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The 2025 Summer Collection from Lisa Eldridge was released last month. If you've been here before, you'll know that I've been such a big fan of the brand since it launched almost 7 years ago. So it will probably come as no surprise that I am completely smitten with these new products. The collection consists of a new eyeshadow palette called Desert Gleam and three new shades of the Rouge Experience Refillable Lipsticks, Toasted, Rae and Lili. As with all of the Lisa Eldridge launches over the years, I was so excited to see everything in person. I always look forward to her launch videos on YouTube as I love to hear all about the background and inspiration behind the new products. This collection was inspired by the late sixties/early seventies and the nineties, some of my favourite decades for makeup inspiration. As the name of the palette suggests, it was inspired by the desert, with shade names like Dunes, Sahara, Chrysina (a Jewel Scarab beetle), Ablaze, Acacia (a tree) and Firefly. The moodboard that Lisa shared on social media consisted of images of seventies fashion editorials, molten metallics, the undulating sand dunes reflecting the desert sun and seventies icons like Debbie Harry and Diana Ross. This expertly curated collection brings something fresh and unique to the vast array of Summer launches currently on the market. It's made me so excited to play with makeup and create looks taking snippets of inspiration from the sixties, seventies and the nineties. You can watch my YouTube review here.
Desert Gleam Eyeshadow Palette
"The Desert Gleam Eyeshadow Palette is a sandstorm of shades and textures- where editorials in the sand dunes meet the high glamour of Studio 54".
In the launch video for this collection, Lisa said that this palette was inspired by the fashion industry's obsession with Safari Chic during the late 1960's and early 1970's and the Vogue editorial photoshoots featuring German Supermodel Veruschka. It's the perfect combination of earthy, muted tones and rich, gleaming metallics that will give you the ability to create such a wide variety of looks to suit any season, not just Summer.
Shade Descriptions
Dunes (Seamless Matte): Rich, warm sand
Acacia (Seamless Matte): Neutral, rich, deep cocoa brown
Other shades in the formula: Fired Earth and Raw Sienna (Cinnabar), Lamp Black and Turbulence (Vega), Smoke & Mirrors and Troubadour (Fawn)
Chrysina (Luminous): An enigmatic duo silver, that shifts from warm to cool green silver
Other shades in this formula: Mercurial (Sorcery), Starlet and Posh (Betty), Supernova (Vega), Love in Venice (Muse), White Tie (Fawn)
Ablaze (Metallic): Bronze gold that's as cool as it is warm
Firefly (Metallic): Intense, bright yellow gold
Other shades in this formula: Moonswirl (Vega), Grotto, Mage, Madrigal, Swansong (Sorcery), Tomorrow’s Party (Muse), Bronzite, Lost Summer (Cinnabar), Faded Amethyst (Myth), Prima Donna (Betty)
Sahara (Velvet): Soft khaki
Other shades in this formula: French Grey (Vega), Deep Ochre (Cinnabar), Nocturama, Victorian Trim, Violet Stone and Mauve Decade (Myth), Tea Room, Vintage Mulberry and Cherubim (Muse), Upper West Side (Fawn)
Formula Descriptions
Metallic - Full on, glittery molten metallic. Both metallics can be applied with fingers for full opacity, or as a wash with a brush.
Seamless Matte - A soft matte texture with a touch of luminosity that practically blends itself. Perfect for adding depth and dimension to the eye. Apply to the socket or lash line for a subtle day look or build for the full smokey effect.
Velvet - A super creamy matte powder paint that grips and adheres beautifully to the skin, with a smoothing finish and even coverage. Can be applied with fingers or a brush.
Luminous - A medium payoff, semi-transparent base that can be applied with a light hand for a wash of luminosity, or with fingertips for an intense, glossy lid top coat effect.
Packaging
The packaging is the exact same as the other palettes. The eyeshadows are encased in a sleek and sculptural gold aluminium compact with a mirror and the signature 'L' monogram. It is inspired by the 1930's and a cigarette case from Lisa's vintage makeup collection. There are little holes at the back so that you can remove the pans and add refills or rearrange the palette. It's slim and small and is the perfect size to hold in your palm while using the mirror inside to apply makeup. Any time I've been away I've taken one of the palettes as it's such a handy size to put into a small makeup bag. It's also very convenient that you can pop out the magnetised pans and create your own curated colour story when you're travelling. I also made up my own palette for my wedding day makeup using shadows from the Vega and Cinnabar palettes. Having used the palettes for a couple of years now, I can attest to the packaging being such a great balance of luxury, aesthetic and practical. I absolutely love it.
Direct Daylight
Direct Sunlight
Formulas
As I mentioned, I already have a few of the palettes so I'm very familiar with the formulas. I have four Seamless Mattes, four Luminous, eight Metallics and two Velvets between the four other palettes I own. As you can see from the five looks below, I have tested out the formulas in lots of different ways. They blend so seamlessly and smoothly, you can apply a wash of colour using a light hand but they also pack quite a punch when it comes to the pigmentation so they can also be worn opaque depending on the application method. I have used them with a fluffy blending brush, with fingers or using a flat shader brush for more intense payoff. They also layer on top of each other beautifully to allow you to build an eye look, similar to the first one below. If you watch the launch video, Lisa uses her fingers to apply most of the shades. They're all such creamy formulas, even the mattes have an almost cream-to-powder feel. They really do invite you to use your fingers to apply them. If you're using your fingers my advice is to use dry and clean fingers to ensure the shadows don't hard pan. If that does happen, just take a small amount of sticky tape and press it gently to remove the top layer of powder.
I wear primer because I have quite oily eyelids and I always have creasing with powder eyeshadow when I don't wear primer. I recently bought the Liquid Silk Eyeshadow in the shade Ione, which is such a great neutral. I've used that a few times as a light wash across my lids in lieu of primer, it's a great shade to pair with this palette. I hadn't tried the Liquid Silk formula before so I'm very impressed and I definitely want to buy another shade soon.
I found that the looks I did lasted all day and there was no creasing and very little fallout at all. I know that they have been formulated to be long-wearing and flattering on the eyelids and I would completely agree with that.
Shades
I've mentioned in previous reviews that I'm a big fan of the size of these palettes. The six shades allow for a cohesive colour story with enough variation for a range of depths and textures. This colour story is such a perfect balance of earthy and exciting. One of the looks below is using the three matte shades to create a smoky green/brown look inspired by the nineties. As you can see, I also did a graphic glam look using the gold shade Firefly, as well as the first look which is a mixture of the mattes and metallics. I wanted to demonstrate the range of this palette and the wide variety of looks you can achieve depending on your preferences. On the website, there are photos of looks with accompanying text to let you know what shades were used and where they were applied so that you can recreate them.
I'm such a big fan of shimmering, metallic shades so those will always be my favourites. However the mattes combined with the lipstick shades have really inspired me to embrace the nineties and I've been wearing some all matte eye looks paired with either Toasted or Rae lipsticks. I'll definitely be wearing those kinds of looks coming into Autumn. Although this palette is part of the Summer collection, it's a colour story that would work all year round.
In my YouTube review I did something that I've never tried before which was to go through my makeup collection and see if I could find shades I already own that would give a similar look to that of the shades in the Desert Gleam palette. I got close enough with some of the shades like Dunes and Acacia which are quite similar to Raw Sienna and Fired Earth from the now discontinued Cinnabar palette. I found shades that were along the same lines as Ablaze and Firefly however I couldn't find anything very close to Chrysina or Sahara. For me, those two shades are the real selling points of this palette as they're the most unique to my collection. I hate to use the word wearable but I think all six shades are so easy to wear depending on your preferences and how you use them.
Products Used in Every Look:
Makeup By Mario Softsculpt Bronzing and Shaping Serum (Fair)
If you have watched or read my content for any length of time, you'll probably know that I love to take inspiration from decades past when I do my makeup. So when I heard that this palette was inspired by the late sixties/early seventies, I was filled with excitement. The first thing I thought of was Jerry Hall in music video for Bryan Ferry's version of Let's Stick Together from 1976. I actually wrote a blog post about that look back in 2019, you can read it here. It's one of my all-time favourite beauty moments and it's such a quintessential glamorous seventies look to me. I have thoroughly enjoyed using this palette, more so than I thought I would. I've used all of these formulas before so I knew I'd like working with them, there were no surprises there. The colour story is so beautiful and intuitive, the curation of shades makes it so easy to achieve something really easy and eye catching from wet look luminosity to all matte earthy tones. It's made me spend hours on Pinterest researching makeup looks from film, music and fashion and adding lots of inspiration photos to my folder to recreate int he future. I don't usually wear much eyeshadow during the Summer months, but this palette has changed that and it's made me look forward to sitting down to do my makeup everyday even more so than usual.
Rouge Experience Refillable Lipsticks- Toasted, Rae and Lili
"Inspired by the 90's, these shades are thoroughly modern, unbelievably cool, yet somehow effortless enough for the everyday".
The inspiration behind these three new shades is the nineties grunge era and the original nineties lipsticks in Lisa's vintage collection. These three new shades bring the total number of Rouge Experience shades to twelve.
187 Toasted
Packaging
Rouge Experience is a refillable lipstick with a 100% recyclable refill. The packaging was inspired by the vintage lipsticks in Lisa's collection of beauty products from decades past.
If you order directly from the Lisa Eldridge website, you can have your initials etched on the bottom of your lipstick case for an extra €4. There is also an offer for when you buy a refillable lipstick with one refill you get the refill for 15% and when you buy two refills you get them for 20% off. It is €59 for the full lipstick and €30 for the refills.
181 Rae
Shades & Formula
187 Toasted- True, Milky Tea, Neutral Beige
181 Rae- Muted, mauvey chocolate
188 Lili- Dirty, spicy, chilli red
As you can see from the swatches below, these three new shades slot in perfectly with the other shades in these colour families. They are all unique, balanced and nuanced shades that work on lots of skin tones. Lisa describes them as grungey and I totally agree, there is something so effortless about these shades, they are almost a look all on their own. I know that people are always interested in seeing swatch comaprisons, myself included so I tried to add as many as I could in this post. I would say that Toasted is along the same lines as Velvet Affair, Velvet Fawn and Meet Me in Berlin. Rae is the most similar to Velvet Decade (discontinued) and Velvet Sorcery. Lili is the most similar to Velvet Dragon and Velvet Cinnabar.
Rouge Experience is described as a "dreamy lightweight crème lipstick that glides on comfortably with a soft, subtly luminous sheen and a lip smoothing blur". It is also vegan and doesn't contain any perfume. I included close up shots of the lipsticks on my lips so you can see exactly what they look like on. The formula is creamy and easy to apply. It feels comfortable to wear all day and I love the sheen it gives my lips. It can be patted on for a more subtle look or built up to full opacity. You can also change how the lipstick looks and performs depending on how you prep your lips beforehand and whether you use a liner or not. One thing I love to do with this formula is mix it in with the Elevated Glow Highlighter to create a glowy blush. It's such a great way to create a cohesive makeup look and get more out of your makeup at the same time. I particularly love how Rae looks mixed with Pink Moon Elevated Glow.
I find that the formula lasts very well throughout the day, especially given it is more of a satin formula. You may need to reapply after eating and drinking depending on your application method but you can make them last longer by using liner or applying thin layers and blotting in between. To me this formula is almost like the True Velvet and Luxuriously Lucent had a baby. It's long lasting with buildable colour payoff but also comfortable and hydrating.
188 Lili
My Experience
I've been wearing this formula since it first launched last year and I think it's the perfect addition to the Lisa Eldridge lip wardrobe. I would say it's ideal for people who love the opacity and versatility of the True Velvet but they prefer a more hydrating feel to their lipstick. As I mentioned above, like the True Velvet, it works excellently as a cream blush especially when mixed with the Elevated Glow Highlighter and I've been loving wearing the Rouge Experience Lipsticks in that way. I have three shades from the original launch, Lisa, Audrey and Ribbon and I have my eye on a few more as I absolutely adore the selection of shades. There is something for everyone no matter your skin tone or undertone.
I've been wearing these three new shades as much as possible over the past few weeks and can't say enough positive things about them. They're all such beautifully balanced shades and they can't be duplicated in my collection. I was probably most excited for Rae as it looked like a great alternative to Velvet Decade which was discontinued last year and was one of my favourite shades. It's also going to be such a great neutral shade for people with deeper skin tones. It's hard to say which of the three is my favourite as they all have such different use values, let's just say that I'm so delighted to have them all in my collection and if you're a fan of nineties makeup, I highly recommend checking them out.
Indirect Daylight
With Flash
Indirect Daylight
With Flash
Indirect Daylight
With Flash
Indirect Daylight
With Flash
As you can probably tell, I am so excited by this collection. The palette and the lipsticks are exactly my kinds of products and I have thoroughly enjoyed playing with them since I received them in June. You know they are great products when you don't want to use anything else. If you'd like to read my reviews of the other palettes, my review of Betty is here and my review of Cinnabar, Sorcery and Vega is here. You can also watch my short form videos on Instagram.
If you've made it this far, I want to thank you for taking the time to read such a lengthy blog post. I hope you found it helpful in some way and I'd love to know your thoughts on these products. Let me know if there is any other content you'd like to see from me.
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