Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place Foundation - Friend or Foe?

About time! Another blog post. On a foundation. A foundation that came SO CLOSE to holy grail status for me. Alas no. And I am about to elaborate just a bit J

So let’s start, I’ve had about 5 sample bottles of the Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation. Not because I’m scabby, but because I could never decide on a shade. I’ve tried: Fresco, Desert Beige, Ecru, Shell, and Bone. The sample bottles they give you at the counter are BRILL, they honest to goodness lasted me about a fortnight each! THUMBS UP LAUDER GROUP! J

Pros of this foundation:

• Long wearing. So long wearing. And still looks very close to perfect at the end of a long day at work.
• Great for oily skin. Once it sets, it SETS. It ain’t going nowhere, regardless of how much gunk your skin produces (gross. I hate the word ‘gunk’)
• Fantastic range of shades. From the most transparent of pales to the darkest of mochas.
• SPF included. SPF 10 which isn’t IDEAL but it is better than nothing. It protected my skin from the 30degree sun in New York! (neck burned but face didn’t!)

Cons of this foundation:

• It is a b*tch to get off. Like seriously. See my Clarisonic Mia below. Bear in mind I had performed a DOUBLE cleanse prior to using my Clarisonic on it. Also this clarisonic has been washed before this photo was taken. The bristles are STAINED.

• As a result of above note, breakouts are imminent unless great care and effort is taken in removing the foundation. I learned this the hard way. I used to just use the Olay Daily Facial Cleansing Cloths to wash off my makeup late at night after work. Thought I had it all off. Result? Breakout. BAD. No wonder!
• Looks bad in photos, the other side to having an SPF in a foundation. 

So... Long story short, I shall be using this again, but ONLY when I know I shall need long-lasting coverage, such as when I know I'll be having a long and active day at work. Other than that I'll be using one of my other foundations that don't offer the same flawless coverage but are a heck of a lot easier to remove!!

What's your skin type and your holy grail foundation?

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