Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip Potion

If you're in the market for a liquid lipstick that provides intense color and a soft, cushiony feel, Estee Lauder's Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip Potion might be right up your alley! If it weren't for a couple of blunders (which we'll detail below), it's one that easily would've earned our highest honors.

Housed in a square tube in the brand's signature navy and gold, Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip Potion has quite an impressive formula. Each shade is jam-packed with skin-beneficial plant oils (avocado, jojoba, and sunflower to name a few), a smattering of antioxidants, sodium hyaluronate, and a peptide. While Lauder included the non-irritating fragrant vanillin, they also included extra fragrance. Although the concentration is low, its presence makes this an iffy option for those with very sensitive lips.

This liquid lipstick also earns props for its dual-sided applicator. One side curves slightly to help provide precise application along the contours of your lips. Whereas you may need to use a lipliner to provide this sort of shapely detail with other liquid lipsticks, the applicator eliminates that need. On the other side is a well that picks up the perfect amount of product for your lips without needing to "double-dip" the wand for more.

At the time of this review, Lauder offers 16 shades that scream "high-intensity" as claimed. Several reds, nudes, and purples are available in incredibly pigmented shades perfect for most skin tones looking for flashy color. The finish is more on the satin side of satin-matte and because it's infused with so many oils, it applies very smoothly. It's a comfortable, non-drying, moisturizing formula, and although this is usually a great thing, it likely contributes to the main reason this product narrowly missed earning top honors...

Where it falls short is in its tendency to transfer. While drinking a single cup of coffee, one of our staffers ended up with five bold lipstick prints on her mug over the course of an hour, and with each sip, the color on her lips faded slightly so she was left with what could hardly qualify as a very faint stain. If Lauder hadn't made an 8-hour longwearing claim, we likely wouldn't have mentioned this, but as it's one of their selling points, we had to ding it for falling short. You could easily get 4-6 hours wear out of this if you were not eating or drinking, though.

Estee Lauder's Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip Potion isn't quite a "magical elixir," (get it?) but if you're willing to deal with a few minor gaffes, it is a good choice if you want a vibrant, easy-to-apply liquid lipstick.