During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Votre Vu Releases Six Golden Lipsticks

September is many things : back-to-school season, Fashion Week time (not only in New York, but also in London and  Paris), Hispanic Heritage Month (I still think we should’ve gotten a better month, like June), and, if you really want to go with a kooky theme, it’s also International Square Dancing Month (hey, I don’t come up with this stuff!).  But, on a more somber note, it’s also a month dedicated to raising awareness about a very serious issue: childhood cancer. Every year, as many as 263,000 new cases of cancer are reported among children under 20 years of age around the world — an even more harrowing statistic when you consider all the cases that probably go undocumented. Even more heart breaking: childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children under the age of 15 within the United States and yet and still less than 5% of federal funding for cancer research is allotted to children’s cancer research.

It’s up to us, then, to make a difference and make sure that children fighting cancer are receiving the treatment they need to lead long and healthy lives and, furthermore, to fund the research that will hopefully help us find a cure to this insidious disease.

Beauty brand Votre Vu is certainly up for the task. For the month of September, Votre Vu has released six of its French Kiss lipstick shades packaged in limited-edition golden tubes as a nod to the golden ribbon affiliated with Childhood Cancer Awareness causes. But its commitment to the fight against childhood cancer isn’t limited to raising awareness via cutesy packaging — the company is actually donating $1 from the sale of each of these lipsticks to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation via the 46 Mommas. Given how severely underfunded pediatric cancer research is, campaigns like this are beyond essential.

All six of these French Kiss Moisture Rich Lipsticks ($23 each at VotreVu.com) are part of the brand’s permanent makeup collection but they’re only available in their sleek golden tubes during September. If you’re not familiar with these lipsticks, here’s a bit of a primer: as with all Votre Vu products, these ultra creamy lipsticks are formulated with skin nourishing ingredients like jojoba seed oil and castor seed oil, as well as vitamin E — all blended with natural plant waxes (mainly candelilla wax and carnauba wax), titanium dioxide and iron dioxide to offer SPF protection, and xanthene colors.

The six available hues are:

Margaux: a sumptuous, full-bodied red with blue, berry-like undertones

LouLou: a delicate, semi-sheer pink with golden undertones

Babette: a bronze-tinged nude hue

Claire: a shimmering bronze with cool undertones

Chloe: a bright, perky fuchsia pink

Annette: a punchy, medium-toned coral red

I’ve been trying out two shades, Margaux and Loulou, and they’re both delicious. Sure, they’re not the most richly pigmented or long-lasting lipsticks on the market, but they both have gorgeous tonalities and, most importantly, they feel delicious on lips — moisturizing, soothing, creamy, and oh so soft.

The Margaux shade is irresistible — right away, it makes me think of Barcelona and Seville, of Flamenco dancers in their tiered, ruffled dresses. It’s a deep sangría red that’s perfectly intoxicating.

LouLou meanwhile is the epitome of darling, a seashell pink hue with warm undertones and an all-over golden luster.

Here are swatches of the two shades:

Again, these are not only pretty hues, but they feel amazing on your lips. Make sure to buy them in their golden tubes, and you’ll be doing your part to fight pediatric cancer!