The term “YouTube star” is thrown around a lot these days, often in the same breath as “influencer.” And “content creator.” But Lisa Eldridge has come by her success on the video platform honestly. The London-based makeup artist, who has logged time backstage at Sonia Rykiel and Proenza Schouler over the course of her 25-year career, has amassed more than 2 million followers, not to mention earned a Lancôme global-creative-director title.
Eldridge’s ability to distill complicated techniques (a no-makeup makeup look; a classic smoky eye) into easy-to-follow tutorials, paired with an authority built on her long-standing fashion and beauty cred, has made her a viral sensation—someone who could effortlessly sell you on a blush or an eye-shadow palette. Or, starting this winter, a trio of sumptuous matte lipsticks. “I had this fantasy about this texture that I had seen in a dream,” she explains of her debut offering of ultrarich pigments—Velvet Ribbon, a classic scarlet; Velvet Morning, a “hot and bright” orange-y crimson; and Velvet Jazz, a brown brick-red inspired by screen sirens of the 1920s and ’30s.
Each limited-edition bullet features a trompe l’oeil embossed detail for an effect that resembles an actual piece of velvet. “I tend to do things when I feel that they’re ready,” Eldridge says of her late-breaking second act in beauty. “I still don’t have a business plan!” she reveals with a laugh, hinting at additional products already in the works for next year. “Everything will have a twist,” she promises of the unexpected “modern classics” sure to be a hit with influencers, content creators, and the rest of us.
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This article first appeared on Vogue.com