Estee Lauder Pure Color Love Lipstick Review & Swatches
Earlier this year Estee Lauder released new Pure Color Love lipsticks in 30 beautiful shades and assorted finishes. It took me a while to test these, but I think I’m finally ready to share my review and swatches. Out of thirty, I found 4 shades that I am absolutely in love with! But I’m getting ahead of myself as usual, let’s talk about the packaging ans the formula first.
The new packaging has its cons and pros. It has a gold-toned bullet shaft and a clear cap made of plastic, so it feels lightweight, but still has a little bit of heft to it. Unlike the typical lipstick packaging, the shade name is printed on the top of the cap, so you are essentially storing them upside down, which takes some getting used to.
The lipsticks have triangular double-slanted edges, so you can get a nice sharp edge regardless of which side you use to apply the color. It’s not a game changer or anything, but I thought it was still a nice touch and makes application process slightly more convenient.
Estee Lauder Pure Color Love Lipstick ($22 for 0.097 oz) comes in four different finishes: 9x Edge Cremes, 13x Ultra Mattes, the Cooled Chromes, and 5x Shimmer Pearls.
In my experience, Pure Color Love lipsticks with creme finish provided buildable medium to full coverage and felt hydrating on the lips. Due to that creamy formula, they didn’t last long and needed to be re-applied every 2-3 hours.
Matte colors were fully pigmented for the most part, with the exception of Rose Excess, Up Beet, and Love Object that all went on super patchy. The formula was also long-lasting, and felt very comfortable on the lips upon application. They were also a little bit drying, but not overly so, definitely not like most matte liquid lipsticks.
Chrome shades were fairly sheer and had a gritty feel to them, think chunky glitter. I can’t imagine that these are intended to be worn alone, they are most likely best suited as toppers layered over other colors. I could only build up the coverage to medium opacity, both on the lips and for the arm swatches. On their own, these are nothing to write home about, but they look gorgeous as toppers.
Shimmer shades had varied pigmentation, some were on the sheer side, and others could be easily built up to full opacity in 2-3 swipes. These were all so beautiful! The texture was smooth and creamy, and the shimmers didn’t feel gritty on the lips at all. The wear time was roughly the same as the creme finish colors, so about 3 hours before touchups were needed.
Swatches Top to Bottom: 430 Crazy Beautiful (creme), 200 Proven Innocent (matte), 140 Naked City (creme), 130 Strapless (LE, creme), 110 Raw Sugar (matte), 100 Blaze Buff (matte).
Swatches Top to Bottom: 440 Hi-Voltage (LE, creme), 400 Rebel Glam (LE, matte), 260 Sky High (LE, shimmer), 250 Radical Chic (creme), 240 Pret-a-Party (creme), 210 Naughty-Nice (LE, matte).
Swatches Top to Bottom: 360 Flash Chill (LE, shimmer), 350 Sly Wink (LE, shimmer), 340 Hot Rumor (creme), 330 Wild Poppy (creme), 300 Hot Streak (matte), 270 Haute & Cold (shimmer), 220 Shock & Awe (matte).
Swatches Top to Bottom: 460 Ripped Raisin (shimmer), 320 Burning Love (matte), 310 Bar Red (matte), 230 Juiced Up (matte), 120 Rose Excess (matte).
Swatches Top to Bottom: 480 Nova Noir (LE, chrome), 470 Moon Rock (LE, chrome), 450 Orchid Infinity (creme), 420 Up Beet (matte), 410 Love Object (matte), 370 Pocket Venus (LE, chrome).
Favorite #1: 100 Blaze Buff (lip swatch)
Favorite #2: 430 Crazy Beautiful (lip swatch)
Favorite #3: 250 Radical Chic (lip swatch)
Favorite #4: 360 Flash Chill (lip swatch)
BOTTOM LINE:
Aren’t these beautiful? I think it would be great if Estee Lauder included fun shades in finishes other than sheer glitter toppers, but this is a good start. For my personal use, I prefer the Ultra Mattes, because they are highly pigmented and long-wearing. Yes, they do make the lips feel slightly drier [various reviewers say that these are non-drying, so that’s YMMV], but for me the longevity seals the deal. If I’m running errands, I just can’t be bothered to reapply my lipstick every 2 hours, and usually just end the day with naked lips. I always touch up the color if it’s a date or a special occasion, though. I think of it this way: if I made an effort to wear pretty clothes, do my hair and nice makeup, undone lips will definitely stand out like a sore thumb and bring down the whole look I worked so hard to achieve.
In the end, my favorite shades among the thirty are 100 Blaze Buff, 430 Crazy Beautiful, 250 Radical Chic, and 360 Flash Chill. I am really feeling these understated YLBB’s and light reds right now, even though summer is officially over.
In terms of formula, I am most impressed by the Shimmer Pearl colors. They were all consistently good, and made the lips look juicy and hydrated. It’s so easy to make shimmery lipsticks look frosty, but these were very subtle and sophisticated. Best part is probably the fine light-reflecting particles, that make the lip lines disappear. My mom borrowed some of the shimmers to try, and I honestly don’t expect to ever see them back, haha! 🙂
Have you seen Estee Lauder Pure Color Love Lipstick in stores? Which color would you buy based on the swatches above? What’s your favorite finish: Edge Creme, Ultra Matte, Cooled Chrome, or Shimmer Pearl? Let me know in the comments below!
