From Love Editor-in-Chief Katie Grand and supermodel Kate Moss to famed photographer Patrick Demarchelier, Lisa Eldridge has collaborated with the coolest fashion people on the planet in her 20+ years as a makeup artist, writes the Zoe Report’s Megan Gustashaw. With recognition like that, you’d think she’d hardly have time for Internet shenanigans but alas, the upbeat Eldridge blogs, vlogs, ‘grams and pins like nobody’s business. Killer combo, right? No wonder Lancôme asked her to be their Global Creative Director earlier this year. (Eldridge’s natural-but-glamorous aesthetic certainly didn’t hurt matters. It’s basically a match made in makeup heaven.) Here, Lisa tells us a bit about how she became one of the industry’s leading makeup artists. A word of warning: This interview may inspire you to impulse buy eyelash curlers and red lipstick. Not that that’s ever a bad thing.
GET TO KNOW LISA
HER CHILDHOOD
“I lived in New Zealand and Liverpool. It was very creative, lots of drawing and playing the piano–I was very happy.”
HER FIRST JOB
“My friend’s dad owned a beauty salon so I worked there, and it was great. I did facials, painted nails and put makeup on anyone I could persuade to have it done. It was good practice for later on.”
SHOP NUDE LIPSTICK
HER ROLE MODELS
“I always admired Mary Greenwell, Kevyn Aucoin, Francois Nars and Linda Cantello and aspired to be like them. I got to work with Mary and Linda backstage when I was starting out, they are both very passionate and talented women who inspired me.”
THE BEST CAREER ADVICE SHE’S RECEIVED
“Mary told me to make sure I had a personal life if I wanted one and didn’t just dedicate my life to fashion magazines, traveling nonstop and constant shooting. It was good advice, and her words were always in the back of my mind. Today I have a great career and family life. Thanks Mary!”
HER TYPICAL DAY
“Every day is completely different. Some days I’ll be on a fashion or celebrity shoot or doing a red-carpet job. Other days I’ve got my Creative Director hat on, and I’ll be creating new products and ideas for Lancôme, working with color and texture. The rest of the time I’m at my studio working on videos and blog posts for my website.”
PERKS OF THE JOB
“My favorite type of job is a beauty story for a magazine, something where you can come up with a concept, and you get to make it happen. I’ve been doing a lot of crazy makeup stories recently. I don’t really have a least favorite part as I pretty much love it all—although I do find red carpet and runways shows the most stressful.”
HER FAVORITE CAREER MILESTONE
“My first Vogue cover was monumental. I’d dreamed of such a thing for so long that when I actually had one it was surreal. Every time I walked past a newsstand I went to look at it on the shelf.”
WHY SHE STARTED HER BLOG
“I wanted to teach women how to do makeup and use my years of experience in an accessible way. I’ve been a huge fan of beauty blogs and vlogs since the beginning and always felt they were the future.”
THE KEY TO A GOOD YOUTUBE VIDEO
“Authenticity, integrity, fun—and a little knowledge helps.”
THE MAKEUP TRICK EVERY WOMEN SHOULD — USE
“Curling eyelashes before mascara–with a good set of curlers and a little practice, it makes such a big difference.”
HER FAVORITE BEAUTY PRODUCTS
“Laura Mercier Secret Camoflague, lip liners by Charlotte Tilbury, eyelash curlers by Shu Uemura, Grandiôse black mascara by Lancôme and my new Audacity palette—my first creation for the brand, which has a shade to create any eye look imaginable.”
SHOP LISA’S MEDICINE CABINET
WHAT SHE WEARS WHEN SHE WANTS TO FEEL GLAMOROUS
“Red lipstick.”
HER TAKE ON BEAUTY TRENDS
“All styles are good in my book as long as they are done beautifully. I’ve been very inspired by Korea since I visited last year. They are all about dewy faces and popsicle lips.”
HER WORK UNIFORM
“When I’m doing an editorial shoot, I dress comfortably in clothes I don’t mind ruining—I usually get covered in makeup. For meetings and PR events, I love dresses and wear a mixture of designer and vintage.”
SHOP DAYTIME DRESSES
HOW SHE FINDS BALANCE
“The work has to fit in around important family life things. I’m lucky that I work for myself so can say no when I need to–and I often do.”
HER DAY-OFF RITUALS
“Having a massage. I never used to bother but doing makeup for years can give you neck and shoulder issues so you have to take care of yourself. Massage and Pilates are my day-off rituals.”
HOW SHE RECOVERS AFTER FASHION MONTH
“When I get burned out I always go to the Viva Mayr in Austria for a week. It really sorts me out and gets me back on track health-wise.”
HER TRAVEL ESSENTIALS
“Holistic silk eye mask (I sleep in an eye mask every night), Dr Bronner lavender hand sanitizer, headphones, a hydrating gel face mask to wear on long-haul flights or when I arrive to counteract plane dehydrated skin (I like Sisley or Laniege) and Lancôme Absolue UV precious cells SPF 50 (I wear this every day).”
SHOP LISA’S HERO KIT
THINGS PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT LISA
“I have the world’s biggest collection of vintage makeup. I love diving. I have 4 cats, but I’d secretly like to have 14 (and a few dogs too).”
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