Finally, My Lipstick from Lisa Eldridge from Selfridge’s in London!

I Bought This, Affiliate Links

Back in October during my trip to London with Jeff, one of the things on my to do-list was to buy a lipstick from Lisa Eldridge, famed makeup artist to the stars as well as the new Creative Director at Lancome. I’m not sure how she pulls off the Lancome gig while heading her own makeup company, but somehow she does!

On a beautiful, warm, sunny day, Jeff and I took the Tube to Camden Yards to see another outdoor marketplace. I will leave that story for another time. But after we finished at Camden Yards, we decided to get back on the Tube and go to Regent Street. Jeff even agreed to go with me to the department store, Selfridge’s (did you happen to see the Selfridge’s series on PBS?).

I have been to London a number of times over the years, but I never managed to get to Selfridge’s. Usually, I would stay in Knightsbridge and spend my shopping time at Harrod’s and Harvey Nichols department stores. I was bound and determined to check out Selfridge’s this time.

Selfridge’s is a big store taking up a city block. The inside is modern in contrast to the early 20th century building. What I liked about Selfridge’s is that it’s a traditional department store with all the mini-shops inside open to the interior, just as you might expect. Harrod’s, on the other hand, has closed off all of their luxury designer shops with walls, and you have to specifically enter each one. Not very inviting.

I didn’t know how long Jeff would agree to shop, so I immediately sought out the beauty department and then found the Lisa Eldridge area. I have always been intrigued by her lipsticks, so that’s what I looked for. A young sales associate helped me find the appropriate line of lipstick for my dry lips, and then she applied the two shades I liked most on my lips so I could decide.

Eldridge has several collections of lipsticks. I chose the True Velvet Lip Colour with a “velvet matte” finish. Here’s their description of the True Velvet collection:

Saturated and highly pigmented lipstick with a beautiful, true velvet effect on the surface of the bullet which looks exactly like velvet. Creamy, hydrating, long-wearing and non-drying…This Cruelty Free product is free from Parabens, Talc, Gluten , Fragrance, D6, and D5.

Other collections include:

Velveteen Liquid Lip Colour: a “featherlight”, more comfortable liquid matte
Luxuriously Lucent Lip Colour: sheer to semi-sheer tinted balms
Insanely Saturated Lip Colour: lightweight, creamy, demi-matte lipstick (actually, I should have tried on one of these since they sound more comfortable than the True Velvet lipsticks!).

I had expected to choose a red shade or a deep coral red, but the collection was so saturated that the deeper shades seemed too dark on me. Instead, I found myself trying to decide between a mauve shade (I must have about 20 versions of mauve lipstick) and True Velvet Blush, a deep pink berry. The collection also has a lighter shade called True Velvet Blush Lightly, not sure why they didn’t name it something else?

Here’s her description of True Velvet Blush shade:

A deep pink berry inspired by the flushed hues of Rococo artists Watteau, Fragonard and Boucher. A sensual boudoir shade with muted cool undertones. It doesn’t get prettier or more feminine than this. From a flushed lip, if applied as a stain, to a full berry pout.

There are presently 22 shades in the True Velvet collection. Hard to choose.

The lipstick comes in a luxury gold wide tube with a magnetic closure. It’s substantial and beautiful.

While I was at it, I bought the matching Enhance and Define Lip Pencil in Blush (also available in 22 shades).

Honestly, I can’t remember what I paid for the duo, but it was on the pricey side. Since I was on vacation, I threw caution to the wind! On the Lisa Eldridge website for the US, the True Velvet lipsticks are $36 and the Enhance and Define Lip Pencils are $27.

For me, the Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Blush Lipstick is one that I wear primarily when I’m going out.

Not the greatest photo of me, but here I am wearing Lisa Eldridge Blush lipstick in our AirBnB in Dublin before we went out to dinner:

As the decades have gone by, I find that any saturated lipstick can make my lips feel dry. This “velvet matte” is more wearable than any other matte lipstick I’ve tried, and it definitely looks more like velvet than a real matte. Nevertheless, it won’t be an everyday choice for me. Yet, I am pleased that I bought it, and it brings back nice memories when I wear it!