In the fourth-floor apartment of Louis Vuitton’s London flagship, a collection of rather shiny objects is being guarded as though it were a priceless museum exhibit. The items are not, however, precious stones or artefacts. Nor are they diamonds and jewels. The 55 lipsticks, 10 lip balms and eight eyeshadow palettes comprise the inaugural cosmetics collection from the French luxury house. Today, at last, they are being shown for the first time.

The launch is a partnership with Pat McGrath, whose influence across the beauty industry is so far-reaching that, in 2021, she became the first make-up artist to be awarded a damehood; she is known as the “mother of make-up” or simply “mother” by her six million followers on Instagram. McGrath first started working in fashion editorial in the ’90s, collaborating with designers including John Galliano and Alexander McQueen before launching her namesake brand in 2015. She has been designing looks for Louis Vuitton’s catwalks for more than 20 years, and needed “no convincing” when she was approached to help steer its debut beauty line as creative director of cosmetics. “The objective was to create products that you would never want to let go of,” says McGrath, “a versatile colour wardrobe designed to suit every moment, mood and occasion.”

Each product is housed in gilded packaging by Konstantin Grcic that makes use of the house’s iconic LV Flower. The lipsticks, which come in two finishes, matte and satin, run from bright red to sober nudes, while the eyeshadow palettes offer four takes on one shade, including a glittery “twist”. (The palettes may be refilled by pushing an “LV” button on the base.)