If you haven’t heard of the Ellis system yet, you’ve been living with your head in the soil for at least six months.

No — seriously, you have. The concept is incredibly nifty, so pretty  much everyone has been talking about it recently! I’ll be reviewing a few of the lip products soon, so here’s the very basic rundown: elongated bullets, almost everything in pen form, and an emphasis on “sleek and sophisticated.” Makeup for the beautiful businesswoman, if you will.

But it goes beyond that. Ellis Faas (the woman, not the line,) is an internationally renowned makeup artist from the Netherlands with an enviable portfolio — she’s worked for everyone from Lancôme to MAC, and was asked by L’Oreal (parent, not Paris,) to create a makeup line for Biotherm. That ended in ’07, and out emerged the ELLIS FAAS line.

(I wonder how many specifications I can add with brackets before you ladies start getting annoyed?)


The concept is simple: everything fits into the Ellis holder. A powder on the bottom, a foundation in the middle, and a ring of lip, eye, and cheek products around the edge. Just one cylinder to throw into your overnight bag, or to set on your counter top, or to tuck into your drawer.

The line is based on the idea of Human Colors — each shade is inspired by pigments found in the skin. Ellis Red from the red of blood, violet from the inner ring of a bruise, pink from the flush you get from running around outside. And, what’s really cool? Each shade is shown with a swatch, viewable on three different skintones.

But enough with the chatter. I’m off to go do some swatching… anyone care to comment on the Ellis idea? They’re interested in getting into Canada, so I thought I’d ask you lovely ladies: where would you stock Ellis? I can’t think of an optimal boutique in Edmonton for them (other than perhaps a counter in Holt Renfrew,) but I know that some of you are in cities like Vancouver and Toronto, where I think a line like Ellis would just flourish! Let us know in the comments :)