Estee Lauder has me gripped by Cold Fire in the new Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip Potion

I love wearing lipstick, but I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to lipstick. I prefer using the actual solid bullet form. There’s something just more adult, or even sexier, applying lipstick from the bullet. That, and texture, is why I never really warmed to wearing lip gloss.

Then a few years ago, we saw liquid lipstick appear on the scene. All the opacity and strength of colour of a lipstick, in a liquid form. I never took to it. Sure, there were the odd ones I liked, but they don’t turn my head the way a regular lipstick would. In my mind, they were always, almost like a beginner lipstick; or even a transition product, for those who prefer lip gloss, to ease their way into wearing lipsticks.

So I was rather surprised to see that the Estee Lauder Pure Envy Color lipstick stable now sports the Liquid Lip Potion, a liquid lipstick.

It has been available since August, I believe, but I’ve taken a while to decide how I feel about it, or if my prejudices against liquid lip products would rear its ugly head.

The Pure Envy Color Liquid Lip Potion is a liquid lipstick. Imagine, if you will, a lipstick melted into a liquid form which you then apply with a doe foot applicator, very much like a lip gloss. You get all the pigment of a lipstick, in the form of a liquid. Now, if I’m to be honest, I don’t get why Estee Lauder needed this product.

They already have an excellent range of Pure Color Envy and Pure Color Envy Shine lipsticks. Both are lightweight in texture, comfortable to wear and have good colour pay off, or shine as the case may be. I wasn’t quite sure where the Liquid Lip Potion fit; and that pretty much sums up how I feel – confused.

The packaging of the Liquid Lip Potion is a little taller than the regular lipsticks, and it comes with a window in the side to show you the colour of the product. Helpful. The applicator is a sponge-tipped doe foot applicator, that pretty much reminds me of that used for lip glosses.

There is a dip in the middle, so the wand picks up a lot of colour. I suggest you clean it along the side of the tube before applying to lips, because as you will see below, it is very strong. And it is also very liquid.

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip Potion – Cold Fire

This is just 1 swipe with the wand and you can see just how opaque and pigmented the colour is. I like that in a lip product. It isn’t goopy and the texture of the Liquid Lip Potion is light on lips. It isn’t very glossy either, and to me, has a satin finish, so it doesn’t quite look like a lip gloss either. Confused? Yes, so was I.

As comfortable as it is to wear (it isn’t drying either, although I’d not recommend it for anyone with flaky lips) I find it messy. Yes, you read it right. It’s messy to apply, the liquid gets everywhere. And because it’s so pigmented, you can’t make mistakes with it. Oh and it offers a bit of a stain as well, so get it on anywhere else other than your lips, and you will sport a stain until the next time you shower.

I do wonder if my prejudices might stem a little as well, from the shade I was sent. The shade you see here is Cold Fire, which is a very striking coral red. On me, it actually pulls a little orange, although you will see in the picture below, that it looks a bit more red. It’s a bit of a shade shifter, this one, but there’s no denying that it’s BRIGHT! In person, it’s almost neon.

Yet you know what? It doesn’t last very long for me. I don’t know, it’s weird! It marks coffee cups something awful so it looks like I’ve bled all over them in the morning, but I find that the regular Pure Color Envy lipsticks aren’t as bad. And they last longer on me.

Also, if you peer a little at my teeth in the picture above, and are tsking at me for not picking a picture where I didn’t have lipstick on my teeth, don’t. I left it in there on purpose, because there’s another strange thing about this lipstick that bugs me.

For some reason, due to the “wet” texture, I found that it would mark my teeth something awful! I rarely have lip products get on my teeth, but this does. All. The. Time! You have see it in the picture above, and if you watch the video below (Episode 3 of MWStv, complete with bloopers! Woot! 😀 ) where I’m wearing Cold Fire (and you can see it in action), I actually had to restart filming 3 times because I kept getting lipstick on my teeth! The only way I solved the problem, was to blot with a piece of tissue paper, and then I was fine.

So yeah, I know this has beautiful colour pay off and a comfortable texture, but it doesn’t appeal to me. It is to be reminded that I prefer my lipstick to come in a bullet, which I find infinitely easier to apply and reapply, sometimes even with 1 hand, than to use a liquid lipstick, which requires 2. Also, I’m no fan of lip glosses, so it will also go some ways towards explaining my prejudice.

It isn’t a bad product. It just isn’t me 🙂

IN A NUTSHELL

The Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip Potion is a liquid lipstick that is very pigmented, with bold shades. The texture is very lightweight and comfortable to wear, although you cannot have flaky or dry lips or it might accentuate flakes and lines. The colour is very bold and strong, and it offers a subtle stain. But all said and done, this isn’t a product that appeals to me because I prefer my lipstick to come in a bullet. But if you want a strong opaque and pigmented lip colour, then consider taking a look at this, if you are transitioning from wearing lip glosses. I would otherwise suggest that you consider the Pure Color Envy instead 🙂

PROS: Lightweight texture is comfortable on lips, Not drying, Strong and bold shades, Opaque texture in 1 swipe

CONS: Travels easily to mark teeth, Needs to be fairly precise due to the strength of colour and opacity

WHO WILL LIKE THIS: Anyone who likes using liquid lipstick, Anyone who wants a strong and bold colour in a lipstick

One more small point, which I consider to be a bit of a packaging flaw. The brand name is printed on the top of the cover, on the gold bit, like the rest of their lipstick line. However, there is nothing else on the body to indicate the brand. The regular lipstick bullets will display the Estee Lauder name on the gold tube, but with this one, the branding is I feel a little lacking. I personally feel, instead of the window, they should have just gone with a clear base. For some reason, those tend to look better for liquid products, as most other brands have demonstrated.

Have you tried the Liquid Lip Potion? Do you like wearing liquid lipstick or regular bullets?

I wonder if I might be more forgiving, were it a different shade. It’s hard to say. But at this point in time, I’m just not into liquid lip products and I’ve got rid of most of what I used to own because I just don’t wear them as often as I should. As a product, I think this is a good one. But because I’m so fussy, and because I have lots of basis for comparison, I am just too nitpicky 😛 But if you like this, let me know!

Paris B

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip Potion comes in 12 shades in 4 colour families Price: RM98 | US$30 Availability: Estee Lauder counters and Sephora.