Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Blooming Lip Balm

After Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Summer Lip Glow turned out to be a big dud, I stopped paying attention to anything Bronze Goddess. When have I ever cared for bronzers anyway? And then I was flipping through Instagram last year and spotted this gorgeous orange lippie. Upon looking further, I learned it was a Bronze Goddess Blooming Lip Balm from the 2018 summer collection. It even came in the same textured gold tube. I couldn't resist the fiery orange so I picked it up ^.^"

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Despite the gold tube being an in-my-face reminder of the previous dud, I squealed when first uncapped it. Overall, after failing me so miserably with the Summer Lip Glow, EL impressed me with this one. I mean, look at that orange! Not only it was as breathtaking in real life as it was on Insta, the bullet itself appeared balmy and shimmer-free, and it had this translucency that told me it would go on transparent and may be even staining. Yas, yass, and yasss. All three turn out to be true. This lippie indeed has a balmy formula that applies transparent and shimmer-free. And yes, it stains.

Once I tried it on though, my excitement leveled off a bit: that fiery orange did not apply orange. It turned totally coral on the back of my hand (see swatch) and was even stronger, brighter, and more reddish on my lips. I love corals, but this was a tad too pigmented and bright for daytime use, at least for me. Even the stain was much brighter and pinker on my lips than on the back of my hand. I was hoping for and expecting orange and so I feel a touch let-down. Also, for a balmy formula it's not as soft, moisturizing, and long-lasting as the Lip Conditioner and the Pure Color Envy Blooming Lip Balm. And why are there so many "Blooming Lip Balms" anyway? 

So as much as I love the deliciously orange bullet, I'll save this tube for a vacation at the beach and won't repurchase it for everyday use like I did the Lip Conditioner and the Pure Color Envy balm. I have the newest Pure Color Envy Color Replenish Lip Balm too and will review this later.