What goes into a ₹549 liquid lipstick

Customers sometimes compare our prices with larger brands sold at deep discounts online. We think it is fair to show roughly where the money goes for one 5 ml matte liquid lipstick. The formula itself costs less than most people expect, about ₹55 a unit. That includes the film formers that make it transfer-resistant, oils, pigments and preservatives, made in batches of 2,000 in our Andheri lab. Packaging costs more: the glass bottle, the wand, the cap and the printed carton come to about ₹75.

Making and testing add around ₹60 a unit. That covers Farida’s and the technicians’ time, the lab rent, the swatch tests on 12 skin tones for every new shade, and the batches we reject when the colour is off. Small batches cost more per piece than a factory run of 50,000.

Selling and delivering are a large share. Shipping across India, free above ₹999, averages ₹45 per lipstick when spread across orders. Payment charges, the cost of the selfie shade-matching service and the shade exchanges we offer within 15 days add about ₹40. Exchanged lipsticks that have been swatched cannot be resold, so we write them off. Photography, the website and our small team add about ₹110. GST takes ₹84 of the price.

That leaves about ₹80, about 17 per cent of the price before tax, which pays for the next shades and keeps the lab running. We would rather keep the price steady through the year than mark it up and offer sales.