Review: Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in Intensity 2.0

I've never tried Estee Lauder's famed Double Wear Foundation, but I have, like most of you, kept hearing wonderful things about it, and so was always keen to give it a go. Revlon's Color Stay is ment to be a dupe, and I like Color Stay sometimes. What I don't like is how heavy it is, and so I decided to try the Double Wear Light instead!

The foundation is a longwearing foundation with an SPF of 10. It has a faint smell of something - a bit rosy perhaps? The scent is only noticeable when I am actively sniffing it from my hand to check for a scent and not when I apply the foundation to my face. The consistency is fairly thick, but not so much as for example asian BB creams. I have applied this both using my fingers and Real Techniques Buffing Brush. When applied with fingers the coverage is quite light and any blemishes, pigmentation, scars etc. would still need concealer to be covered up. With a buffing brush I'd say the cover is still light, but more light to medium. Anything very red or very heavily pigmented would still need covering with a concealer, but it will cover minor flaws. I prefer using a buffing brush. The finish is matte, but very natural. It also feels nice and very comfortable on the skin.

I have used this on top of Shiseido's Refining Makeup Primer and with just my sunscreen underneath; Anthelios XL SPF 50+. 

After a few hours of wear in combination with Shiseido's primer, Double Wear Light faded a little and a bit of redness, previously hidden by the foundation, was showing through. That is when the foundation was applied using fingers. When I applied it with a buffing brush on top of the Shiseido Primer it lasted all day and looked beautiful even when I was leaving work to go home. I did get a tiny bit of shine on my nose and forehead, but my trusted Shiseido blotting papers took care of that, so I see it as a minor problem and somewhat insignificant. I don't think there is any foundation that would last all through the day with not even a tiny bit of shine on my nose and forehead, without drying my skin out completely.

While it is comfortable to wear I do feel like taking it off when I get home after 10 hours working. That being said, I think any foundation, even tinted moisturisers, feels a bit uncomfortable after a whole 10 hours of wear.

Above; A little "blob" of Double Wear Light as it comes out of the tube. Below; A heavier swatch to more clearly see the color of Intensity 2.0

With no primer and just my La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50+ sunscreen it's a love story. I will write more about Anthelios as a primer in a review coming soon, but in short it's amazeballs. I spread it very thinly over my skin, wait maybe 30 seconds and then apply Double Wear Light on top with a buffing brush. It dries down to an amazing, almost poreless finish that actually gets continually nicer as the day goes by. I do get a tad shiny on my nose and forehead with this combo as well, but my Shiseido blotting papers are there to the rescue yet again. This stuff is still on and looking impressive after a long day at work as well.

Double Wear Light blended a little bit onto the skin.

I have had no bad reactions from wearing this foundations. Nothing has changed in my skin. I have had no breakouts, irritation, itchiness or rashes. The foundation also does not oxidize on me at all.

What the full-sized product looks like! Picture from EsteeLauder.com

In conclusion I have to say that I am very impressed by this foundation. I've used a generous sample to try this (The 7ml tube lasted over 2 weeks!), and I will most definitely be looking at purchasing this when I head down to the south of France next week for my holiday. If you think this might suit your skin you should definitely try it as well, I simply adore this!

- Get it here -

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