Lisa Eldridge Just Launched a Marilyn Monroe Makeup Collection

Marilyn Monroe remains one of beauty’s ultimate muses. Now, Lisa Eldridge is giving her legacy the modern makeup moment it deserves with a limited-edition collection created in partnership with the Marilyn Monroe Estate to celebrate the centenary of her birth.

But instead of leaning into the usual Old Hollywood tropes, the new collection draws its primary inspiration from the off-duty, East Coast style of Marilyn during the mid-1950s. The lineup spotlights the intimate creative bond the actress shared with her long-term, trusted makeup artist, Allan “Whitey” Snyder — a dynamic that founder Lisa Eldridge knows intimately from her own career as a makeup artist working with long-term clients.

To recreate Marilyn’s enviable complexion, Eldridge translated that signature Hollywood glow into a modern formula with the new Elevated Glow Balm Concentrate. This hot-poured highlighter is inspired by classic studio lighting and is designed to give skin a dewy, softly illuminated finish. The formula arrives in two shades: Butterfly Light, a pearly champagne, and High-Key Light, a warm bronze.

“My first challenge was to attempt to bottle what many have described as her ability to light up a room with her natural luminosity. My new Elevated Glow Balm Concentrate is my modern take on this, imparting the skin with an otherworldly luminance,” Eldridge explains.

For the lips, the development process involved exhaustive historical research. “I analysed the makeup shades in my vintage makeup collection we know she wore and loved, working with eminent pigment historians, as well as dissecting every interview and magazine article,” explains Eldridge. “I went the extra mile to make sure I accurately captured this colourful moment in time. The result is a collection that you can make your own. One with fresh eyes and modern formulas, that is instinctively Marilyn. Her colours, her taste, her joie de vivre.”

This detail is precisely why this isn’t your standard celebrity collaboration. Marilyn’s name hasn’t simply been stuck onto the packaging for a quick cash-in; it’s an authentic historical excavation.

The Rouge Experience Refillable Lipstick leads the collection in two shades: Norma Jeane, a subtly luminous shade of vibrant red-orange, and Amagansett, a bold carnation pink.
For a glossier finish, the Gloss Embrace Lip Gloss pulls double duty as a hybrid lip-care product, available in Ribbon (a classic pillar-box red) and Dragon (a soft, rusty red). For lasting power, the Velveteen Liquid Lip Colour in Strawberry Blonde is a silky, long-wearing scarlet red that can go from a subtle strawberry stain to full coverage in a few swipes.

The Enhance and Define Lip Pencil holds everything in place. The waterproof, smudge-proof formula is available in Ribbon, Dragon, and Enchantment (a muted rose red). The eyes are kept simple and timeless with the Kitten Lash Mascara, a lifting and defining mascara in classic black designed to mirror Marilyn’s feline gaze.

For serious beauty collectors, the entire edit is available as the Lisa Eldridge x Marilyn Monroe Deluxe Makeup Collection, priced at £240. The limited set houses the complete lineup inside a luxury box decorated with Eldridge’s favourite Sam Shaw photographs of the star.

“Having spent my life collecting vintage makeup treasures that hold such personal meaning for me, I wanted this very limited and exclusive Deluxe Makeup Collection to feel like a true collector’s piece — bringing together every part of the edit inside a luxurious box featuring my favourite Sam Shaw photographs of Marilyn,” says Eldridge.

All products in the Lisa Eldridge x Marilyn Monroe collection are now available exclusively at lisaeldridge.com, priced between £21 and £49 ($27 to $59), with shipping to both the UK and US.