Review: Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation

I first started looking for a new foundation about a month ago, as I noticed that my current foundation (Lancome Photogenic Lumessence in Ivoire 2(c)) had suddenly became a shade too dark for my current skin tone (I'm very, very fair). After watching one of Camille's (TalkinMakeup on YouTube) videos where she was talking about her career as a makeup artist, I decided to pay the Estee Lauder counter a visit during my latest trip to the mall. Camille had mentioned that Estee Lauder was the best at matching foundations, and since I was dealing with a color issue, I thought I'd give it a try. I had never really used Estee Lauder's products before, except for perhaps an eyeshadow or lipstick here and there from when my mother got one of their GWP.

The makeup artist at the counter was super sweet and quickly gathered three foundation shades to try to color match me. Of all their foundation products, she chose the Double Wear Stay-in-Place makeup for me -- I didn't ask for this specifically since I wasn't knowledgable about their product line. After putting a few swatches on my face, we realized that their lightest cool shade, 1C1 Shell 15, was the most invisible on my face and blended well into my jawline/neck. The artist then applied the foundation to my whole face after layering on some of Estee Lauder's moisturizers and primers, including a pore minimizer.

Right off the bat, I knew two things: 1) the color was a PERFECT match. The foundation, which is full coverage, completely evened out the redness in my cheeks and around my nose, and blended perfectly with the rest of my skin tone. Especially from afar, this foundation truly gave me a flawless appearance. Unfortunately, 2) up close, it was a different story. I didn't apply the foundation myself, so it was hard to judge the consistency from this application, but I immediately noticed that the foundation was VERY cakey on my skin, especially around my chin, nose and forehead. It almost appeared as though the product was sitting on top of my skin instead of soaking in. I mentioned this to the makeup artist and she said that it was probably the result of having very dehydrated skin. With this in mind, and since she was staring at me telling me how great I looked, I decided to buy the product and try it at home with my own brushes, moisturizers and concealers. The foundation was definitely not cheap -- I believe it was $33.50 for 1 fl oz/30ml -- but it's actually cheaper than my Lancome foundation, which is $42.50 for the same amount. 

Unfortunately, when I got the product home, it was a lot of the same -- I tried applying it with my Sigma SS187 stippling brush and found the results to be equal. I also used my normal moisturizing routine under the foundation, and don't normally experience cakey-ness with my products. I found that, although this foundation appears quite creamy when you pour it onto your hand, it blends into a product that is very drying on the skin. It's cakey, especially around areas with breakouts, and messy because it's a pour-style bottle without a pump (I find that this style actually causes you to waste a lot of the product, too). Needless to say, after two days of trying out the foundation, I decided that I really didn't like the product, and I will be returning it this weekend. 

To recap:

Pros: 

- The foundation really was an excellent color match for my skin type, and Estee Lauder, overall, seemed to have a pretty extensive range that would suit many skin tones.

- The foundation is definitely long wearing. I live in a very warm climate and this product made it through the day despite the humidity. 

Cons:

- The bottle says that this product is for all skin types, but if you're on the dry side like I am, you may find that it's very cakey on your skin and sits on top of the skin, rather than soaking in.

- It only has an SPF of 10, which basically makes it useless on its own.

- It's quite expensive and the packaging is poorly designed, causing excessive waste during each application.

In the end, I've somewhat happily returned to daily use of my Lancome foundation, although I still want to experiment with the color ranges of a few other brands to see if I can find a better match for my current pasty pale skin tone. Next up, I'm itching to try Clinique's Even Better foundation and Revlon's Color Stay Foundation, both of which have also received positive reviews in the YT beauty community. Let me know if you have used either of those or if you have any other recommendations!