Attentive to women's needs, Dior has delivered the first-ever water-based lipstick as part of the Rouge Dior Ultra Rouge collection launched in Thailand last week.
"Women are used to high-pigment lipsticks with extreme long wear, even if that means less comfort. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum they want the weightless colour that lip inks provide, but these, too, often lack colour impact and comfort," noted Peter Philips, creative and image director for Dior Makeup.
As pigments are usually oil-soluble and unstable in water, the challenge was to disperse them in two phases of water and oil.
The new formula is actually a solid emulsion, with water droplets dispersed in an oily gel network that melt on contact with the lips while providing more saturated colour, a softer texture, a luminous semi-matte finish and 12-hour staying power.
"It's like picking up the pigments with a brushstroke and then applying them to the lips with ease, with this fresh, melting feeling," Philips said of Ultra Rouge. "Because it acts as an overprint, like an ink tattooing the lips and like a weightless coloured film, it enabled me to develop new, highly-saturated and luminous shades. Like a painter with a new colour palette."
Philips' palette features 26 shades housed in a lacquered red metal case. The colour red itself has been interpreted in four it-shades: iconic red, raspberry, burgundy and poppy.
"The colour red to me represents life, passion, love and Dior," said the Belgian creative director.
Worn alone or layered, black and white have also been included in the new collection. The white neutralises natural lip colour and softens other shades whereas the black intensifies the colour impact.
"The water-based formula allows us to play with colours. That's also why we added the black and white, just to be able to mix and play. It's almost like painting," he said.
