Random Days: Estee Lauder Double Wear trial

Soooo I've tried the Double Wear! I tried it yesterday from about 7pm to 4am (I'm really a night owl) and I've had it on for the last few hours. Yesterday was to test wearability and today to check the colour.

Firstly: wearability. This stuff... is tough. I remember someone describing it as 'bomb-proof' which sums it up pretty accurately! It can be quite heavy feeling (although it will depend on how much you put on) but that isn't a huge issue for me. Essentially after my first trial, pretty much nothing had come off. I had to double cleanse (something I rarely do as my skin doesn't like it) just to get the damn stuff off. It was particularly ironic as I'd just been thinking how well my new cleanser gets off other foundation! So it is hardcore this foundation, but if you are looking for that it's not a problem.

Today's test (in slightly better but not great lighting) was to see whether the colour matched properly. From yesterday... I had my doubts. But I wanted to give it a proper chance. As a warning, bare face coming up...

Terrifying. I do apologise. Next primed with Shu Uemura UV Under Base Mousse (not a primer I love but I wanted to give it as fair a trial as possible):

Again, I apologise. Then we have the base. Now I know the lighting isn't great, but I didn't want to use flash so it would be as natural as possible. If you just look at my face it's ok:

But then you add the neck in:

Yeeeeees. Bit too pink! The problem I think I have here, as in a fair few ranges, is the tendency to have Warm or Cool shades. I believe my skin is Neutral, although with a more pink tint.

So will I buy the full size?... No, probably not. As I say, a bit of pink I can get away with, but this is too much. My Clarins Everlasting Foundation (which has a slightly more pink tint and is longlasting) really covers everything this foundation could do for me, but is a bit better colour. Not perfect, but better. I'm really glad I gave it a trial though!

My next mission is secret (it's all rather dependant on an eBay listing, so you understand the need for secrecy). Tomorrow I am hopefully going to try for a sample for that, and will of course inform you if I get anyway.

Luxie xx

Random Days: Estee Lauder Colour Matching Adventure

So! After re-reading and posting my NARS review, I decided to go and explore Estee Lauder and the Double Wear line. After a ridiculous complicated plan to get it at Boots (it was very complicated and they didn’t even have the Lauder brand in the end) I ended up at Fenwicks in Canterbury, where they have a lot of high end brands (I just about avoided the Laura Mercier I’m dying to try thank goodness!).

I generally avoid being colour matched, partly because of the horror stories on various blogs, but also because my skin colour is quite deceptive. Due to years of acne scars, freckles, general blotchiness and lack of proper sunscreen, my skin colour on my face looks quite dark. However as soon as you put a lot of ‘pale’ foundations on it becomes blindingly obvious that they are too dark, and I didn’t want to come away with yet another foundation that makes me look like a sunburnt tangerine.

I sneakily managed to spot the shade I wanted to try, 1C1 Shell, before the sales assistant got there and swatched a bit. My reaction: ‘Ooh… that’s a bit dark for the palest shade in the range. Hmmmm. Will that suit me?’. Then the sales assistant caught up, and I asked her to find my shade.

I was very impressed I must say! She sat me down, knew right away I’d need a pale pink shade and wiped some of my foundation off my jawline. Using a cotton bud, she applied a little of the Shell shade (good eye SA lady) to my face and blended it in with a brush. The best bit though? What she said next. She said ‘Yeah… it’s a bit dark on you. Take it home and see what you think because that’s the palest one.’ Wow! I know it sounds odd, but I think it’s such a good thing to be honest with the customer and say it might not suit them. This lady knew that this was a big chance to sell to me and instead she was honest and confirmed my own suspicions (let’s ignore the alarming fact I seem to know as much as the sales staff shall we) whilst trying to encourage me to give it a go. If you are in Canterbury, I thoroughly recommend the Estee Lauder counter in Fenwicks, I’m very impressed.

So I came home with this:

It’s quite cute! I like the fact this should allow a few applications (I don’t think it’d do 10 as it says, but that’s a small quibble) and that unlike drugstore brands I can actually try it in my own house with my own brush rather than blowing all my money on a too dark foundation again.

Initial reactions to the foundation are a bit doubtful, I do have another foundation on my face so it’s unfair to judge until I’ve tried it properly, but I think it might be a tad too dark. Coverage looks nice though. I’ll come back with a proper review in a few days!

Loves

Luxie xx