I have been using Estee Lauder's highly reviewed liquid foundation, the Double Wear Stay-In-Place makeup, for quite some time already before I decided to give up on it. It wasn't because the foundation was a bad product or that it broke me out; I stopped because my exact shade match was not available at local counters (a huge boo, really, for a foundation so fantastic as this).
Main Impression
This top-rating liquid foundation is neither runny nor too thick. Makeup fans love how well it glides on the skin while infrequent makeup users like me may have a bit of a hard time blending this foundation perfectly. Also, the fact that it dries out real quick on the skin may be a huge factor why it's not easy for me to even it out on the face. To lessen my application problems using this foundie, I find that using the fingertips is the best way to put this on.
| Estee Lauder Double Wear Liquid Foundation, SPF 10, 30mLP1,900 (~$43) - local counters, $35 - website |
Estee Lauder's Double Wear foundation provides a non-greasy, lightweight feel on my face that stays put for a good 9 hours (coupled with a good face primer). I only had to blot twice during that day and was still able to sport a clean, fresh look that my friends gush about. Its matte finish unfortunately obviates the dry areas on my cheeks, sides of the nose and some parts of my chin area, but it's nothing that ample moisturizing can't correct.
| Estee Lauder Double Wear in Sand on my NC25 skin |
The makeup blends well with the skin and provides ample coverage for my skin imperfections. It was able to decently conceal all the reddish areas of my face and most acne marks while blurring the visible pores on my cheeks, nose and forehead. My undereye area gets instantly brighter too even without the use of a concealer. It was effectively able to give me a flawless look . I heard that it can also provide full coverage but I've yet to try it since I'm already satisfied with its natural, healthy finish.
Shade Match Fail
[Checkout Sand, Tawny and Ivory Cream swatches side-by-side on NC25] I first used Estee Lauder Double Wear in Sand (warm undertone), then jumped to Ivory Cream (neutral), and lastly to Tawny (warm). Chart-wise, my selection of shades ranged from lightest to darkest (with Ivory Cream being under a different undertone group). It was truly wasted money on these three because none of them were a perfect match on my NC25 skin (Yup, I'm now NC25, thanks to my derma's wonderful topicals). Sand and Ivory were too light, Tawny a tiny bit dark.
My last hope was for Sand or Ivory Cream to turn dark on my acidic face. But since this super foundation never significantly darkened my skin as most liquid foundations do, I can firmly conclude that I have not been given my perfect match yet. I'm eyeing Fresco (neutral) or Ivory Beige (warm), but SAs claim that these shades will never reach our counters.
| Estee Lauder+ In2it: tweaking the too light Double Wear shade (Sand) with In2it 2-way Powder Foundation (Golden Harvest) |
It might be too vengeful of me to rate the foundation really low plainly because I have not seen my shade match just yet (shade match is super points for me). If I wanted to keep each Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation bottle, I will have to make do on figuring out tweaks and tricks to make the currently available shades work for me. But I don't have the luxury of time to perform these tweaks every time I do my makeup because I'm such a slowpoke. I need a PERFECT SHADE MATCH. (N.B. I will do a separate post on the shade swatches)
| Notice how my face is too white in comparison to my neck (2nd photo)I set the liquid foundation with a powder foundie that finishes dark on me (In2it) |
Helpful Hints
1. This product is packed in a twist-cap bottle. If you have a MAC SFF foundation pump, you can use it to allow a more hygienic and controlled method of getting the product out of the bottle.
| Photo Source |
2. I address my issues with its consistency (explained above) by mixing the foundation with my moisturizer.
3. Be sure to use a makeup primer if you have oily skin so that this makeup stays put well.
Recommendation
If you have oily skin and you want to achieve a flawless face canvas for a good number of hours without the heavy, greasy feel, save up for a bottle of this superb foundation. I never broke out from this foundation. It's a bit pricey but a 30mL bottle will be difficult to finish even if you use it on a daily basis. It may be a grueling task to find the perfect shade match since not all shades are available in our local Estee Lauder booths but once you get a good match, the Double Wear liquid foundation may just top your list of HG face bases.
