The brand revealed its first makeup collection, La Beauté Louis Vuitton, created alongside legendary artist Pat McGrath, last week with 55 lipsticks and 10 tinted lip balms, each priced at $160, and eight eyeshadow palettes priced at $250. Lip product and eyeshadow refills are priced at $69 and $92, respectively.

Even before Louis Vuitton’s global online launch for La Beauté on Monday after rolling it out to select stores in China, it sparked beauty chatter. Teased initially in March, Spate clocked it last month as the third highest ranking beauty brand for organic growth on TikTok among 10 brands, according to data provided to the publication Women’s Wear Daily. The search insights firm estimated it had accumulated an average of 1 million weekly views on TikTok and registered 5,177% growth.

Not every early read on La Beauté has been rhapsodic. Some have called its price tags tone deaf as economic growth stalls. However, others have raved that Louis Vuitton is distinguishing itself in a crowded market by setting a new high bar for luxury pricing. Christian Louboutin’s lipsticks top out at $105, while Clé de Peau Beauté’s fetch as much as $113 and Estée Lauder charges $100 for one, but sells it as a serum-cum-lipstick.

La Beauté’s $160 lipstick is infused with what Louis Vuitton describes as a “delicate fragrance” crafted by its master perfumer Jacques Cavallier with notes of mimosa, rose and jasmine. It also promises 12 hours of vivid color and a keepsake lipstick case for eternal Louis Vuitton logo flashing.

Curious about the financial architecture of La Beauté and the reaction to it, for the latest edition of our ongoing series posing questions relevant to indie beauty, we asked 13 product developers, cosmetic chemists, beauty entrepreneurs and luxury experts the following: What’s the markup on the $160 lipstick? How’s it different from a drugstore lipstick? What does it say about the state of luxury beauty and the qualities luxury consumers will pay for?