When makeup artist Lisa Eldridge was 13, a family friend passed her a copy of Herman Buchman’s Stage Makeup. “Ever since then, makeup from the past, present and future has been my life,” Eldridge shared in her pay-it-forward bestseller Face Paint: The Story of Makeup, a meticulously-researched history of color cosmetics that has become essential reading for the next generation of beauty creatives.
One of the first makeup artists to be beloved equally by high fashion and Hollywood, Eldridge was also one of the first of her kind to share her backstage expertise online with wildly popular YouTube how-to videos (250 million views and counting!) where she breaks down the looks created on her celebrity friends such as Dua Lipa, Eva Green, Kate Winslet, and Nicole Kidman.
Before one photoshoot, Eldridge had dreamed about wonderfully surreal lips made out of velvet and tried to capture the finish on set with ribbon strips affixed to the model’s lips. The effect was absolutely stunning, if not real-world friendly, leading Eldridge to visit cosmetic labs around the world to develop a brand-new, industry-transforming lipstick texture. In 2018, with this invention—a soft, slippery velvet that has to be touched to be believed—she launched her eponymous makeup collection of just three lipsticks, each a very specific shade of red.
Eldridge continues to re-invent makeup—this year’s hits include a micro-dosing concealer pencil inspired by pointillism and Rouge Experience, the world’s first 100 percent recyclable, refillable lipstick. Here, for CULTURED’s new column Muse Report, Eldridge shares her muses—the sounds, scents, and sights that inspire.
THE ARTISTS
"I love faces! My work is a lot like painting portraits. I study the works of artists like Jenny Saville and Lucian Freud to see how many tones they use to make skin look alive."
THE COLOR
“I love red. It is beauty’s most enduring shade and the power of it has rarely waned. For me, red is the color of choice when I need a boost of confidence or a pick-me-up. For my clients, it's the shade I apply to give them a sense of empowerment. When you wear a red lip, you make a statement: ‘I am powerful; I am confident; I am here.’”
THE SCENT
“At the age of 6, I discovered a box of my mum’s teenage makeup at my grandmother’s house: Mary Quant crayons, Coty lip glosses, Elizabeth Arden cream eyeshadows. I was instantly captivated by the tactile textures and heady cosmetic scents. I’ll never forget it as it certainly sparked my passion and curiosity for color and cosmetics.”
THE SOUND
“The most beautiful sound? My cat’s purr! It’s like a free, deep therapy sound bath treatment.”
THE FILM
“It was such an incredible honor that my Velvet Ribbon red lipstick was used in such a powerful way by Martha—played by Tilda Swinton—in Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door. I can't thank the movie's genius, award-winning makeup director, Morag Ross, enough for choosing to work with my True Velvet lip colors on this project.”
THE SHOW
“I vividly remember visiting the Centre Pompidou to see a major retrospective of Constantin Brâncuși’s work and, although I'd seen photographs of his sculptures before, it was only when I saw them in the 'flesh' that I really understood. I remember thinking, This is it! and feeling quite euphoric. It was a real lightbulb moment for me.”
