The Foundation Trial: Estée Lauder Double Wear

As I'm sure most of us are, I am always on the quest for the perfect, 'holy grail' foundation that will make my face look as flawless as possible.  On this quest, through a combination of reading numerous blogs and spending hours in department stores, I have compiled a list of 30+ foundations that I want to try - either for the first time or for a second round.

So please welcome my new project:

The Foundation Trial

Every week or so I will be obtaining a new foundation to try out and put it through its paces in the hope that I will find my perfect skin perfecting miracle; toss aside the flaky, patchy and generally useless; and hopefully help others along the way!

First up..

Estée Lauder Double Wear 

Availability: Estée Lauder have counters in pretty much all department stores and Boots.  At £25 a bottle it is quite pricey but you can get one of these nifty 10 day pot samples - the perfect way to try it out.

Colour: Double Wear comes in around 20 shades.  I was matched - whilst wearing fake tan - to Desert Beige (2N1) which is absolutely spot-on. 

Consistency and Application:  

[For all these trials I will be using my fingers to apply, instead of a brush, as it is a basic method that everyone can relate to.] 

This foundation runs a little bit thinner to Colorstay which I personally love as it glides onto the skin, blends easily and doesn't feel heavy at all.  It was slightly harder to blend around my nose though which is slightly dry and on top of a primer it is a disaster. 

Coverage: In short - truly amazing!  One light coat provides a medium coverage which I can then build on to cover any redness in my cheeks.

Finish: 

- Over a primer: AWFUL.  I found it just stuck to the primer, dragged on my skin and just looked streaky and cakey.  

- On its own: Truly amazing!  As long as you apply moisturiser before, it looks fantastic - a semi-matte, natural finish as the website describes.  With a light layer and topped up with some highlighter such as Revlon Skinlights you really can get the effect of flawless skin.

- With powder:  Very flat and obvious that you are wearing heavy make up.  I felt like a doll/chav - really not a great look..!

Lasting Power:  I honestly cannot fault it.  The website promises 15 hours and I think that it lives up to that promise.  I also found it made my blusher/bronzer stay in place too - a real issue that I have with Colorstay.  After a long day at University or a night out in a hot club my make up looked as fresh as it did when I first applied it.

Overall best usage:  For a normal to combination/oily skin applied over moisturiser and with limited powder for a long day or night on the tiles.

Purchase? 100% YES!