It was essential
to find the right supplier.
In the region of Alsace, Gerlier
discovered a kind of leather
that has been treated – since
1842 – with a secret tanning process
involving no fewer than
700 steps. Buyers of the leather,
which smells
faintly of wood
and has a ‘wax
touch’, are Chanel
and Hermès. The
La Bouche Rouge lipstick case is
stitched traditionally by an artisan.
‘France has two specialties:
beauty and leather. La Bouche
Rouge has definetely, undoubtedly,
the French touch!’ Looking
back, Nicolas Gerlier remembers
the development of the
refill as a nightmare. ‘But we
did it.’ He takes a lipstick with
a magnetic closure and pops
off the cap. ‘Do you hear that
sound? Très chic. The mechanism
is eco-friendly. Compared
with “ordinary” lipsticks, the use
of plastic is minimal. Our lipstick
contains only a very small
piece of plastic – without it, the
stick doesn’t fit. Did you know
that women throw away a billion
lipsticks a year? How many