After a much hyped first release, Lisa Eldridge is back with a summer collection of pink lipsticks. I picked up three of the four and will be swatching and reviewing below. They were released July 2, 2019.
Price, outer packaging and shipping
Another day, another luxury lipstick purchase. I bought three lipsticks from the collection: Go Lightly, Love Of My Life and Rainbow Spill. They were sold for £26 each with a linen pouch (valued at £18) thrown in for free for purchases of two or more lipsticks. I received complementary shipping with the purchase of three lipsticks.
The lipsticks were delivered in a cardboard box that opened up with Lisa Eldridge's logo and a reminder to recycle.
As the exchange rate is horrible right now, I paid a total of AUD$148. Ouch. There were delays with the shipping which originated from the USA so it took exactly 14 days from purchase to arrive at my doorstep.
The lipsticks were placed inside the linen pouch to secure them while in transit.
The makeup bag itself is quite lovely with a sturdy zipper and a tab which bears the logo. The colour is a striking aqua turquoise and the gold accents along the ridged edges, the monogram and the zipper creates a gorgeous contrast that I find quite aesthetically pleasing.
As for the lipstick component, each tube is weighty and snaps closed with a magnet which is oh so satisfying. It is a larger, bulkier product due to the magnetised closure and the diameter is a fraction larger than Pat McGrath's lipsticks. Eldridge's monogram is engraved at the top of the cap while the rest of the component is smooth to the touch. The tube remains magically fingerprint free despite constant handling.
One thing I've noted is that when I roll up the product the entire way (as I have in the first photograph) the bullet seems very short in comparison to other lipsticks. It claims to contain 3.5g/0.12oz which is standard. If it's all in there, then it's at the bottom of the tube, and not in what I'd classify as in the useable product. The average consumer doesn't go scraping with a lip brush at the end.
Go Lightly: Luxuriously Lucent Lip Colour
"A light, vibrant salmon pink semi sheer lipstick. In the bullet this shade looks more like a bright coral but the payoff on the lips leans more towards a true salmon pink with pastel undertone."
Widely believed to have been inspired by Audrey Hepburn who played Holly Golightly in the 1961 Blake Edward film 'Breakfast At Tiffany's', this shade was met with extreme hype. Although Eldridge never commented nor referenced it directly, the internet was abuzz with speculation.
Eldridge didn't use an Asian model in her photos so I took what I perceived to be a calculated gamble with these lipsticks. I'm on my second tube of the coral/pink lipstick Sexy Sienna from Charlotte Tilbury which is described as having a coral hue with a golden undertone. I have a neutral skin tone with a very pastel pink wardrobe and that lipstick looks great on me.
The description of the colour is technically accurate but pastel needs to be defined because it's not a neutral pastel or light pastel, it's a white pastel. Photography really dulls the vibrancy the naked eye captures. The lipstick does look like a coral neon in the tube. It's extremely bright - akin to a neon highlighter used on paper.
I've had an extraordinary experience with the colour of this with my first three applications as each time it has looked different. I can't even accuse Lisa of false advertising because I've gotten three out of the four looks featured by her models.
I couldn't wait to try these when they were delivered. I went in one swipe and it turned milky white, just like it appeared on the lighter skinned black model featured on Eldridge's site. Cue audible gasp because it looked horrific on my NC20 skin, like I'd put a bit of foundation over my lips. I went in a second time later on and it was still pink but less white so I had a similar application to the medium-toned woman. Okay, but it still pulled more pink than salmon. Finally, I hoped that I was hallucinating with the first two attempts so I went in with a third application eight hours later. I eventually came to what I had hoped this product would be: a neon coral like the one featured on the lightest skinned model. That is the colour I swatched above. If you apply it lightly and dab, I get nearly no change to my natural lip colour as pictured above. Also, with a yellow toned foundation, I feel like it's not the most flattering.
I'm going to continue testing this out but my suspicion is that the sheer formula of this lipstick only deposits whichever pigment is laying at the top of the bullet so each application will vary like playing makeup roulette.
But can't you just layer it until full opacity? No. Scroll up and look at the swatch on my arm. How many skin cells can you see illuminated by the sheeny formula? Remember, photographs dull what it looks like in reality so it's worse in real life. So, magnify that crepey look on your slightly dry, wrinkled lips. You'll see flakes and dry bits you didn't know even existed. Below, you'll see how my lips look a little crusty when the lipstick has been swiped back and forth. This lipstick will cling to every bit of skin on your flesh and expose every line you previously needed a microscope to see.
The formula itself feels lovely on the lips. Eldridge claims, "this ultra modern, comfortable and luxurious texture feels smooth, light and pleasurable on the lips". I agree wholeheartedly. It feels hydrating and has a slip when you rub your lips together like a thin lip balm so it's lightweight and supremely comfortable. The comfort and hydration factor makes it more perplexing that Go Lightly creates the appearance of intensely dry lips.
I'd recommend going in with an exfoliating lip scrub before slathering your lips with lip balm and allowing that to sink in for ten minutes at a bare minimum before applying Go Lightly. And, DO go lightly with the application unless you're aiming to emulate a look which features an aerial shot of river tributaries weaving their way inland on your lips.
Love Of My Life: Luxuriously Lucent Lip Colour
"A medium true ‘Rosy Pink’ semi sheer lipstick . Not too blue, not too red, it delivers a modern, sheeny flush of pink to the lips with one swipe or build the colour to create a more radiantly polished look."
I put this on my lips and said, "This is grown up Barbie pink." Again, photography has dulled the shine of the actual lipstick bullet and it appears darker than what it is in real life. To my eye this colour matches the colour currently used by Mattel in the Barbie logo and on the lips falls somewhere between that and the Barbie colour of my 90s childhood. Barbie went a neon hot pink in the 2000s but I digress. Love of My Life has a pastel pink finish rather than a neon.
The formula of this lipstick is supposedly the same Luxuriously Lucent Lip Colour (say that quickly three times) as Go Lightly but there's no way! This is FABULOUS on my lips by comparison. No dry patches and no clinging! It applies smoothly and more importantly, looks smooth. It's a real shame that I'm unable to capture how sheeny this is on the lips.
The formula creates a slight sheen that makes my lips look juicy and plump and can be layered on to build up opacity. 'Lucent' is an apt description of the subtle shine that this lipstick imparts onto the lip. The colour emits a luminous translucence that is sheeny without being glossy. Am I making sense?
The Luxuriously Lucent formula is also 100% vegan but if you check out my food posts, you'll see that I'm pretty carnivorous.
If you've look carefully at the arm swatch, you'll see that it looks patchy in the corners where I've attempted to crisp up the edges of the swatch. Using a lip brush will lift product while you move it about. I'd recommend just going in with the bullet to build because it's too slippy to be manoeuvring.
Rainbow Spill: Insanely Saturated Lipstick
"A bright, red/coral watermelon pink with a muted neon edge. So pigmented and so creamy. A truly dreamy texture that glides on seamlessly and gives 100% full coverage with a demi matte finish and weightless feel."
I'm a sucker for reds and corals. Marketed as a red, coral, watermelon pink - it screamed, 'buy me' so I did. As per Eldridge's other descriptions, it's pretty spot on. On my lips, it's a bright dark coral or artificial watermelon that stops just short of being fuchsia.
This is a different formula from Go Lightly and Love of My Life. 'Insanely Saturated' is a befitting name since this is pure pigment going straight onto your lips. With one swipe, you actually get too much pigment so I'd recommend pressing your lips together after swiping a small amount to your bottom lip. A little goes a long way with this one. It's highly reminiscent of Pat McGrath's MatteTrance formula which has similar pigmentation and feel on the lips.
The formula is definitely a matte given how you can feel the dry pigment if you press and roll your lips together. It doesn't give off the appearance of being a flat matte however so I concur with the claim of it being a demi-matte finish.
It was hard to capture in photography, but the side of the lipstick looks textured in comparison with the Luxuriously Lucent ones which appear completely smooth.
Again, the photograph has dulled how bright this lipstick is. It's extremely vibrant in person. You're going to need to exfoliate your lips and slather on the heavy duty lip balm again before applying this one.
Rainbow Spill definitely needs to be used with a lip liner because the edges bleed and blur. With a colour so bright, one wants to create a sharp, crisp edge otherwise it'll look messy. I'd also recommend using a lip brush to push the product around as any excess will instantly transfer.
The intensity of the pigment actually is a little detrimental to this because it'll bunch and cling to dry spots up close. I also don't have a great natural lip shape, particularly on my upper lip so I require a lip liner usually. I will always apply bright colours and reds using a lip brush. Due to the intense powder pigment in this formula, creating that crisp edge as I have in the picture above will result in picking up the product and leaving empty spots. Thus, I need to go over the lip once more after I have created a defined shape to fix the patches. It is a wonderfully striking colour though.
Conclusion
I've had mixed results early on and although I'm enjoying these more and more, I still don't think they're fantastic products. Lisa Eldridge will be re-releasing her original Red Velvet lipsticks with the remaining stock of the Go Lightly and Love of My Life with pre-orders beginning from July 24, 2019 before going live on July 29. If you missed out and still are keen, I'd only wholeheartedly recommend the Love of My Life pink. The Insanely Saturated lipsticks look to be restocking in October 2019 and if you don't mind investing a bit of time in your lip application, this is worth getting also.
I'm still in the early stages of getting my blog up and running again and I'm without a proper close lens camera at the moment so I'm afraid the images won't be high resolution. My apologies.
UPDATE: I've put up photos of what they look like on my face. I'm still playing around with these and I'm liking them more than I did when I first received them but I stand by my initial assessment of how much finessing these lipsticks need.
Go Lightly still looks different every single time I apply and if I go in with one swipe, I see zero change to my lip colour. Two swipes and I get colour but patchiness and three swipes I get the pictured crustiness.
Love Of My Life is pretty much perfect in pigmentation and formula because you get even colour with one swipe. I'm not convinced that it's the same formula as Go Lightly because it's forgiving on dry or mature lips.
Rainbow Spill is a lovely colour that is visually striking. You need to exfoliate and moisturise heavily beforehand if you've got dry lips though. A lip brush is necessary to create a tidy look.
Now, let's talk about why these lipsticks look different every time I wear it. I thought I was imagining things with Love Of My Life but it became especially obvious with Go Lightly. I finally figured out why. Heaps of people had mentioned how these lipsticks brightened up the face and I only saw it a few times. Was it down to having a good skin day? Was it because I wore finishing powder some days and not on others? No. The answer is: if you're yellow, these lipsticks will flatten your look. There's too much of a white base in the pastel colouring in these two for yellow-toned leaning people to handle without looking washed out. If you're neutral or pinky white, these lipsticks will brighten your face. I present you the proof.
Go Lightly in the comparison photos above and Love Of My Life in the photo set below.
I put on the same shirt, brow product and eyeshadow as a control. On the left side, I'm wearing Chantecaille Just Skin Bliss mixed with Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum 1N1 which is a neutral pink foundation. My finishing powder is Hourglass Ambient Light in Ethereal Light (cool, translucent). Bright face? Yes. On the right, I'm wearing Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear in 025 sold as having a "light, warm undertone" and the finishing powder is Hourglass Ambient Light in Diffused Light (light, pale yellow). Which one lights up the face more? Basically, the whiter/pinkier you are, the better this looks, although it's more obvious with the Go Lightly colour. You can probably get away with wearing Love Of My Life.
Eldridge didn't use an Asian model as part of her original release. It's simply because if you're a very yellow toned person, it's not particularly flattering. I have a neutral skin tone that leans pink during winter (which it is at time of posting) so I can make it work, but if I put on a very yellow based foundation, then all of the lipsticks look garish in person.
Am I wrong or still imagining things? Either way, now that it's in my head, I'm only going to wear these lipsticks with neutral/pink foundations because I know these look worse in person than in photography.
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