Therapium VELOURIS™ Matte Lipstick — Terracotta Nude

A warm, earthy nude in a matte finish that does not leave lips feeling parched.

Most of the bullet is oil and wax rather than filler: rice bran oil, castor seed oil, sunflower and rice bran waxes, with organic shea butter and organic blueberry seed oil. The colour comes from mineral pigments — iron oxides, mica, titanium dioxide, manganese violet — not synthetic dyes. It goes on smoothly in one pass and sets to a velvety matte rather than a flat, dry one.

Terracotta Nude or Dusty Rose

Two shades, one formula. Colour is the only thing that changes, and the choice is simpler than picking a foundation, because a lipstick does not have to disappear into your skin.

• Terracotta Nude — this one. Warm, brown-orange, earthy. On medium to deep skin it reads as a nude; on fair skin it reads as a distinct tan rather than a bare lip. It sits naturally with the warm foundation shades (10, 25, 35, 45) and with the CC stick in 30 Tan or 35 Deep.
• Dusty Rose — muted and cool-leaning. The quieter of the two, and the one that sits with the cool foundation shades, 15 and 50.

Honest about the range: these are the only two. Both are mid-strength wearable neutrals. There is no red, no berry and no bright here — if that is what you came for, we do not make it.

Why both shades print the same ingredient list

Word for word, the two INCI lists are identical, pigments included. That is not an error and not lazy copying. Under Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, colourants in a range of shades may be declared with the prefix +/- — "may contain" — so a single list can cover every shade in the range. The bracket at the end of ours is exactly that: tin oxide, mica, titanium dioxide, manganese violet and iron oxides, the set the whole range draws on. Which of them is in this particular bullet, the label does not say, and is not required to.

Useful when you read any label: an identical +/- list on two products tells you nothing about whether they are the same colour. What matters is everything before the bracket — and there, these two genuinely are the same formula.

What is not on the list

No beeswax, no carmine (CI 75470, the red made from insects and still common in lipstick), no lanolin. That is a reading of the label rather than a certification — we do not hold a formal vegan certificate for the bullet, so we are not putting a badge on it. Worth knowing that the foundation does contain organic beeswax, so the two are not alike in this respect. How to tell whether a cosmetic is vegan from the label explains what to look for.

The honest bit about matte

A matte finish shows texture. That is true of every matte lipstick and it is a property of the finish, not of this formula: with no shine, there is nothing to bounce light off a flake. This one is oil and wax rather than a drying liquid matte, so it stays comfortable for hours — but it does not treat dry lips, and putting it over lips that are already peeling makes the peeling more visible, not less. Balm goes underneath, a few minutes before. Not on top.

How to use

1. Apply straight from the bullet, starting at the centre of the lip.
2. Blot and reapply for a deeper, longer-wearing finish.
3. Use a lip balm underneath if your lips are flaky, and give it a few minutes to sink in.

Key ingredients

• Rice bran and castor seed oils — the base of the bullet.
• Organic shea butter — for comfort under a matte finish.
• Organic blueberry seed oil — a lighter oil in the blend.
• Sunflower and rice bran waxes — the plant waxes that hold the shape.
• Mineral pigments — iron oxides, mica and titanium dioxide, no synthetic dyes.

Scent

A faint sweetness with a citrus edge, from vanillin and bitter orange peel oil.

Good to know

• Shade: Terracotta Nude, the warmer of the two. The other is Dusty Rose.
• 99% natural origin content according to ISO 16128-1:2016 — a calculation of how much of the formula is of natural origin, not a statement about how well it performs.
• Declared fragrance allergen: limonene, from the bitter orange peel oil.

Full ingredients (INCI)

Therapium Ltd, company number 16471805 · 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom