Does Hermès Beauty embody the fashion house’s essence of quiet luxury?

From the introduction of a make-up line to whether high-end beauty products act in accordance with the quiet luxury trend, creative director Gregoris Pyrpylis bares it all

When an eminent house of luxury clepes its novel make-up line as a ‘gesture’ and the cases of the products as collectable ‘objects’, it invariably sets you up for lofty expectations. That’s exactly what Hermès Beauty did. Launched in 2020, after almost 70 years of the brand’s first-ever fragrance being made available, Hermès Beauty embodies imagination yet functionality. 

As of today, Hermès Beauty tenders four prominent ranges—Rouge Hermès, the inaugural range comprising matte- and satin-finish lipsticks; Rose Hermès which includes 11 shades of Rose Hermès Silky Blush powder, two handcrafted make-up brushes and four rosy-hued lip enhancers; Les Mains Hermès comprising nail- and cuticle-care products such as a hand cream, cuticle oil and eclectic, fun shades of nail enamels; and Hermès Plein Air that consists of skincare-infused base make-up products such as the enhancing complexion balm and radiant bronzers. Hermès also launches limited-edition collections from time to time.

After three years of making its presence felt in  the global market, Hermès has finally ushered Hermès Beauty to India. Gregoris Pyrpylis, the creative director at Hermès Beauty, spearheaded its launch in Mumbai earlier this month, followed by Delhi. Following the cult status acquired by the Birkin bag, the Kelly bag and the Oran sandals, will Hermès Beauty leave a similar mark? 

Pyrpylis–who hails blushes as a make-up product that can illuminate and define your complexion through a natural wash of colour–speaks to The Established about quiet luxury, the inspiration behind the shades for the products, and the connection between a rich fashion legacy and a nascent beauty line.  

Founded in 1837, Hermès launched its first perfume in 1951. What catapulted the luxury house to venture into make-up after almost 70 years of the first fragrance launch? 

It’s very important to know that Hermès, as a house, takes time to do things well with a lot of effort, thought and time; we don’t just produce to sell. This direction translates into the beauty line as well. We say at Hermès that “beauty arises from you”, so our idea is always to come up with products/objects that can be collectables, at times. When you come across the Rose Hermès range designed by the creative director of Hermès shoes and jewellery, Pierre Hardy, you will realise that your hand can embrace the beautifully-designed object perfectly; the Hermès signature ex libris fits the thumb just right.

Hermès could have launched beauty years ago. We decided to launch in 2020 because the moment felt right—Hermès Beauty is the sixteenth metier (chapter) of the house. It was a natural extension of the house of Hermès; it’s about expressing natural beauty, personality and the inner facets of the individual. I would also like to say that Hermès Beauty has existed ever since the house was established, but in a different material; earlier it was leather, then silk and now naturally comes beauty because our goal is also to accompany our consumers in their everyday lives by bringing comfort, pleasure and a bit of fantasy (as I like to call it) with these beautiful colours. After all, make-up is an important part of the everyday rituals of a lot of women and men.

What does the basic checklist include when an eminent luxury leather house decides to launch a make-up line? What was the R&D process like for the first collection, Rouge Hermès, comprising 24 lipstick shades? 

For me, there is a long checklist at Hermès Beauty—probably the longest checklist you’ve ever seen. You can imagine that for a house that is predominantly known for its quality and inspiration behind every collection, there are a lot of things to tick. For me, quality is most paramount; we are excessively demanding with our partners, based out of Italy, Japan and France, especially in terms of formulas. We also have an in-house R&D laboratory that has been creating a few products, like our hand cream, for example. 

Hermès is a house of objects and design, but also colour. As I mentioned, there are more than 75,000 references of colours in silk and more than 900 when it comes to leather. And, of course, we’re still going ahead and creating more colours at Hermès Beauty in addition to the emblematic colour roster. To sum it all up—quality, colours, materials and an artisanal mode to create products are at the heart of Hermès Beauty. To create our make-up brushes we work with a craftsman who comes from a lineage that has been creating them with expertise since 1793, reflecting experience and heritage. These brushes are handmade and hand-assembled, just like the lipsticks. The artisanal approach is what distinguishes us from the rest. The cases of products—that use materials like aluminium with a negligible amount of plastic—are sturdy and can be passed on from a mother to her daughter like heirloom pieces and offer the same experience as a bag purchased from Hermès would.

Was picking shades for make-up from the brand’s archives an effort to establish a connection between its rich fashion legacy and the nascent beauty line?

This endless source of inspiration of colours that we find in the metiers of silk or leather hasn’t been used as an “effort” to establish a relationship—it comes naturally to Hermès. Whenever we’re working on a collection and trying to identify the colours that would fit in, of course, we’re going to look in the house—in those endless references—first. However, nature can also be an interesting inspiration. For example, for the limited-edition lipsticks, we found inspiration in the iconic ‘stripes’ that have adorned resorts in summer, or perhaps, an umbrella in the sun; when you see the object, it’s an invitation to escape. As far as the shades are concerned, we took inspiration from the browns of the woods. But yes, the richness of the references of colours in the silk and leather metiers is significantly noteworthy.

For Rose Hermès blushes, we turned to the silk colour references whereas for the nail polishes, we searched for colour and texture references in our enamelling metier also known as Métiers d’Arts. For the Rouge Hermès lipsticks we made use of leather references. While the sheen of leather acted as a reference to perfect the finish of the satin lipsticks from the range, we were inspired by the powdery and velvety finish of Doblis leather for the matte ones.

Does the legacy of Hermès—that spans equestrian goods and luxury leather items—translate into the make-up products in any way? What was the process of devising the cases for these make-up products like? 

For the object—the cases—we worked with Pierre Hardy who not only designs shoes and jewellery for both men and women at Hermès but also works with us to create beautiful objects (cases for the make-up products). The idea behind the cases was to arrive with refillable objects that can become a part of your everyday life, so that they can be used and not just placed on your dresser. Something that really hurts my feelings is when a woman tells me that this object (or make-up product) is too beautiful to use, so I prefer to have it on my counter. This is not the Hermès Beauty approach—we want the product to be inviting and become a part of the user’s everyday routine. For us, beautiful objects are functional objects. Even for Rose Hermès, we create a size of the case that feels organic in the hand; it’s the same way an Hermès silk scarf will embrace your neck and illuminate the complexion. Another example is the Hermès Plein Air collection which features lightweight and easy-to-carry tubes.

The make-up products claim to have an element of well-being into them—how do you infuse that into each product, be it the lip, cheek or base make-up? Why do you think such formulations have taken centre stage today?

For us, taking care of the skin is as important as the pleasure someone seeks from colour. As a make-up artist, I can tell that the pandemic has really switched the needs when it comes to make-up. It’s very interesting to see that when Hermès Beauty arrived in 2020, the same time as the pandemic’s advent, the first collection namely Rouge Hermès—in construction for the preceding five years—already featured an infusion of skincare ingredients. While this reflects our approach towards beauty, it’s also something that Hermès has been doing since day one. This is in correspondence with what the founder Thierry Hermès would do back in the day in 1837 when he’d pick high-quality material for harnesses and saddles that were not only comfortable for humans but even for the animals. 

Quiet luxury is gaining more and more momentum. Do you think Hermés beauty addresses the concept in a way? 

Definitely. Hermès has represented quiet luxury ever since its commencement. For me, quiet luxury is not just a trend, it’s more of a way of being—it’s written in the DNA of the house. While others like branding and are okay with being a bit loud with their creations, for me, it’s all about something very singular that Hermès does with every creation, which is including a detail that only you can see, which is very much in cohesion with quiet luxury. For instance, with the blotting papers, there are infinitesimal impressions of the Hermès’ ‘H’ which might not make a difference to utility but adds to the experience.

How does the Hermès make-up line embody the essence of quiet luxury while maintaining the brand’s legacy in the high-end (fashion) world? What are the key elements of the brand’s approach to beauty that distinguish it from its competitors in the luxury market? 

As an extension of the Maison, the goal at Hermès Beauty is to bring to life objects, collections, colours and textures that not only respond to our customers’ needs but also invite them to a new world of expression through cosmetics. To me, quiet luxury in beauty is strictly linked to quality, ethics, expertise and a kind of freedom after all …with an approach to the essence of beauty, which is to make us look good but more importantly to make us feel good.

What, according to you, inspires a Hermès consumer to give the novel beauty line a shot, besides the brand value? 

I think people today are very educated and know when a brand extends to beauty because it’s organic and it has something new to offer, or when it’s done because it’s just another profitable business venture. Consumers who already knew Hermès before Beauty, were not surprised when Hermès Beauty launched in 2020. They were rather impatient about it because they know that whether you offer yourself a leather good, a silk scarf or a perfume, you know that you will be getting an Hermès object in your hands, an object that offers a whole sensory experience, no matter its cost. So I can say that the greatest connoisseurs of the house knew they would fall in love with Hermès Beauty, and I’m happy that it happened. Now what’s interesting to me is that beauty also is a welcoming door for women and men who had not been Hermès customers before, and only by discovering Hermès through beauty, they understand the values of the house, how demanding we are when it comes to quality, but also get to experience how creative, joyous, colourful and luminous this house is.

Do you think that the all-new make-up line will unlock the potential for an entirely new clientele/consumer base that hasn't encountered Hermès yet? How would you describe a Hermès beauty user? 

Beauty does attract new clientele for Hermès and I’m really excited about that! I tend to see Hermès’ beauty and perfume lines as a way to discover Hermès with objects that are more affordable but are nothing less evocative of what the house has to offer. When it comes to the Hermès beauty user, I see people who are educated about beauty, people who have high demands and at last, those who see beauty not as an artifice but mainly as a way of expression.

How, in your opinion, do the Hermès make-up products empower users to play creative artists? 

Well, this is the essence of Hermès Beauty: the freedom we offer to our clients. At Hermès Beauty we never talk about trends or looks, we talk about expressions, about collections that invite people to be their own creative artists by expressing beauty the way they perceive it. And, of course, since make-up is  technical too, we have started creating tutorials that will help our customers to master the application of make-up with ease.

What is your favourite product from the line and how do you like to use it?   

This is the most difficult question. Each product, each line, has a reason to be, it doesn’t overtake the utility of another product. But I’ll make the effort for you! I may say that as a minimalist, when it comes to beauty, I think that a good blush can really change everything. A blush is meant to be invisible when it’s applied to the skin, it has to be the right shade to illuminate the complexion, to bring out the inner radiance. I like to apply blush on the high points of the cheeks and always blend it into the skin so it looks diffused and natural. But blush is beautiful also when it is applied with the lightest brushstroke on the contour of the forehead, a bit on the nose and the chin... that’s when you make it look very natural and you look fresh and healthy, without giving away what contributed to the beauty of your complexion.

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