Balmain launched its first beauty creation—Les Éternels de Balmain, a collection of eight multi-layered, all-gender eaux de parfums.

The Estée Lauder Companies and Balmain entered into a license agreement to create a beauty brand in September 2022.

The range—the first product in what is expected to be a full line of luxury beauty—was inspired by Pierre Balmain’s Parisian legacy and Balmain Creative Director Olivier Rousteing’s modern influence on fashion, according to the companies.

“Balmain Beauty gives you the freedom to live your truth, free and powerful. Beauty is about being yourself and having the confidence to embrace who you are,” said Rousteing. “Fashion cannot exist without beauty, and beauty cannot exist without fashion. Beauty is part of your silhouette, of who you are, just like the way you dress. I want to represent all the beauties of the world and welcome everyone without exceptions.”

Les Éternels de Balmain is said to be “powered by a richly crafted duality of ingredients.”

The scents span four distinctive olfactive families–musk, amber, floral and woody.

As the lead architect of Balmain Beauty, Rousteing touched every aspect, from concept to scent development to package design to campaign imagery. He studied perfumery, learning the creation process through hands-on training, according to ELC.

He handpicked four of Balmain’s legacy scents to be reinvented for the modern era: Vent Vert, Ivoire, Ébène and Carbone. Sel d’Ambre, Rouge, Bronze and Bleu Infini are four new scents that round out the collection.

“Balmain Beauty is forging a new, avant-garde space in luxury beauty that celebrates the legacy and inclusive spirit of the iconic house of Balmain,” said Guillaume Jesel, who oversees Balmain Beauty as the President and CEO, Tom Ford and Luxury Business Development, The Estée Lauder Companies. “Olivier Rousteing is one of the most accomplished designers of his generation, inventing revolutionary concepts at the confluence of past, present, and future. It has been an extraordinary journey bringing his vision for Balmain Beauty to life.”

Package Design

The collection’s packaging is inspired by Balmain’s first flacon created in 1946. It has contrasting elemental shapes of the circle and square, signature black and gold colors, and the label spread over two facets. The new flacon delivers a multisensory and luxurious modern experience—the square is elongated, the Balmain signature rayure covering the glass echoes the gold collar’s existing texture and a new finish and color palette flatters the touch and the eye. On the cap, a graphic PB monogram symbolizes Balmain, extracted from the iconic 1970 brand labyrinth motif.

Matteo Sgarbossa, CEO, Balmain, said the company’s agreement with The Estée Lauder Companies for “is an obvious embodiment of that strategy. With this partnership, the house begins a new chapter, making very clear to all our commitment to maximizing cross-category possibilities as we move forward, driven by the passion of our ‘Balmain Army’ and determined to fully realize this house’s potential to become a true leader in the luxury world.”