Lucia Pica on the power of Byredo’s matte liquid lipsticks

Lucia Pica is speaking to me over a Zoom call from the Byredo offices in London. She’s in town from Paris to mark the launch of her latest product range for the brand, the next chapter in her role as creative image and make-up partner. A revered make-up artist, Pica, who has previously headed up beauty at houses such as Chanel, took the reins at Byredo in 2022, starting her tenure with a line of vinyl liquid lipsticks in muted shades of nude, and a collection of products called ‘First Emotions’ (which won a 2023 Wallpaper* Design Award for Best Use of Colour). Now, it’s matte formulations she’s turning to, in a wider spectrum of colours that pack a punch. (One is even wryly named ‘Red Coma’.)

Lucia Pica on Byredo’s Liquid Lipstick Matte collection

‘I've had the shade “Calmer” on for most of the day, which is sort of like a 1990s, brown colour. And I just applied “Marriage” on top, which is a rich burgundy. I also really love “Fire Grace”, which is more of a blue-toned red. Then there’s “Space in Between”, which is exactly what it says: an in-between colour,’ says Pica, when I ask what she likes to wear herself. Matte lipsticks have a reputation for being rather drying and claggy, which is something that Pica was keen to avoid for the Liquid Lipstick Matte collection. ‘For me, when it comes to make-up, senses and touch are so important, because it’s something that becomes a part of you. And I didn’t want to make a heavy, dry, powdery matte texture. So what we have here is very nourishing and moisturising,’ she continues. ‘It glides on the lips very easily and the applicator means that you can do a bold lip, or blur out the edges for a softer effect. It has a very strong delivery of colour, but the experience of it is so sensual. I find it almost compulsive the way you want to continue to put it on and on and on.’

In the days since our conversation, I really have been applying ‘Space in Between’ continuously, as it’s an ideal every day colour for me, a rose tone that leans brown rather than pink. The texture is sensorial dream; it glides on like velvet, remains creamy on the lips, yet doesn’t skimp on staying power. (In addition, the formulations are vegan.) I was even able to forgo lip liner, too, using use the thinner tip of the doe-foot applicator to cleanly draw a shape around the vermillion border and define the cupid’s bow. Later this evening, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I’ll be switching to ‘Fire Grace’, which happens to match the gel polish I’m wearing almost exactly.

‘With Byredo, we tend to have this mixture between primordial and sophisticated,’ concluded Pica, just before she left the call to prepare for an intimate dinner that Byredo was hosting to celebrate the Matte Liquid Lipstick collection that evening. ‘And I think, in the same way that a scent has a power of leaving a mark on someone’s memory, that lipstick does the same,’ said Pica. ‘It's also about pleasure, having fun. I saw Poor Things recently and I thought… The matte lipsticks we’ve created here are products that Bella Baxter would enjoy wearing.’

The Byredo Liquid Lipstick Matte collection by Lucia Pica is available now, £40.

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