Cue major excitement and an obsessive page refresh at 4 pm on launch day… yes that’s right, the Lisa Eldridge Holiday 2021 Collection went live last month and blimey it was a corker.
With True Velvets in new shades, restocks of favs, lip pencils available for each lipstick shade across the brand, new lip glosses, plus samples of the upcoming foundation; we were well and truly spoilt for choice!
True Velvet Lipsticks
Forget Halloween, forget the fall of autumn leaves, October has become synonymous with True Velvets. With a welcome restock across all shades, from the biggest and boldest Carnival to the ever so popular Ribbon, every shade is stupendously topped up.
Joining these (now) classics are four new shades: Intrigue, Petal, Blush Lightly, Cinnabar.
Here are the descriptions for each shade:
Intrigue
“With a softness of hue, this delicately warm, light peach rose beige gives a whisper light effect.’
True Velvet Lipstick Intrigue £26
Petal
“Think of the soothing song of the spring peony in full bloom. This perfectly formed light warm pink borrows all the best from nature’s palette in a Parisian florists window. Just shy of a Cotton Candy Snapdragon it flutters more on the side of a perfectly sophisticated and chic essential.“
True Velvet Lipstick Petal £26
Blush Lightly
“A playful, wearable medium muted berry tone which evokes a just bitten lip flushed with colour.“
True Velvet Lipstick Blush Lightly £26
Cinnabar
“Velvet Cinnabar is the deepest, richest, most powerful burnt ochre warm brown red imaginable.”
True Velvet Lipstick Cinnabar £26
Now, since first launching in 2018 (you can read my review of the first launch here!) Lisa’s makeup brand has only grown in popularity. Therefore, the need to show up on the launch date grows with each launch. Three of the new shades are currently now out of stock online, however, they are available in the Lisa Eldridge popup store in London from now until 31st December 2021.
If there’s ever a shade you like the look of in my reviews and reels, take note of launch dates, trust me- these beauties are so worth the wait!
Lisa Eldridge Holiday 2021
As I mentioned, Enhance and Define Lip Pencil’s are now available in every lipstick shade (that’s the Velvet’s and the Lucents) and you can buy them separately (previously only some shades were available in kits). That’s a whopping 17 lip pencils in total.
The Enhance and Define Lip Liners £19
Gloss Embrace Lip Gloss is also back with three new shades: Dragon, Petal, Cinnabar.
Let me tell you, if you’ve not tried these lip glosses, they are the most sumptuous, conditioning and enhancing lip glosses! Such a treat!
Gloss Embrace Lip Gloss is a hybrid lip product, a mix of a lip caring treatment and a colour gloss. Containing mango kernel butter, açai berry oil, sunflower seed oil and vitamin e oil; this is a highly moisturising gloss that feels caring and hydrating to the lips. It is available in the lipstick shades so you can pair it with your favourite True Velvet or mix and match, creating a unique combination as you desire!
Gloss Embrace Lip Gloss £18
Elevated Glow Highlighter is also available in four shades. This is the most dreamy, glass-skin like glow highlighter. It imparts an ethereal beauty to the skin with no harsh glitter in sight.
You can read my full thoughts of the highlighter from its launch in the Summer 2021 review.
Let’s move on to the new pieces I have and the swatches I can show you!
True Velvet Lipstick Intrigue
Of the four new shades in the Lisa Eldridge Holiday 2021 collection, I was most torn between Intrigue and Petal. I decided to go with Intrigue in the end, simply because I have Beauty and although it is different in tone (Beauty is cool, blue-toned pink, Petal a more warm-toned pink) I felt that Intrigue was the most different and the shade I didn’t have in my collection.
Of course, having now seen Petal everywhere all over social media, I have FOMO and it is of course sold out! (I’ll get my hands on her one day…)
I call Lisa’s lipsticks chameleons as they truly do look different on everyone. If you follow her instagram and Facebook stories particularly around launch times she shares a lot of images of us ‘real folk’ (not just campaign shots) wearing her lipsticks and I find it fascinating how the same shade can differ so much depending on a persons skin tone and the undertones in their lips. You often don’t quite know exactly how a lipstick may pull on you, yet they always seem to be flattering, I don’t know how she does it, one thing’s for sure, Lisa Eldridge is a true colour genius.
Intrigue is now the lightest of the True Velvets. It is a warm, peach beige with the 1960s as inspiration. That alone sounds dreamy, right?!
In the same velvet, matte formula that we have become accustomed to, Intrigue is a comfortable, non-drying matte lipstick that wears well.
Might I have uttered, “she may have become my favourite of the lighter Velvets?” How quickly I fell for her. Intrigue has a slightly peachy tone to her, she is lighter than Fawn but not so light that she will leave you looking drawn. The shade simply enhances my natural lips will little effort, it is sophisticated and pretty.
The tone itself is very flattering. She is easy to wear and pairs nicely with simple makeup or a daring eye look. I can see Lisa’s inspiration of the 1960s with the light peachy tones but it is most definitely a modern lipstick shade with the beige neutrals we have become so accustomed to in this decade. While a flat matte in a lighter nude may drain some, the slight sheen to the True Velvets and clever mixing of pigments ensures Intrigue is flattering on all.
Intrigue definitely appears darker in the bullet than on my lips. I find it to be like the other Velvet’s in its moisturising matte formula and had no issues with wear, finding it wore evenly over a number of hours.
To my surprise, Intrigue is still in stock! So if you’re looking for a nude lipstick, be sure to check out Lisa’s story highlights for swatches and more!
True Velvet Lipstick Intrigue £26
True Velvet Lipstick Cinnabar
Cinnabar… All Lisa had to do was utter her inspiration behind the shade and I was sold. Utterly romanced by the history of the rich pigment and entranced by its depth of tone, I knew I had to have her.
The funny thing, I tend to suit cool-toned lipsticks more, but I fell hard and fast for Cinnabar.
One thing’s for sure, Lisa Eldridge is a true genius of colour
Here’s the description from the Lisa Eldridge website to whet your appetite:
“Inspired by the dense, poisonous, red mineral which has been used as a precious resource around the world since at least the 10th millennium BC. During ancient rituals and rites of passage it came to denote Blood, Victory, Success and even Immortality. In its various forms (including Vermillion) it has been used as an artists pigment and can be seen in the frescos of ancient Rome. It was also used extensively as a cosmetic, most famously by Queen Elizabeth the 1st to create an intensely dramatic and powerful effect on the lips and cheeks.”
Well if it’s good enough for Queen Elizabeth the 1st, then it’s good enough for me (the none poisonous version that is).
Cinnabar whisks you away to warmer climes, it is a rich, browny red, incredibly deep in hue. A red lip makes me feel empowered and Cinnabar, well, she takes this to the next level; she is confidence personified.
I applied Cinnabar and instantly felt transformed. As I mentioned, cool-toned lipsticks tend to suit me best but I was entranced by her, I had to try her. This is truly where Lisa Eldridge colour genius comes into play. She creates shades that are the opposite that one might normally reach for, the opposite you may generally suit and yet when you try them on, somehow they work. Somehow your eye colour pops, your skin becomes brighter and, as is the case with Cinnabar, you feel empowered.
Somehow, Cinnabar, a rich browny red, works for me (just like Velvet Morning, an orange-red), the girl who loves a blue-toned red.
Cinnabar dresses your lips in a burnt, ochre brown red that echos the past. It is rich is pigment and depth. The shade so bold lips are enhanced in seconds. She demands attention, in the most beautiful, elegant way.
True Velvets work beautifully worn as a stain, gently tapped onto the lips and blended with a finger, this allows you to play with the depth of colour. As a stain, the lipstick is a little more muted, applied directly from the bullet gives full impact.
Is there anything more glam than pulling a gold lipstick tube from your bag, unearthing a velvet fabric lipstick and dressing your lips with a hue from centuries ago, one fit for a queen? I think not.
Enhance and Define Lip Pencil
Last year we saw the launch of a few lip pencils, however, they were only available in kits. Thankfully in this holiday 2021 collection, there are 17 lip pencils available!
The Lip Pencils are long-wear gel liner that is smudge-proof and waterproof! So pretty awesome if you’re looking for a pencil to give you definition but one that also has staying power.
There is a lip pencil to correlate to each lipstick shade, so you can choose to match lipstick and liner or opt for a darker liner to add depth. The choice really is yours.
I have Lip Pencils in Fawn, Muse, Cinnabar.
Enhance and Define Lip Pencils are creamy and easy to work with, because of their gel formula they glide with ease around the lip area, no pulling on the skin and they blend well over fine lines gathering around lips. It is easy to create a natural shape and enhance your own lip line with this pencil, equally if you wish to build on your lips and tweak their shape a little the pencils make light work of it.
The shades I have are both true to their descriptions on the website and pair very nicely with their matching lipsticks (I do this with Cinnabar above), or as you can see, with others in the collection: I paired Fawn Lip Pencil with Intrigue True Velvet Lipstick above.
Here are the swatches.
If Carrie Bradshaw knows good sex, then Lisa Eldridge knows colour. Fact
Seamless Skin Foundation
If my migraines hadn’t been so bad I might have actually screamed when the news hit that a foundation would be launching soon. In fact, the first hint was in Sarah Jossel’s wedding makeup post (I am but a hawk) – Lisa did her makeup and a foundation was very much hinted at – I was positively glee with excitement. My head was abuzz with questions! While it wasn’t available in the October launch we were able to pick up sample cards with the promise of a November release!
Ok, brands worldwide need to take note. Available on the Lisa Eldridge website are Seamless Skin Foundation sample cards. A card with 4 shades of foundation each. Each card sits in a different shade/tone category. Simply pick a card you believe you may sit within.
On the website, there are images on the foundation shown on 54 models. The foundation is available in 40 shades which is fantastic for a foundation launch and great for inclusivity.
There are 5 shade categories with 8 shades in each and varieties of undertones in each shade category.
Light:
Neutral Undertones
Rosy Undertones
Golden Undertones
Peach Undertones
Light/Medium:
Neutral Olive Undertones
Neutral Undertones
Neutral Golden Undertones
Neutral Rosy Undertones
Golden Undertones
Rosy Undertones
Neutral Golden Undertones
True Olive Undertones
Medium:
Golden Olive Undertones
Golden Undertones
Neutral Undertones
Rosy Red Undertones
Neutral Red Undertones
Golden Olive Undertones
Terracotta Undertones
Medium/Deep:
Golden Undertones
Neutral Undertones
Neutral Red Undertones
Neutral Undertones
Red Undertones
Golden Terracotta Undertones
Neutral Undertones
Golden Undertones
Deep:
Neutral Undertones
Red Undertones
Olive Undertones
Red Undertones
This is why I love it when a true, professional makeup artist creates a product. The foundation is SPF free and while I advocate daily SPF use, there are times when not having SPF and certain minerals in makeup is important. SPF, zinc oxide, too much silica, can cause flashback (that unflattering white face in photos that is created when the light from a flash bounces back from these particles). This foundation will not cause flashback, it has been designed for professional and personal use; this foundation is the red carpet, photoshoot, wedding, day time or night out – proof and ready!
Lisa has provided sample cards (each shade with enough product for a couple of wears) so that consumers can ensure they know which shade is suitable for them prior to launch, therefor they can purchase the correct shade. This, of course, means less waste and more happy customers in the long run.
We are waiting for news of the date, hopefully, early November and in time for holiday gifting!
A sample card is free with any order, additional cards are £2.
I have Light Set 1 and Light Set 2. Here they are swatched on my face and arm.
I am my most pale self at the moment and due to health issues (MCAS – that cause a lot of reactions), the redness in my skin is more prominent than usual. The shade that I think best suits me at present is 7. I was torn between 5 and 7, 5 is a little too light and while both are neutral, I prefer the tones in 7 for my skin at present.
The foundation is described as a self-setting foundation that provides a medium coverage and a soft-focus effect to the skin. Coverage can be altered to suit your preference and the finish is not too matte nor too dewy.
I can’t speak much on packaging, its design and accessibility as yet (I’ll do a full review when I get my paws on it!) but from ogling at the bottle via screen it appears to be a unique and aesthetically shaped foundation with smooth lines and, I wonder if Lisa has sought inspiration for both its design and her pop-up store’s foundation stand from a sculpture she shared with us not so long ago? I wish I could remember the artist’s name! I do remember Lisa saying it was a favourite of hers.
In terms of wear, I have worn it as a true medium coverage foundation and used it sparingly to just conceal and cover certain areas. I find that even at its medium coverage (which is the higher coverage end that I would normally wear) my skin still looks like skin. It doesn’t look heavy, and there is definitely a soft-focus effect. The foundation does a great job at covering redness and thread veins in my skin and also sits well under my eyes (I wanted to test this) without settling into fine lines or creasing. I have oily/combination skin and the foundation looked great for the first few hours – in terms of oil control, but does require a powder top up attention after that. However, at 6.5 hrs of wear, despite my natural oils showing through, there was zero breakdown in coverage or signs of wear whatsoever.
Seamless Skin Foundation unifies my skin and creates a natural, flattering satin finish.
Those lucky souls who live in or can travel to London (I am not sure I will ever get over not being able to attend myself – yes I’m feeling that dramatic about it 😁) can visit The House Of Eldridge Pop Up Studio that opened 30th October. The foundation, all lipsticks and some exclusives are available there.
More details on the store here
Seamless Skin Foundation is talc-free, vegan and cruelty-free.
Packaging & Claims
Like all other lipsticks within the brand, the lipsticks come in a card sleeve bearing the Lisa Eldridge logo and all the product details.
The lipsticks themselves are gold, metal with a magnetic closure. They are solid and the magnetic closure aids accessibly.
Enhance and Define Lip Pencils are similarly housed in a card sleeve and have a gold lid that matches the gold pencil. The lids are well secured to the pencil and are tricky to take off on first use (I suspect this is to prevent the product from drying) but after that, they are alike any other lip liner.
Lisa Eldridge is Cruelty-Free, is free from Parabens, Talc, Fragrance, D6, D5, Gluten and Alcohol. Many of their products are vegan.
Lisa Eldridge Holiday 2021 Collection
Look, if you haven’t guessed that I’m a mega-fan by now – where have you been? As a makeup artist, you tend to have those you aspire to, those whose work gives you pause and those whose collections make you giddy with excitement. This is Lisa Eldridge for me. So yes, I get excited for each collection like a kid a Christmas and I’m yet to be let down. I love colour, I love seeing colour within colour, seeing the magic of shades and tones on different people and witnessing how makeup can empower both myself and others. There’s something very special about the colour products Lisa creates, something a little magical and that’s before we even discuss the velvet textures and modern vintage appeal.
In my mind, this is what you’re buying into. The knowledge of one of the best makeup artists in the world, one who truly understands colour and peoples skin tones. One who is creating exciting products with exciting new ingredients. And let’s face it, they look pretty damn gorgeous too.
Is there anything more glam than pulling a gold lipstick tube from your bag, unearthing a velvet fabric lipstick and dressing your lips with the hue from centuries ago, one fit for a queen? I think not.
No, I’m not let down, yes I love what I have, and my goodness will I be there bright and early on foundation launch day. Will you?
Keep an eye on my social media over the next few days…my stop motion video of the new lipsticks joining the collection is going live soon! You’ll find it on my instagram here!
Absolutely loved reading this post Amy! So thorough and has given me all the info I need!!! Thank you x
Thanks so much Sharon! I’m so pleased so hear that lovely! x