2 posts tagged "Lisa Eldridge"
Suqqu? We Hardly Know You
Lisa Eldridge, Matthew Williamson’s go-to face painter, is part makeup artist, part unofficial PR rep. “I’ve been a fan for a long time,” she told us yesterday of Suqqu, the Japanese cosmetics brand that is only sold in Japan—and at Selfridges in London. “Their brushes are like gold dust,” she said, lamenting the fact that the company’s softer-than-soft tools are so precious and rare. “They’re so exclusive, no one can get them.” Eldridge, lucky girl, has a complete set, which she used to mix a custom-blended “mustard rust” gel eyeliner for Williamson’s Spring collection, applying it in a thick, angled flick that extended toward models’ temples. But the real star backstage was skin, which benefited from Suqqu’s beautiful foundation and standouts from its skincare range, which Eldridge brings with her on every job. “We always start with a Gankin facial,” she explained of Suuqu’s massage technique that involves really intense kneading motions to release tension around the jaw line and along cheekbones while boosting circulation. Eldridge performed the treatment using the brand’s Repair Essence, although she’s a big fan of its Musculate Massage Cream, which boasts extracts of green tea, coffee, and geranium root, as well. Then came Suqqu’s Creamy Makeup Base, which applies like a veil of coverage, imparting a dewy, velvety finish unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Adding a slight contour with its Balancing Cheeks in 04, a peachy, tawny powder duo, and a “rusty, beigey” lip with its Lipstick in #13, Eldridge finished the face and left us with one, burning question: When, oh when, will Suuqu touch down in the States? (Barneys, Saks, feel free to comment below.)
Frida Gustavsson Is Seeing Stars
The haute face-painting techniques makeup artist Lisa Eldridge demonstrates on Frida Gustavsson in the latest issue of December’s British Vogue have little in common with the common street-fair variety. No lion whiskers here. Instead, Eldridge looked to Swinging Sixties icon Talitha Getty and the face-painting trend of the sixties and seventies for inspiration. “A historian friend of mine has a box of Mary Quant colored makeup crayons from that period and the only instructions on the packet are ‘draw a flower anywhere,” she says. “I love that idea of complete freedom. There is so much minimalism in beauty at the moment that it was just so nice to have fun and play with makeup!” For the giant, solo pink star above, Eldridge first sketched out the shape freehand with a bright pink lip pencil. Then she used a paler pink Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream Color as a base, before topping it off with the super-bright MUFE HD Microfinish Cream Blush in Truth or Dare. Ultraviolet glitter on the inner half of the lids gave a three-dimensional effect.
As for the psychedelic constellation on the opening spread, that was actually the last shot of the day and entirely impromptu. Eldridge started with MAC Fluidline in Silverstroke to paint the large platinum star with a stencil, then let her imagination run wild using colored eye pencils (for the trails) and pastel Kryolan aqua colors and metallic gold and silver craft pieces (for the shooting stars) to create a freehand galaxy on Gustavsson’s face. She finished with a dusting of MAC silver glitter and Illamasqua iridescent shimmering Powdered Metal, a face powder.
So, is there a way to incorporate a bit of face painting into your makeup routine without looking too amateurish? “A good choice of color palette will keep it tasteful,” suggests Eldridge. “The bright pink of the star looks great when it isn’t combined with any other clashing shades, whereas the constellation of shooting stars are all fairly pastel, so there is some harmony. If I had added a red lip to this shot, for example the whole thing
would have gone from pretty to ghastly!”