Building Liplocks!

1. How would you describe the Pure Color Envy collection?

The whole collection is like revisiting a classic. The shades and formula are classic in that they have the high coverage you expect from a lipstick and include a pure red and a perfect nude, but the new technology gives the collection a modern twist. It is like a simple wool dress that is made in cashmere. The new texture and formula make Envy extremely luxurious and very new and modern.

2. Who is the Pure Color Envy woman?

A woman who recognises and expects quality. Someone who is sophisticated and in love with make-up, especially her lipstick.

3. What was the rationale for the shades chosen in the collection?

We divided the shades into four categories. I wanted to cover every woman’s desire in terms of age and colour. Each shade works on women of all skin tones, from bright and bold colors, to very nude skin tone colours. I wanted to create a palette that fits every occasion, photo shoot and special event, for every type of woman, from a celebrity to a working mother, at any age. My desire was to create a range that would fulfill all these requests.

4. What are your favorite shades in the collection?

As a make-up artist, I cannot limit myself to one favorite shade. It will be the one that fits the person that I am working with on the day.

5. Should a woman’s fashion look dictate her lipstick shade or is it the other way around?

Some women are totally into their red or nude lipstick, so their fashion works around that look. This is usually for those women who always wear only one colour. A woman who has a more open mind and is more into fashion will be open to different lip colours in accordance with the fashion she is wearing.

6. What do you think makes a woman enviable?

Self-confidence.

7. Which shades in the collection would you choose for the different Estée Lauder spokesmodels?

For Carolyn Murphy, I would choose ‘Envious’, the shade in the ad campaign. She loves a red lipstick. With Liu Wen I would go more into a pink – powerful and dynamic. A shade like ‘Dominant’ would suit. I love seeing Joan Smalls in a dark burgundy, so it would have to be ‘Insolent Plum’ for her.

Verve curates the seven wicked shades from the collection. Which one will you dare?