Longevity Test: Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick in Dynamic

I spent some quality time today with my new Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick in Dynamic and was really happy with the results.  It still looks great at the end of the day (with a few touchups of course).  Usually I just give up on a lipstick a few hours in and end the day with gloss but the Envy was very manageable and easy to maintain throughout the day.

Since it was Sunday, this didn't go through my most rigorous test, which is a long work day filled with meetings, presentations, and calls.  Frankly I'm afraid to put anything through that test other than a neutral that I can reapply quickly without needing a mirror for fear of the dreaded "Ring of Leftover Lip Color" around otherwise bare, chapped lips.

First off was the shower test.  Just for fun I applied it first thing in the morning on dry chapped lips without any lip balm underneath.  It felt nicely smooth and creamy and the color was even.  It didn't look gross even though I hadn't exfoliated first.  When I came out of the shower it had faded a little but most of the pigment was still there.  Nice.

The rest of the day I was running errands in windy, rainy weather and it held up like a champ even through a pastry and then lunch.  It faded a little throughout the day but even after lunch there was enough pigment left so I still looked like I had lipstick on.  The fading was pretty even too, so it's not like my purple fish lips were showing through while the edges of my lips were still covered in lipstick.

By itself it wasn't moisturizing enough to last me the entire day, but I doubt anyone with chapped lips would expect that.  I layered on my Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Debut every so often (is that cheating?).  I liked that adding a hydrating gloss on top didn't affect how evenly the lipstick pigment faded...it looked good and presentable all day long.

What I loved most was how low maintenance this lipstick was.  When it faded, I simply touched up a bit in the mirror.  Same thing after eating lunch.  Not sure if this will sound very amazing to people with normal lips, but usually by that time I have to scrub my peeling lips and redo them (or just give up and apply balm) because the dry flakiness becomes too apparent and it's just a relief to get it all off.  Not so with Envy; this lipstick was a pleasure to wear all day long.

Summary From A Person With Chapped Lips

Longevity: lasts pretty damn long if you ask me.  color clings to lips, almost stain-like, and fades slowly and evenly.
Feathering:  none for me (obviously YMMV).  the lipstick stayed put and did not slide all over the place.
Peeling:  minimal.  it's just my lips being annoying, not caused by the lipstick.
Drying:  none, nada, zip (this is a weird one...Clinique Chubby Sticks dry out my lips like crazy for some reason, who even knows why?)

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick in 410 Dynamic

Thanks to the weirdly overblown marketing copy, I had no desire to even try this on until -- you guessed it, a friendly Estee Lauder SA in Nordie's started up a conversation and next thing I knew I was sitting in the makeover chair trying on different shades of this beautiful new lipstick.  The selection of twenty-one shades definitely has something for everyone, from conservative neutrals, nudes, bright pinks and fuscias to dramatic reds.  Supposedly these are long lasting, moisturizing, and pigmented (everyone seems to be saying that about their new lippies this season, is it contagious?).

I thought the packaging was just gorgeous, so sleek with just enough heft to feel substantial, but not like an anvil in your pocket like *cough* YSL *cough* others I could name.  The dark blue metallic case is trimmed with gold at either end (not real gold!) with the Estee Lauder logo embossed on the top.  It's magnetic and closes with a satisfying "snap."  Nice design, Estee Lauder!  Simple, elegant, and classy.

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick in 410 Dynamic

Short-term impression:  The formula felt very lightweight and silky and glided right on with a pretty satin finish.  It's more or less full coverage with one swipe, although as always lighter colors seem more translucent.    Dynamic (swatched above) is described on the EL site as a mid-tone warm neutral and looks like a nice warm rose.  I also swatched Rebellious Rose which was the same mid-tone but with more pink in it (sadly they were OOS already).  Intense Nude (mid-tone rosy neutral) was, weirdly, exactly my natural lip shade.  Emotional was in the brick red category, described on the site as warm rusty brown.

About my lips:  Dry, chapped, purple-tinged, please just cover them up with something!

My lippie requirements:  Hydration, pigmentation, prefer no shimmer, and definitely no glitter.

Conclusion:  Did this lipstick cause six foot tall blue-eyed blond women to glare at me in envy (see ridiculous ad campaign)?  No.  Did it make me feel powerful because everyone was apparently envying me due to this magic lip product (see ridiculous ad copy)?  Heck, no!  But the formula definitely feels in line with newer lipsticks that somehow manage to be lightweight, silky, moisturizing, AND pigmented all at the same time.

  

Day-long wear test coming soon!

see Longevity Test:  Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick