This year was without a doubt "the year of the new eye shadow palettes".
Being an eye shadow palette addict junky lover, there were so many exciting products to try out for me. Chanel, Dior, YSL renewed their formulas while Guerlain released three new palettes which joined the permanent line. Although I loved the formula of former Estee Lauder Eye Shadow Palettes (Batik Sun reviewed here) I thought it was time for the brand to redesign the packaging and fit the formula to new needs. Today I would like to show you Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron that I got to try. Oh and... yes the reflection from the mirror is really there, it is leaves of a palm tree ;-)
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| Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron |
Packaging: The compact is made of plastic but it has a luxury feel to it. The lid and backside is black with golden frame. On the cover the brand name is placed. Opening/closure of the palette is magnetic, which is really practical. I think by now all brands should follow this example. I don't know how many times I damaged my nails or nail polishes trying to open a non-magnetic compact, thumbs up for the packaging which is chic and practical.
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| Packaging: Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron |
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| Packaging: Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron |
Inside the compact there are five eye shadow shades which come with two both-ended applicators. Three of the ends are sponge tipped, one is a tiny blending brush for touch-ups. Although one of the shades look like it has more product, I believe all the five are equally divided. The compact has 7 g of eye shadow. The new formula has what they call "Advanced True Vision Technology" and it promises to be especially long lasting even on oily lids. I can't really test that because I don't have oily lids but it definitely performed very good at hot and humid weather.
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| Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron |
The following instruction card shows how natural, intensified and dramatic looks can be achieved using Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palettes. The intensity of the look increases as you go clockwise from the long base shade and integrate deeper colors.  |
| Instruction card showing how to use Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palettes |
Fiery Saffron is a gorgeous natural quint for rose gold lovers. Although it looks warm at the first glance, it has cooler shades to bring it what I would call natural to warm on scale. It is composed of three matte and two metallic shades. On me the metallic shades don't look frosty nor overly shimmery, they has a nice multi dimensional quality to them. Some may ask how these compare to Urban Decay Naked 3. I can certainly say that I prefer the quality of Fiery Saffron much more in terms of complexity of the shimmers.
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| Close-up: Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron |
The shades are as follows:
Left most: Very light metallic champagne. I love to use this shade all over the lid for brightening up the look or on the inner corner for highlight.
Top middle: Very light peachy pink with matte finish. This is a great base color for all over the lid if you would like to go for a naked understated eye look. Run this one on the crease to make the blending a breeze.
Top right: Gorgeous light rose gold with complex shimmer. It is my favorite shade from the palette. I like it wearing as the main shade on my lids and combine with one of the darker shades for definition.
Bottom right: A very deep plummy brown with matte finish. I really like this shade since it is not too yellow nor too warm and it is also nicely pigmented for a dramatic take. It gives a lovely contrast against the golden shades of the quad and complete the concept by bringing them closer to the rosy shades.
Bottom left: Mid-toned natural brown with matte finish. This is a great shade if you don't want to go all dramatic but would like a soft crease. I also run this shade over the crease to blend the darker shade.
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| Swatch (direct sunlight): Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron |
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| Swatch (indirect sunlight): Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron |
Excuse me for the poor lighting of the below photo but I think you can get the idea ;-) I am still trying to get a good spot with right amount of light here.
Below I use the rose gold shade all over the lid, champagne on the inner corner, natural brown on the crease to blend and deep plummy brown on the crease and as a liner for more definition.
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| In-action: Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron |
For the below look I combined Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron with MAC Blush in Fun Ending from A Novel Romance Collection, which I will probably never review since it is mostly sold out, but I really love the blush. On my lips I have a combination of MAC Lipstick Myself with Good Kisser for a softer everyday rosy nude from the same collection.
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| FOTD with Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron |
Fiery Saffron is not the most dramatic quint out there but it is a very pretty one for a polished everyday look, which can be intensified by using the darker mattes for a night out. All in all I find the combination of matte and shimmery/metallic shades very versatile. I also love the fact that the metallic shades are very complex and not looking frosty (Yes, I am looking at that Dior quint). My one and only complaint would be the matte formula blending too easily. The quality of these are close to Tom Ford's latest quad Orchid Haze. I find the mattes in those also a bit too smooth, I prefer mattes when they are a little on the drier side so that I can place them accurately.
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| FOTD with Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palette in Fiery Saffron |
Final thoughts: Chic, sleek, versatile, nicely pigmented and easy to blend. If you are searching for a natural palette with a pretty rose gold shade, Fiery Saffron is for you.
Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting 5-Color Palettes are permanent and they started to arrive at the counters worldwide. From 10 total shades, in Germany there are six shades being released; Envious Orchid, Currant Desire, Fierce Safari, Fiery Saffron, Infamous Sky and Ivory Powder. They have 7 g of product and they cost around 53 €.
Are you eyeing any of the palettes? Have you checked them at the counter yet?
The product in this post is provided free of charge for my consideration.
I am not paid for this review, all opinions are honest and my own.