Malicious and benign envy can be interpreted as two functional routes to achieve the same goal of leveling the difference between the self and the other. Benign envy, by increasing one's own status; malicious envy, by decreasing the other's standing. Based on the Law of the Lightest Load (Frijda, 1988), we proposed that making it more difficult to decrease the other's standing would result in individuals experiencing more benign and less malicious envy. We manipulated this difficulty with characteristics linked to two factors of the triangular structure of envy; the envied person and the envied object. We confronted individuals with material and experiential (more difficult to take) purchases, and unique and multiple (more difficult to take) ownerships. The results provided weak evidence that these factors influence the experience of envy but shed light on the complexity human emotions, and, more specifically, of experiences of envy. The findings contribute to the literature by highlighting the gaps between emotions’ theoretical models and empirical evidence, and the importance of considering social aspects when investigating envy. Keywords: malicious envy, benign envy, laws of emotions, type of purchase, type of ownership.