In a globally coordinated strike, Coty launched its hotly anticipated Gucci lipsticks range in travel retail locations in the US, Asia Pacific and Europe on 29 May, following a high profile launch at Saks in New York.

 

The accompanying quirky advertising campaign, which aims to challenge traditional perceptions of beauty, started a social media movement in early May and continues to pick up momentum.

 

“Makeup is something poetic and fleeting that you can add to your face, changing or highlighting something about yourself,” says Gucci Creative Director, Alessandro Michele.

 

“I find it an almost magical language, strongly linked to the other details I use for the expression of the self, such as jewellery and a hairstyle. Of all these aspects needed to emphasize or underline an aspect of ourselves, makeup is the most immediate and the oldest way, making it the most fascinating.”

 

‘ABSOLUTE LIBERTY’

Parent company, Coty, says Gucci Makeup is ‘ideated under a manifesto of beauty in a script written by Alessandro Michele’, who Coty describes as a ‘champion of expressing the self within no confines but absolute liberty’.

 

“[He] sees makeup as a way to show the character and the personality inside,” adds Coty. “Makeup should not mask but rather exalt flaws and make them part of the language of beauty. Defects should be evidenced and not hidden away.

 

“Within this language everyone should be able to wear makeup how they want to, whether to reveal your true self, allowing you to be yourself, or as a means to transform, allowing you to be who you want to be.”

 

HOLLYWOOD STARS FROM THE GOLDEN AGE

Gucci has launched three new lipstick collections in different formulations: Rouge à Lèvres Satin with a satin finish, Rouge à Lèvres Voile with a sheer finish, and Baume à Lèvres, a lip balm with a translucent finish.

To create these lipsticks, Alessandro Michele was inspired by the made-up lips of Hollywood’s stars from the Golden Age.

 

“Lipstick is the most beautiful object you can find inside a handbag,” adds Michele. “It is the most fascinating because it has always had a beautiful scent—we made Gucci lipsticks perfumed with violet. Lipstick is a playful object because it recalls crayons that children colour with. Lipstick also symbolizes of the world of cinema, and all of the famous lips from Hollywood.”

 

The names of the shades are inspired by iconic Hollywood movies and characters from the era, played by the likes of Jean Harlow, and other famous actresses – Maureen O’Hara, Anne Baxter, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo and their peers.