About 13 years ago, I sat across from a PR for Tom Ford and wondered aloud whether anyone would really spend that much on a lipstick. With his lacquered-cased, embossed-bullet luxury lip colour, Ford had crashed through the £25 threshold and, fabulous though it was (and remains), the price tag was all anyone in the beauty world could talk about.
Fast forward to 2023 and any doubts I had about Ford now seem laughable. Super-expensive luxury lipsticks are a thriving category of their own. While the sharp increase in consumer interest in more sustainable packaging options has inspired several big brands to create top-tier lipsticks in eco-friendlier refillable cases.
