Florals and Family: The Influences That Shaped Erdem’s New Makeup Collab With Nars

Moralioglu is drawn to a “magnetic lip that you see from very far away.” It reminds him of his pale-skinned, blue-eyed mother, whose only cosmetic was red lipstick. “Whenever she wore it, it was like red on a white sheet of paper—very saturated,” he recalls. The Poison Rose Lip Powder Palette contains a balm with four shades that are applied on top for a vivid mouth.

The idea to include blotting paper came from memories of his twin sister and her friends using it in high school. “I loved how the paper felt and smelled—there was something so tactile about it,” recalls Moralioglu. The concept of it being “non-makeup” and a discreet tool also appealed. And with this being a summer collection, he felt it made sense. “Toronto gets very humid,” he says.

For the six lipsticks, Moralioglu experimented with
transparency, opacity and what he calls “strange colours”—like the sheer orchid of “Larkspur,” the muted lavender of “Voodoo Lily” and the deep plum of “Wild Flower.” “Bloodflower,” with its bright cherry hue, is one of his favourites. “It’s truly the perfect red lipstick,” he says.

The matte-black packaging that Nars is known for has been replaced with a pale powdery blue—a customized shade that was created for the walls of Erdem’s London flagship in Mayfair. (It opened right around the time Moralioglu started working on the collaboration.)