I am a huge fan of Lisa Eldridge. She is British makeup artist that has worked on many celebrities and models. She is also creative director for many huge cosmetic house brands, so I knew her lipsticks were going to be exquisite, because she has the knowledge and experience. Normally, I would never pay high end price for a lipstick, but her red mattes just appealed to me and I decided to treat myself with one.

This is the most luxurious packaging of lipstick I own. It's gold metal that is weighted and it feels heavy in your hands. Design is soft matte with a simple engraving of Lisa's monogram on top of the lipstick, so simplistic and chic. It has magnetic closing which is always so satisfying. 

The bullet is another masterpiece in its own. It has a true velvet fabric look to it which is almost a bit mind boggling. It's only on the outside of the bullet, obviously. 

In it is 3.5 grams of product and it costs 26£, roughly 30€. You can buy it on Lisa Eldridge shop. It's currently sold out, but I think she will be coming out with new stock soon. 

Formula

They say this is saturated and highly pigmented lipstick. Formula is creamy, hydrating matte with a slight sheen - meaning it's not flat matte. The colour is long wearing and non-drying to the lips. You can wear it full on or dab it on like a subtle rosy stain. Her lipsticks are cruelty free.

It has smooth texture that glides on the lips with ease. It doesn't feel slippy, more silicon and very lightweight. You get intense color with just one swipe, it has great pigmentation.

Finish is like a semi-matte with just a tad of sheen, but on my dry lips it quickly becomes more velvet matte, still a very wearable matte that doesn't look flat. This is the type of matte finish that works for my dry lips, it's not flat and you can get rid of the sheen with just a tiny blot.

Bullet is very soft and mine already broke off, so be careful when swatching it and don't apply too much pressure like I did. There is no scent to it.

Colors

Plush True Velvet Lipstick Colours come in three shades. One is a warm orange red, other is classic red and the last one is darker berry red. I chose a classic red which is Velvet Ribbon. 

Lisa says Velvet Ribbon is vibrant, universal, classic neutral/blue red. It's a classic face brightening red that suit everyone and it's a great tooth whitener. I agree, this is one of the most classic red shades. It seems almost a bit cool/blue toned, but at the same time it almost translates sort of neutral. It will suit warm, cool and neutral skin undertones. Tone is sort of a medium, so it will cover different skin tones as well.

Comparison

I have a lot of red lipsticks, especially from Avon, so I knew I will have similar color. It was never about the color, more about the feel and finish of it.

Lisa Eldridge Velvet Ribbon - medium red with neutral to cool undertone. Pretty vibrant shade.
Avon True Perfectly Matte Red Supreme - medium cooler red with fuchsia cool undertone.
Avon True Perfectly Matte Rose Red - medium neutral to cool undertone and it's darker than Red Supreme.
Avon Mark Plump It Rebel Red - it's most similar in tone to Velvet Ribbon, a very vibrant neutral red, but it's lighter in tone and a bit more pink toned.


Performance

I have worn it several times already. Partly, because red is my go to for special occasion and partly because it's so expensive and I obviously want to use it. Whenever I wore it, I noticed that this definitely felt comfortable on the lips and very lightweight. It's a regular lipstick formula, so it's already much more comfortable than matte liquid lipsticks.

It never dries your lips out and I have very dry lips. But don't expect it to nourish either. It also doesn't emphasize dry patches on your lips. Staying power is great. This really sticks to your lips and because it's such a vibrant color, it wears off evenly and even leaves a bit of stain like finish on your lips as your top layer rubs off. It's not transfer proof though, but there is always that base layer that will stay stuck on your lips and won't move.

You absolutely don't need this lipstick. There are several drugstore brands that do amazing red lipstick formulas - like Avon, Revlon and Bourjois. This kind of lipstick is more of a treat, a luxury that doesn't just perform, but is almost collectors item. I always say, if you have the budget, get it, if not, this is not something that you can't live without. I bought it, because I knew the formula would be great and it is. Plus I wanted to support Lisa Eldridge as she is one of the few makeup artist that I really admire. I believe she will be coming out with nude lipsticks, possibly this year, so hold on, if you prefer nudes over reds.