With Zendaya's Help, Lancôme & the Louvre Turn Greek Mythology Into Makeup
Come September, art and beauty buffs alike will have the opportunity to take a piece of the Louvre home. The famed Parisian museum is partnering with Lancôme on a collection of makeup inspired by some of the most iconic depictions of female strength and power in its collection.
There's the Richelieu Wing Palette, drawing from Edme-François-Étienne Gois' "Corine," sculpted after the famous Greek poetess. The Greek goddess of health, Hygie, also gets her moment, appearing on a limited-edition version of Lancôme's Advanced Génifique serum.
So do "Diane de Gabies," a statue by Praxiteles believed to represent the goddess Artemis; the mythological nymph Echo, famously depicted in Nicolas Poussin's painting "Echo and Narcissus"; Gian Lorenzo Bernini's life-sized sculpture of Hermaphrodite sleeping; and Lorenzo Bartolini's "Nymph with a Scorpion" — these muses are referenced via four L'Absolu Rouge lipsticks.
Lancôme pulled out all the stops to launch the collection, recruiting an impressive roster of celebrities to embody the Greek goddesses housed at the Louvre. Zendaya, the campaign's headliner, is photographed alongside "The Victory of Samothrace," a winged statue depicting the goddess of victory.
"To me, her posture demonstrates a confident and victorious woman. A powerful symbol of achievement," Zendaya said in a press release. "And that’s what true beauty is: drawing on our own story to give ourselves wings."
Lancôme's latest is one of several recent instances of beauty brands teaming up with major museums — an unexpected pairing that seems to be on the rise. In March, Korean skincare brand Sulwhasoo announced an expansive partnership with The Met. And you might remember the Brooklyn Museum's 2019 exhibit, "Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving," co-sponsored by Revlon.
The Lancôme x Louvre collection is available at Lancôme's website.
