Estee Lauder Double Wear: Love or Loathe?

Finding the perfect foundation to match the needs of your preferred finish, shade and consistency seems to be a never-ending search for most of us. However, at least for the moment, Estee Lauder’s Double Wear is one of the foundations I find myself reaching for daily, as it meets most of my (many) foundation requirements. This product is notorious in the beauty world, and is quite the Marmite pick, as people seem to be firmly on one side of the foundation fence or the other for this renowned little product.

My skin does not fall into one of the simple ‘dry’ or ‘oily’ categories, but seems to be the definition of ‘combination’ with an oily t zone but with dry areas on the surface of the same area. This makes finding a foundation particularly hard, as a base that controls oil, whilst also nourishing dry areas is surely non-existent. However, Double Wear is the nearest foundation I have found to mattify, whilst also not intensifying and making the dry areas more noticeable.

This Estee Lauder pick unsurprisingly doesn't come cheap at £27.50, however this is a comparable and competitive price to similar offerings from the other high end counter brands. A notable advantage of this foundation over its drugstore alternatives is the large number of shades available, with over 30 to suit the palest pink and yellow toned skins to the darkest complexions. The packaging feels luxurious, in a matte glass bottle, with the only improvement being the addition of a pump, but as a frugal student, I make sure to stand the bottle upside down when it nears its end to savour the last dregs.

One of the main complaints of Double Wear is that it is too heavy, however with a good moisturiser and stippling brush (Real Techniques buffing brush is my firm fav), it is possible to achieve a natural, non-cakey finish.

Overall, I would recommend this foundation mainly for those with oilier skins, as dry skinned gals are not going to find this foundation to be particularly moisturising or nourishing. Despite the ideal skin type for this product being oily skins, with a good skincare routine consisting of a good exfoliator and moisturiser, combination skins (thankfully, like myself) can still enjoy this fabulous foundation too.

Do you love or loathe it? 

Review: Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish

Though it is probably the most highly reviewed beauty product on the internet, I wanted to give my tuppence worth on Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish, as it has been the only cleanser on my bathroom shelf for a few years now. Despite the price of this classic product putting it in a category slightly above those found in supermarkets and pharmacies, I am an advocate of using a good quality cleanser, after being guilty of the crime of using baby wipes as my main method of removing makeup for years.

Skin type suitability: I don't usually buy into products claiming to be 'suitable for all skin types' and, with this cleanser being a thick, rich cream, I originally thought it would only be suitable for dry skins. However, after trying it, I found it to work effectively on my oily skin and it does not intensify the unappealing shiny look, but makes my skin feel unbelievably soft and moisturised.

How I use it: I apply this cleanser onto dry skin in the morning and evening and the thick texture makes this feel like a very luxurious process. Because of the plant based and gentle formulation, the cleanser can be rubbed into mascara loaded eyelashes, producing attractive temporary panda eyes without the risk of irritation from harsh chemicals. The second step, as the name suggests, is the 'polish' step with the muslin cloth and I run it under the hot tap and gently remove the makeup or general daily grime with it (like an expensive baby wipe). If it has been a specially heavy makeup job, I repeat this process and then splash water on my face to close the pores.

Packaging and scent: The appearance of the casing this cleanser is packaged in is a classic duck egg blue, matte tube with a pump, so the annoyance of squeezing the last dregs from a tube is a distant memory. The cream itself has a beautiful subtle plant smell, and as the picture shows, I was given a limited edition version as a gift from my mum, which is grapefruit and patchouli; a herbal and spiced scent (the only difference to the original). The cloth that comes with the '100ml starter kit' (£14.75) is worth the extra few pounds, as it is gentler than a flannel, but textured enough to have a slightly exfoliating effect.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this cleanser, as I haven't come across better results from any other and it creates a smooth and nourished base ready for makeup.