Anne Hathaway looked divine at last week’s Versace show in Milan. Although we didn’t know it at the time, the actor had a secret on her lips – quite literally – Westman Atelier’s first lipstick, Lip Suede Matte. Created by cult make-up artist Gucci Westman, the 10-shade collection launches tomorrow.
“I wanted a true lipstick years ago!” Westman tells me over Zoom. “But none of the formulas were good enough because of our black list. It’s really difficult to achieve that sort of luxurious glide and cushiony feel of a traditional lipstick but with clean ingredients, so I just gave up and thought I was never going to be able to make a lipstick.” Six years of determination (and a lot of clean beauty swaps) later, Westman’s longtime clients, such as Hathaway, Sofia Coppola and Nicole Kidman, are among the early fans of the formula.
Ingredients on Westman’s banned list include petrochemicals (which give lipstick the ability to be shaped into an upright bullet, and were replaced by a “really nice blend of waxes – candelilla wax and sunflower seed oil wax”), but also silicones, PEGs, phthalates and mineral oil. “Anything that you put on your lips you’re ultimately consuming,” Westman says. “So you really want this product to be as healthy as possible for you.”
Another aspect of the lipstick that was difficult to achieve in a clean formula was the sexy, velvety finish and vivid colour that comes with matte lipsticks. Westman’s solution? Invent a new make-up breakthrough, of course. Called Hydro-Suede Technology, it’s a “natural matteifier” made with kaolin clay and three forms of hyaluronic acid, to keep lips hydrated while still looking smooth.
The 10 shades represent a small edit where the wearers can see themselves in each and every colour. Today, Westman is obsessed with Lou Lou, a moody wine red. But tomorrow? Who knows – perhaps she’ll be LFG, a hot-pink shade.
“Each of these lipsticks is about enhancing yourself and emphasising what you have,” she says, a theory that’s basically the foundation of her make-up application approach, too. “Making the very utmost of your unique beauty.”
Shop Westman Atelier’s Lip Suede Matte Lipstick here.