Brown Lipstick Goes Sheer and Blurred for Fall, the French Way
Violette Serrat launches Bisou Balm in Chocolat, a sheer, blurred take on brown lipstick. Bobbi Brown shares her rule for matching brown to every skin tone this fall.
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The takeaway
- Violette Serrat, founder and CEO of Violette_Fr, launched Bisou Balm in Chocolat, a sheer matte lipstick-balm hybrid for a blurred, 'just-kissed' finish.
- Bobbi Brown's rule: 'The darker your skin, the more blue-toned your lipstick should be.'
- Jones Road's The Classic Lip in Chocolate and Cognac is rarely in stock, per the report; Merit's Signature Lip Liner in Bespoke and Brownstone supports the blurred technique.
Brown lipstick is bridging summer's brighter palette and winter's festive hues this September, and Violette Serrat, founder and CEO of Violette_Fr, has a new product positioned squarely at the trend: Bisou Balm in Chocolat, a muted, sheer matte lipstick-balm hybrid.
"You get the richness and impact of a statement lip, but there's an ease to brown that feels very fresh," Serrat tells Bazaar. "Red has this incredible confidence and vavavoom energy, while brown gives you confidence in a quieter, more unexpected way."
The Bisou Balm formula is designed to deliver buildable color that stays undefined for a 'just-kissed' look. "Brown can feel incredibly sophisticated, but when you wear it sheer and blurred, suddenly, it becomes very relaxed and easy," Serrat says. "It gives the face something without looking like you tried too hard."
A Softer Version of the '90s Brown Lip
The unapologetic brown lips that became a supermodel trademark in the '90s have returned recently. But the French approach, Serrat argues, demands imperfection. "So with a brown lip, I like it a little imperfect – never too defined or precise," she says. Her application method is simple: apply straight from the bullet, blur the edges with your finger, and keep the rest of the face fresh so the lip stays the focus. "It should almost feel like you put it on without thinking about it."
For her campaign, Serrat paired Chocolat with a smoky eye and fresh pink blush for what she calls a touch of Dolce Vita energy. She also endorses brown-on-brown — taking the shade across eyes, cheeks, and lips for harmonious depth.
How to Choose the Right Brown
Brown lipstick can be notoriously difficult to match across skin tones. Bobbi Brown, who launched her first makeup empire in the early '90s with 10 brown-based lipsticks, offers clear guidance. "You need to pay attention to your skin tone but also your lip color," she says. Too dark a brown can read as aging; too light can wash you out.
"Your choices are either a pinky undertone or a warm undertone," she explains. "If your lips and skin are deeper, you can go for either a blue tone or a bronzy tone." Her rule of thumb: "The darker your skin, the more blue-toned your lipstick should be."
Brown now leads Jones Road, the brand she founded after leaving her eponymous one. Her The Classic Lip — a lightweight, heavily pigmented satin — in Chocolate (a deep neutral brown) and Cognac (a rich reddish brown) is rarely in stock on the Jones Road website, an indicator of sustained demand.
Technique and Supporting Products
A blurred finish works with any satin or matte brown lipstick: pat the product onto the lips instead of swiping, letting the edges fade into the complexion. Alternatively, sketch on a creamy lip liner and diffuse it with fingers. Merit's Signature Lip Liner in Bespoke (pink-brown) or Brownstone (warm brown) suits the technique, with buildable pigment giving soft definition and sheer all-over color.
Serrat created Chocolat to be universally flattering, in line with her brand's no-rules positioning — a deliberate answer to the shade-matching problem Brown describes. Whether the mass of consumers follows her toward sheer, blurred application or sticks with the precise '90s version will shape how brown lipsticks are formulated and merchandised this season.
Source: Harper's Bazaar Beauty; Source: instagram.com
Daniel Okafor
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News editor covering business strategy at Eurasian Beauty Journal.
