Estee Lauder Rock Candy Sheer Matte Lipstick Is a Coral that Wears and Wears!

Estee Lauder introduced four new Sheer Matte Lipsticks in their spring collection, Pretty Naughty. Serendipity brought the coral in the line-up, Rock Candy (RRP in Belgium: 26,90 euros) into my hands. If there is one best thing about every lipstick, the best thing about Rock Candy is that it just wears and wears!

Estee Lauder Rock Candy Sheer Matte Lipstick comes in slender and long twist-up packaging. It does feel rather light and plasticky, though it functions well.

Rock Candy has a rather strong vanilla smell, but it doesn’t bother me too much. I can’t really figure out why Estee Lauder named this formula as sheer and matte, because it’s neither! Rock Candy is extremely opaque, and it has a bit of a frosty finish as well as some shimmer.

Rock Candy is a bright orange coral with a slightly frosty finish and some shimmer. The texture is on the drier side, and it tugs a little during application. I would suggest you take your time to apply this with gentle feathery strokes. The great thing is the tip is quite small, so it is easy to get crisp and clean lines. I actually think with this and the lasting power, Rock Candy can work as a lip liner!

So exactly how long did Rock Candy last on me? 12 hours! It wasn’t even going anywhere at the end of the 12-hour stretch. I was the one who threw in the towel! It went through two meals, copious amount of herbal tea/water, and some ice cream. After a full meal, you can see some lipstick is gone (you can see frosty bits in certain areas but not others). However, because it stains so extremely well, unless someone is examining your lips from a two-inch distance, it does not appear uneven.

After dinner, I could see the lipstick was mostly gone, but the stain was so strong that it looked like I was still wearing a lipstick! Fortunately, the stain could be easily removed (with a micellar water or any other makeup remover. I personally don’t like stain that can’t be removed properly at the end of the day. That feels like taking lasting power several steps too far)!

From what I read, the general consensus is these Sheer Matte Lipsticks are rather drying. I took precaution by applying two thin layers of Aesop Rosehip Seed Lip Cream (my lips were slightly dry to begin with that day, so the first layer was absorbed instantly. The second layer took a little longer, but by the time the rest of my makeup was done, there was next to nothing to be blotted out). After 12 hours, my lips were slightly dry, but definitely not parched, cracked, or anything nearly as gruesome (I would have removed it way earlier if it were so drying). I would say some prepping would be good before applying Rock Candy, but that would allow you to wear this shade pretty comfortably for a really long time!

Bottom line: Estee Lauder Rock Candy Sheer Matte Lipstick is a beautiful bright orange coral that is incredibly long-lasting. Despite what I have heard, it is only slightly drying on me. I look forward to using it as a lip liner with some corals in my stash (for example, it is a tad more orange than Tom Ford True Coral Lip Color, so I think it should work)!

Have you seen the Estee Lauder Sheer Matte Lipsticks? Did any of the four shades catch your eye? Besides Rock Candy, there are also Demure (a fuchsia pink), Naked (a pink coral), and Rebel (a rosy pink).

Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx