As a young girl, I yearned for few things more than lingerie and makeup—real rites of passage that signified what it meant to be a woman. Growing up outside of Boston, my family and I would often make the trek into the city to shop, perusing Neiman Marcus, walking around Back Bay where the streets were lined with glittery windows of mannequins dressed in high fashion. I’d ogle the lace-clad women in the La Perla windows; one night, my mother pointed to the store and said, when you’re old enough, you’ll shop there.
At 14, I asked if we could spend my birthday shopping trip at La Perla. (I still have the set I picked out that day—a white lace bra with Kelly green silk trim and matching underwear.) Over a decade later, I remain a devotee of the brand. And earlier this month, I watched a makeup tutorial from luxury beauty content creator Michele Wang in which she praised a La Perla lipstick from the label’s new beauty line—a capsule collection of lipsticks, mascara, eyeliner, brow gel, body care, and fragrances that launched in May 2021. I went to La Perla’s website at a pace that can only be described as Road-Runner-esque and immediately added two products to my cart: the Matte Silk Lipstick in Tangelo Red, and the Satin Lipbalm in Bitten Lips.
When the lipsticks arrived at my house, all it took was one swipe for me to realize this was possibly the finest lip product I have ever used. The matte formula applies with the ease and comfort of the balm, but it has the wear time and depth of color of a liquid lipstick. As someone who has never really mastered neatly applying heavily pigmented lipsticks, the concave tip hugged the contours of my lip and ensured that it looked perfect on the first try. Not to be outdone, the balm formula provided the perfect balance of sheer color and depth and gave my lips a sultry flush that looked like I had just been passionately kissed. Both have a subtle vanilla scent and are packaged in substantial, luxe, gold and red tubes with magnetic closures.
The entire La Perla beauty line is vegan and never tested on animals; their formulas are made with sustainability, safety, and ethical sourcing in mind (an ingredient list complete with details on each individual ingredient can be found on their website) and the products are manufactured in strict compliance with worker’s rights. The packaging is all eco-friendly including the glass fragrance bottles which are made from recycled glass. Plus, the lipsticks each have a companion refill option to limit waste.
After a day spent wearing each and gushing to anyone who would listen, I purchased five more of the matte lipsticks and the remaining balm. They are now the top lip products in my rotation. I’ve forced them on virtually every woman I know—and in a real sentimental and full-circle moment, I’ve even gotten my mother hooked on them, all these years after she introduced me to the brand.
A swipe of La Perla lipstick, like slipping on a La Perla bra or chemise makes me feel confident, sensual, and glamorous in an instant.
