What would possess anyone who does not have a YouTube beauty channel to buy 6 (six!) statement lipsticks these strange days when most of the time we spend not at home is either exercising or wearing masks (or both)?
I blame Laura Mercier (brand) that discontinued/reformulated my decade-long favorite tinted moisturizer and Tara (A Bottled Rose) who introduced me to Liza Eldridge’s blog… 7 years ago.
For many years my makeup routine was so minimalistic, and my attention was so focused on perfumes and lipsticks, that I wasn’t really interested in any makeup-centered blogs. And being a complete Luddite when it comes to YouTube, I steered clear of that medium for the longest time.
As my last tube of Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF20 in Porcelain that fit my skin perfectly was nearing its end (while already being past expiration date), I got completely baffled by the idea of finding a new suitable product without being able to go to a physical store and try it on my skin. The solution I found was to check swatches and comparisons online and try to find what beauty blogs write about different foundations.
The more I looked, the more often I was coming across YouTube videos. So, I tried watching some, but it was such a mixed [makeup] bag of presenters… And then I remembered that Lisa Eldridge was such a talented makeup artist, and that I liked her videos back when I was following her… So, of course it made sense to see her recommendations for a type of a product I tried to choose.
I came to Lisa’s site and YouTube channel right at the time she was about to re-issue her legendary True Velvet lipsticks. I read about them two years ago when she launched them first. But back then buying a lipstick without trying it at least on my palm was a non-starter, and the collection was quickly sold out anyway. This year with ALL lipsticks (and other makeup items) being sold this way, I suddenly got an urge to … well, speaking our perfumista language, blind-buy one of the True Velvet lipsticks.
As I waited for the release date, I kept watching her presentation of the different colors, swatches on different skin tones and reviews for the previous releases. And I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to buy. So, when the time came, and the color that I liked the most (Velvet Affair, probably the most neutral of them all) was sold out within the first day, I threw my usual caution to the wind and bought just six out of 15 lipsticks in the release.
Do I like them? I do. And I don’t. I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever worn matte lipsticks before, so partially my dissatisfaction comes from seeing on my lips something I’m not used to. Also, wearing a “full coverage” lipstick when working from home seems a little out of place, while I really enjoy wearing more sheer ones. But the more I wear them, the more I like them: beautiful colors, very pleasant feeling on my lips and extremely nice metal packaging with a magnetic cup. And now I like choosing every day which lipstick I’ll put on, play with different lip pencils and try different methods of application. Of all shades that I’ve got, the most “dramatic” of them, Velvet Decade, I like the most, which is ironic since had I managed to buy Velvet Affair, I might have never even tried Velvet Decade.
Just in case you were wondering, as of now, seven shades are still available at the brand’s site (no affiliation).
Images: My own