Yesterday, I found myself in Paris. My boss gave me a day off, so there I was, hanging around in the Petit Palais and having lunch at the Guerlain flagship store on Champs-Élysées. As you do. And what would a day-trip to Paris be without a frivolous purchase? Nothing. So I decided to be as frivolous as possible and bought a ridiculously expensive lipstick.

You may have heard that after the success of his nail polish, Mr Louboutin has launched a series of lipsticks in three different formulas and some uniquely outrageous packaging*. It’s quite exhausting to describe all of it, so in case you’re interested, I refer you to Sabrina or Rae, both of them have done detailed reviews on the topic. But let me warn you that they are also extremely enthusiastic about this product: if you are easily persuaded, approach with caution.

Not that these are bad lipsticks, quite to the contrary. The formulas are impressive and the colours are good, too. I cannot comment in detail on the others, but certainly the one I bought – Rose du Desert, in the Sheer Voile formula – is one of the best lipsticks I’ve ever worn. It’s the perfect MLBB** colour for me, a mauve-leaning rose. It’s moisturizing and comfortable and lasts well for a sheer lipstick. I understand how people who are obsessive about comparing lipsticks and notice every single detail about them, are all excited.

But the inevitable question is – do you need to pay 80 euros for something like this? And of course you don’t. If you are a normal person who pays a normal amount of attention to her make-up, the additional 55 euros you spend compared to Estee Lauder’s excellent Pure Color Envy or Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks are too much, even if you think Louboutin performs slightly better.

Then again, you might want to buy that Louboutin lipstick anyway. Maybe because you are in Paris and just feel like it, or maybe because you’ve been through tough times and want something shiny and unnecessary. Or maybe it’s just the perfect lipstick for you and nothing else will do. My only criteria in situations like these are: 1) do you really want it? 2) are your children starving? If the answers are “yes” and “no”, respectively, I see no issues.

It seems quite a few people have found a reason for buying these lipsticks, as most of the shades at Lafayette were sold out. That’s how, instead of a classic red or something deep and autumn-y, I ended up with a neutral. But why not, I thought: if I’m going to be unreasonable anyway, I might as well spend that money on the most casual of lip colours. There’s something appealing in the combination of ripped jeans and that golden contraption.

*I did sincerely like the packaging of the red nail polish, these lipsticks I’m not so sure about. The black ones look classier, in my opinion.
**MLBB is beauty blogger speak for “My Lips But Better”. As a rule, these have more colour than nudes and are more flattering.