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Softly-defined eyes, subtly juicy lips, slicked-back hair that, in many instances, read undone rather than headache-inducing — Hermès’ spring 2025 runway was a masterclass in deconstructing the passé “clean girl” beauty trend. By focusing pigments on the eyes and lips, Hermès Beauty’s creative director Gregoris Pyrpylis created balance in the model’s beauty looks in a fresh, wearable way. Hermès’ recently-released Trait d’Hermès eye and lip pencils are your fast lane to emulating the look — and apropos for hitting reset on your beauty routine in the New Year.
Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Rather than quietly expanding an existing range of lip and eyeliners, the Hermès Trait d’Hermès collection launched at once in Oct. 2024 with an arresting amount of shades to browse: There are 24 (the house’s lucky number) for the eyes and 16 for the lips. The range offers a concoction of classic and playful options to choose from.
For the eyes, emerald green, shimmery ochre, and violet mix with essentials like ink black and, notably, a rich chocolate brown that’s an exact match to the shade used on Hermès’ iconic orange boxes. The lip pencils span from burgundy red to vibrant pink and earthy rose. Each color is created with near-perfect undertones, so even the options that you may deem as “out there” read elevated — and require little more than a skin tint and a swipe of mascara to create a pulled-together beauty look.
WWD senior beauty and lifestyle commerce editor Claire Sullivan plucks one of Hermès’ eye and lip pencils to test and review in our New York City office. Captured with the Leica Q2 camera.
WWD/ Adam Mansuroglu
Our editors put the lot of these new eye and lip pencils to the test through the busy holiday season and beyond — read on for an unbiased review.
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How We Tested Hermès Trait d’Hermès Eye and Lip Pencils
- Products tested: Hermès Trait d’Hermès Eye and Lip Pencils
- Testing time period: 3 months
- Shade range: 24 eye pencils; 16 lip pencils
- Price: $50 each
- Retailer availability: Hermès, Nordstrom, Moda Operandi, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue
- Pros:
- Firm texture allows for sharp lines and precision on the eyes and lips
- Vast amount of classic to playful shades to choose from
- Cons:
- Difficult to get the pencil’s pigments to transfer to the waterline of the eye
- Sharpeners are sold separately
- Editor testing and review notes: “What impresses me most about these luxury lip liners and eyeliners is the shade range, hands down. Each tone feels carefully calibrated to read flattering — even ones like emerald or ochre that I wouldn’t usually reach for. During testing, I found that these eye and lip pencils create a super simple formula for a sophisticated makeup look: Choose a subtle lip color and a bolder tone for your eyes (or vice versa), dab on a touch of skin tint, and apply a swipe of mascara, and you’re golden. Although they ring in at $50 each, the pencils stay fresh and provide enough pigment for well over a year of wear.” — WWD senior beauty and lifestyle commerce editor Claire Sullivan
Hermès Beauty Trait d’Hermès Lip Pencil
Price upon publish date of this article: $50
Hermès Beauty Trait d’Hermès Eye Pencil
Price upon publish date of this article: $50
Hermès Eye and Lip Pencils Review — Editor Testing Notes
Makeup pencils always evoke a sort of back-to-the-basics mentality in my routine, but not in a rudimentary way. They’re uncomplicated to use, take up less space than compacts and makeup brushes, stay fresh far longer than bullets or pots of pigment, and practically implore you to use them creatively.
What strikes me most about the Hermès eyeliner and lip liner are their respective shade ranges, which, in my eyes, are created in meticulous fashion. There are very few misses here: While Hermès’ orange box is iconic, I’m not sure how many folks are seeking out the shade in a lip liner. Beyond this, though, you really can’t go wrong. The undertones of each pencil work with the predominant color to make it read elevated and rich, so even shades you wouldn’t typically reach for, like cerulean for the eyes or bright pink for the lips, are flattering.
WWD Shop editors review the Hermès Trait d’Hermès collection of eye and lip pencils in our New York City office. Captured with the Leica Q2 camera.
WWD/ Adam Mansuroglu
This makes experimenting with these pencils all the more fun. I find myself playing with color combinations that are new to my beauty routine. Over the holidays, I regularly teamed the berry Pourpre Figue lip liner with the shimmery bronze Marron Glacé eyeliner (and the compliments rolled right in). For a low-key look at the office, I’ll smudge the earthy rose Beige Thé pencil on my lips and trace a thin line of the chocolatey Brun Bistre on my lash line. I find that the best way to wear these luxury pencils is to choose a bold tone for the lips and a subtler one for the eyes, or vice versa. This gives you a balanced, effortless result.
Courtesy
The feel of the Hermès pencils is another impressive feat: Each pencil’s pigmented core has a creamy consistency, but feels firm upon application. This textural anomaly makes it easy to draw precise lines or blend out the formulas for a softer look. I prefer the latter on my lips, where I’ll trace my vermillion border with the pencil, color inside the lines, then use a clean fingertip to blend, blend, blend. With this technique, the Hermès lip liner stands in as an excellent lipstick (top it off with lip gloss for shine).
Unlike the house’s storied fashions, designer handbags, and fragrances, color cosmetics are a relatively new category for Hermès, debuting in spring 2020. Having tested Hermès lipsticks, blushes, and lip balms, I’ve been most impressed by the luxurious packaging and textures that entice you to save the products for special occasions rather than treating them as everyday workhorses in your routine. That’s where these eye and lip pencils differ from the rest of the designer’s beauty portfolio: I’ve found myself reaching for these little luxuries on the daily.
Shop Hermès Lip Pencils
Hermès Beauty Trait d’Hermès Lip Pencil in Beige Thé
Price upon publish date of this article: $50
Hermès Beauty Trait d’Hermès Lip Pencil in Rose Boisé
Price upon publish date of this article: $50
Hermès Beauty Trait d’Hermès Lip Pencil in Pourpre Figue
Price upon publish date of this article: $50
Shop Hermès Eye Pencils
Hermès Beauty Trait d’Hermès Eye Pencil in Marron Glacé
Price upon publish date of this article: $50
Hermès Beauty Trait d’Hermès Eye Pencil in Brun Bistre
Price upon publish date of this article: $50
Hermès Beauty Trait d’Hermès Eye Pencil in Raisin
Price upon publish date of this article: $50
Hermès Beauty Trait d’Hermès Eye Pencil in Vert Titien
Price upon publish date of this article: $50
Hermès Beauty Trait d’Hermès Eye Pencil in Mordoré
Price upon publish date of this article: $50
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Meet the Author
Claire Sullivan is the Senior Beauty and Lifestyle Commerce Editor for Footwear News and WWD, where she writes and edits beauty, fashion and lifestyle stories. She has over eight years of experience as a writer and editor for national media outlets including Martha Stewart Living, Martha Stewart Weddings, InStyle, and Byrdie. She keeps her finger on the pulse of all things related to beauty and wellness, as well as the latest shopping trends and clothing brands. Sullivan personally tested the Hermès eye and lip pencils for three months to write this honest review.
