Hello people!
Smooth and even skin tone is a base for any makeup. I guess you agree with me that if you don’t wear any foundation at all, it’s very unlikely the rest of your makeup would look beautiful.
So, I’m on a permanent lookout for a good foundation. But it gets harder and harder each year since I’m not getting younger yet still at 36, I want to look gorgeous.
My skin is oily and there aren’t many foundations that can live on me for a long time.
Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Foundation is an iconic makeup bit.
For a long time, I tried to oppose its purchasing, given my experience with a cushion foundation from the same brand.
But this summer, they had nice offer of discounts and I gave in and bought this hyped foundation for me.
Price - $43
Made in Canada
Size - 30ml
Shade - 1N1 Ivory Nude
Product says:
All skin tones. All undertones. Double Wear is made in your shade. It’s matte foundation that looks flawless and natural—liquid foundation that feels lightweight and so comfortable, you won’t believe it’s super long wear. No touch ups needed.
Unifies uneven skin tone and covers imperfections—buildable, medium to full coverage foundation. Stays color true. Won’t look grey on deeper skin tones.
Our best foundation for long wear, Double Wear is oil-free and oil-controlling. This transfer-resistant and waterproof foundation formula lasts in hot and humid weather. Keeps up with your busy day. For millions of women, it’s Double Wear or nothing. Put it on once and don’t think twice.
Ingredients:
Water\Aqua\Eau , Cyclopentasiloxane , Trimethylsiloxysilicate , Peg/Ppg-18/18 Dimethicone , Butylene Glycol , Tribehenin , Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate , Magnesium Sulfate , Tocopheryl Acetate , Polymethylsilsesquioxane , Methicone , Laureth-7 , Xanthan Gum , Alumina , Sodium Dehydroacetate , Disteardimonium Hectorite , Cellulose Gum , Propylene Carbonate , Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate , Phenoxyethanol , [+/- Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499) , Mica , Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891)] <ILN39010>
♦️The packaging is standard for Estee Lauder - navy blue box with minimum info on it.
♦️ Inside we have a glass tube with the product. Before, the glass tube used to have some info on the back while now it’s empty.
A sticker with batch-code and shade is given on the bottom.
♦️ The nozzle is rather wide and hints for a pump dispenser which is to be bought SEPARATELY FOR ANOTHER $10!
$10 for a piece of plastic! What the heck???
The fans of the brand would say that Estee Lauder has considered everything ahead, meaning that you buy the pump once and then just fit it back to another tube. But that’s bullshit!
Even the drugstore brands manage to infused their foundations with pumps (Cover Girl have awesome foundations) and tubes made of glass, where the whole items costs less than a pump here.
I think Estee Lauder’s ventured too far and I have to take off a star for the absence of a pump.
Let’s go on.
♦️ The consistency is rather runny and when I pour it out, it usually gets out of control.
So, I have to either dip my brush into the tube to shut it with a beauty blender, turning the tube upside down.
♦️The aroma isn’t the best in this world. They say it’s fragrance-free, that’s true but the ingredients in the formula don’t smell good.
And now, the most important part - performance.
Right after purchasing, I had to struggle the desire of crushing this tube against a wall because the foundation looked awful on my face. I read through a pile of reviews, watched videos and couldn’t make up my mind of what I was doing wrong with it.
Later, after testing it this and that way I found out:
▪️The product sets too quickly, so if you love applying your foundation with dots first and then blend it out, this trick will never work with this one. Once it’s set, you won’t ever blend it out and it sets immediately.
▪️The coverage is pretty thick. You can layer it but then the finish will be too mask-esque and dead matte.
▪️The coverage defines everything, so it’s better to exfoliate your skin beforehand. Plus, don’t forget about moisture.
▪️You may apply it with a brush but then you brush ought to be very densely packed, aka Cailyn O Wow brush or else the coverage would look patchy.
▪️It’s also possible to apply it with your fingertips but only if your skin is perfect and you don’t have much to cover. But again, don’t forget about the quick setting.
▪️The best tool is a damp beauty blender. Then the layer seems rather thin but still with good coverage. One can build it up but never apply too much so as not to look dead matte.
▪️Pat it into your pores if you have them or the coverage may look dotty. It’s useless to pack and only a setting powder will help here.
▪️If you’re over 30, don’t think this product will turn your back to your 20s.
On my pale skin:
Blend, blend and once again blend and here it is (on the left, on the right is my nude skin)
One more thing to say, this foundation doesn’t go well with concealers. So apply your concealer BEFORE this foundation so as not to see any harsh edges.
A close-up:
As you can see, on the one hand, it nicely erases my pores and smoothes out my complexion but on the other, it dreadfully defines my skin texture.
It feels satin at first but then it sets leaving a matte powder finish. If your skin is normal, that would be enough for you.
But for my oily skin, I have to use a setting powder either way. By the way, if you want to wear your blush, highlighter, bronzer, sculpting powder, anything, then powder your face anyway unless you want to apply them with streaks and patches.
My makeup: (no blush or contouring powder)
The things I like:
✔️good complexion smoothing out.
✔️nice wear time. This is the only foundation that could live till the end of my working day on my face.
✔️It doesn’t stain my mobile.
✔️Great color selection, 56 shades for any skin tone.
And that’s it.
Things I don’t like:
🔻It dries out my skin. Once I was in a hurry and applied it without my moisturizer. So my skin was so tugged that even felt like plaster on my face.
🔻It’s too easy to go overboard with it and end up looking dead matte with a mask on.
🔻The price is huge, given no pump featured which is to be bought separately for 23% of the product price.
🔻The stated 24-hour wear is too much for its staying power. My skin gets oily within 4 hours with it. In ten hours there’s no foundation on my nose and fine lines and then closer to 12 hours, the coverage already doesn’t seem pleasant.
I guess it may stay on for 24 hours over dry skin but that’s too long for oily skin.
The bottom line
This season, it’s almost the only foundation that could live up till the end of my working day and look decent at the same time. But, Double Wear Stay In Place Foundation does still require some mumbo jumbo with it while application.
And yeah, don’t touch your face with it on, even though it’s said to be long-wearing, nah, it’ll form patches where you touch it, no matter setting it with powder.
For me, this isn’t the best foundation in the world. And given that issue with a pump, I’d like to give it 3.5 stars. But since I can’t, I’ll give it 4 and recommend purchasing. BUT: I highly advise testing it out on your face before purchasing.
Thanks for your attention and see you in my next reviews!
