When I saw Lisa Eldridge had created her own line of limited edition lipsticks AND that they were reds AND that they were matte, I knew I'd want to buy them. She released three shades, Velvet Ribbon which is a "vibrant classic neutral/blue red", Velvet Morning, a "hot and fiery, bright orange/red" and Velvet Jazz, "a muted, earthy brick red" inspired by the 1930s reds in Lisa's vintage collection.
I love all three, and of course wanted to buy all three but I couldn't really afford it so I went for Velvet Ribbon as I tend to wear classic reds most often.
Let's begin with the packaging, the case is a beautiful pale matte gold and the lid has the most satisfying magnetic click. The top of the lid is embossed with Lisa's signature monogram. It's sleek, modern, classy and has that weighted feel too.
Once you open it up, it's not your ordinary lipstick bullet, Lisa has explained that she tried for a long time to have a velvet effect on the lipstick bullet. I have no idea how, but she managed to achieve it and it looks unlike any lipstick I've seen before. It's a small detail that was probably unnecessary but has taken this lipstick to another level. I love that she has that attention to detail. It makes these lipsticks incredibly special. I tried to photograph the texture as best I could with macro filters on my lens so that you can see the velvet effect. I think you'll agree it looks like actual material!
It's supposed to be a creamy, saturated and highly pigmented matte with a slight sheen, long lasting and not drying. I'm going to be honest I've only worn it for one day, but it was enough to know it's all of those things and more. It's so comfortable and lightweight, it applies smoothly and easily and doesn't drag on the skin at all. You can achieve full opacity with just one application.
(L-R: Velvet Ribbon, Charlotte Tilbury Red Carpet Red, Pat McGrath Elson, No7 Brick Red, MAC Ruby Woo)
This is hands down the best matte red liptick I own. I understand that's a hefty claim having only had it a couple of days, but it doesn't take long to figure out if you like a lipstick. As you can see above I swatched the most similar shades I could find in my collection. I think it's most similar to Ruby Woo and Red Carpet Red and a bit lighter than Elson. It's probably the most similar formula to Elson, but I actually found Velvet Ribbon longer lasting and the packaging of Elson broke on me after only a few uses so I now find it very difficult to use as it takes a lot of fiddling around to twist it up and down and for that price I'd expect more.
It works out less expensive than the Charlotte Tilbury (€32) and Pat McGrath (€35) counterparts before shipping at £26/€29.40 (€39 with shipping). It arrived within a few days of ordering and yes the shipping is expensive at £8.50, but for that you get a signed for DPD courier delivery with a text that gives you a one hour window of delivery. Much more convenient than other online retailers. Shipping is free over £40 too.
Obviously unless you're a big LE fan, these lipsticks probably won't interest you but if you have followed her for any amount of time, you'll know she's got so much experience in the beauty industry and has never sold out or put her name to anything sub par. She's clearly put her heart and soul into this collection and has done something different to anything currently on the market. I'm clearly a fan, and matte red lips are my favourite so this is my dream collection. They are also cruelty-free which is great to see from more brands.
With all the Black Friday "sales" recently it's very easy to get caught up in wanting things we don't need and can't afford. With all the excesses of the blogging and "influencer" community I'm trying to be more conscious about what I spend my hard earned money on instead of getting caught up in the never ending new releases. I'm hoping to bring you more quality content with detailed unbiased reviews to help you decide if you really need that new palette or lipstick or if you're better using what you have instead like I'm trying to do. That being said, I'm completely biased here because I admire Lisa Eldridge so much, but I'm so delighted her collection didn't disappoint me.
Let me know if you've bought one (or all three) of these or if you're thinking of it.
Emma x
Watch Lisa's video below for more information!