We have a lot to look forward to in April that has nothing to do with the fact that pubs can reopen for outdoor dining [1]. There's the longer days and warmer weather, the blooming cherry blossoms and Easter bank holidays. Oh, and Chanel [2] is launching an innovative new lipstick formula that legitimately feels like the cosmetic embodiment of the spring season.

Chanel's Rouge Coco Bloom [3] (£33) is a luxurious formula with the pigment, shape, and wear-time of a lipstick (eight hours, the brand promises) but with the high shine of a lip gloss and the hydration of a tinted balm — all packaged in a chic black tube featuring the brand's iconic interlocking Cs. Available in 20 shades, Rouge Coco Bloom launches 1st April and we couldn't be more excited to swipe on colours like Vitalité (a vibrant cherry colour), Radiant (a medium rose tone), and Surprise (a ripe berry hue) as we head outdoors and start to see friends again — finally ditching our sweatpants for swingy dresses [4] and summery sandals [5].

Image Source: Chanel [6]

The campaign for Chanel Rouge Coco Bloom features someone who is simultaneously both a fresh-new face and a member of fashion royalty: Lily-Rose Depp [7]. Not only has the actor and model worked with the brand since she was 15, but her mother, Vanessa Paradis, was also a longtime muse of the late creative director Karl Lagerfeld. In other words, Chanel is basically imprinted into Lily-Rose Depp's DNA. "Chanel has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember," she said via press release. "I feel incredibly lucky not only to get to work with such an amazing, kind, and gifted team, but also to bear witness to their talents."

As the face of the Rouge Coco Bloom campaign, Depp also got to witness the science and development that went into the lipstick, when she visited Chanel's laboratories in Pantin, a neighbourhood just outside of Paris — an experience that was captured on video (which you can watch below). "I felt so lucky to be able to visit the laboratories and witness first hand the magic that goes into creating the Chanel makeup we know and love," she said of the experience in which she got the opportunity to create a tube of the Rouge Coco Bloom lipstick from scratch. When asked about her favourite part of playing cosmetic formulator for the day, Depp said "Definitely the mixing of the pigments when they're in their liquefied form! It felt like painting and it was so much fun"!

Image Source: Chanel [8]

Depp has a glowing review of the Rouge Coco Bloom lipstick in its finished, solid form, too. "What I especially love about [Rouge Coco Bloom] is that it combines two qualities you often don't find in one lipstick — hydration and long-wear. I find that I can wear it all day and it stays perfectly in place while still keeping my lips nice and hydrated!" As for her favourite shades in the range? Her top picks include Opportunity (a pinky-beige) and Alive (a magenta hue), although she admits it's hard to choose. "They're all so unique and beautiful," she said.

Image Source: Chanel [9]

The innovative Rouge Coco Bloom formula has been nearly five years in the making, developed in the Chanel Research Laboratory based in Japan. Tasked with creating a lipstick that stayed shiny and pigmented for a long period of time, the scientists developed a patented two-phase formula that's now exclusive to Chanel.

So what exactly is a two-phase lipstick? It means that the lipstick goes through two processes as it's applied. First, there's the "colour phase" which is basically the pigments being deposited onto your lips. It's also when a protective film is formed over the pigment to lock it in place. And speaking of pigment, this formula has a lot of it. With just one swipe you get full coverage and full capacity, and whilst there's no way to quantify this, I honestly feel like this lipstick goes on faster than any other formula I've tried.

Image Source: Chanel [10]

Once the pigment is on your lips, the second phase of the lipstick is initiated. Invisible micro-droplets of oil in the formula are released, leaving behind a gorgeous and sophisticated layer of shine that's more like the sheen of high-quality satin versus the water-like reflectiveness of latex. Unlike a lot of high-shine lipsticks, Rouge Coco Bloom feels weightless, like all you're wearing on your lips is some balm. What's really impressive, however, is that even though the formula is full of pigment and shine, it doesn't move around on your mouth. Once the lipstick sets in place (which is probably after about 30 seconds), it won't budge. It won't even leave a lip mark on your wine glass, which trust me, I put to the test multiple times since receiving the formula last week.

Chanel's Rouge Coco Bloom [11] (£33) couldn't have launched at a better time. As we prepare for sunnier days and getting dressed up again and meeting up (safely) with friends and family, having a lipstick that's both long-lasting and comfortable to wear — so that you can swipe it on and not have to think about — is just what we need in our makeup bags as we head outdoors.