Review: Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer

I am a concealer JUNKIE. I think I splurge the most on "base" products. Foundations and concealers are my bread and butter. Finding a good concealer is imperative (in my opinion) because it hides the nasty dark circles 90% of us have and a good one can cover basically any imperfection.

I was using the NARS radiant creamy concealer (should I do a review on that one too?!) before I tried this and I loved it. It's definitely up there as one of my HG products so I decided to try this out on a whim.

Price: £21

Shade: 02 Light Medium

On application: The packaging is pretty much standard, it comes with a simple doe foot applicator. The consistency is not too thick but not too watery either. Pretty much a perfect balance. My qualm with the NARS concealer was that when my undereyes weren't moisturised properly it would cake up and blending would be difficult. This isn't so watery like the MAC moisture cover and it's not as thick as MAC pro longwear. Perfect.

**DISCLAIMER** Please be aware that I always, ALWAYS use a corrector such as the Bobbi Brown one. I used this over the Giorgio Armani corrector (which was under my foundation) so it DID already do some of the work for me.

Without concealer

Both pictures above are with concealer

Final Thoughts

I am in LOVE with this concealer!!!! Probably more than the NARS creamy concealer. Not by a lot, but I love it just because it covers the same without being too cakey. I know in the pictures it doesn't look THAT good, but if you want more coverage then it is definitely buildable. Would recommend! Awesome product. It is a bit pricey for the amount you're getting, there are cheaper concealers around but if you have money to spare or you are looking for a full coverage concealer that is easy to blend and you can build up, give this a try!

Review: Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation

I thought I'd do my own review on this foundation that has probably been one of the most reviewed beauty products EVER. As you may know (or not know) my skin is very oily. Oilier than what "normal" people would call oily. I also have some acne scars on my right cheek. The photo I took before was just too poor quality for me to post but if you check out my Estee Lauder Matte Primer review, I have a decent picture there.

Price: £28.50 but I got it for about £20 because of partner discount. (Like pretty much every makeup purchase I have, haha! Thanks John Lewis!)

Shade: For my NC25 complexion, the shade Desert Beige is a very good match for my skin tone.

On application: This bottle doesn't come with a pump which honestly makes it somewhat tricky to control but if you've used enough of these you just get used to it I suppose. There is no recognizable scent, it smells very lightly of paint (VERY light) - it doesn't really bother me. I found it a bit difficult to blend on the nose area as it caked up a bit but after using my trusty beautyblender it wasn't such a problem.

After one layer; applied with sigma F80

After one layer, I thought it was decent coverage, I use this level of coverage to go out during the day and it covered my scars fairly well, you couldn't really see it unless you were looking for it.

Both photos- after two layers 

After two layers it definitely gave a flawless full coverage finish, my scars are gone and any redness or hyperpigmentation is not visible. 

Final Thoughts

I know it seems like I was late on the bandwagon but I bought this foundation a year ago and it was too dark for me, the previous shade oxidised so I gave it to my Mum. I now see why everyone loves it. It's a foolproof foundation. Wouldn't recommend if you have normal/dry skin but I think that the light formula of this foundation is tailored to that. If you have heavy scarring then the maximum coverage formula would probably be better. I've been using this every day for the past week or so and I am LOVING it. Even in this cold season it manages to bode well with my oily skin. I've used it with the Estee Lauder Matte primer (check out my review on that!) and it goes on pretty easily and it lasts a fairly decent amount of time before I have to touch up. I have to say though, it has more staying power with MoM or Porefessional. Overall, very pleased with this purchase.

Review: Estee Lauder Matte Primer

Hello Dolls! Hope life is treating everyone well. Just a quick review on my thoughts of this primer I picked up during Pricematch at work ;) 

I have extremely oily skin, I have used milk of magnesia for the past 2 years but I feel that I don't enjoy it anymore. As it does mattify the skin like nothing I've ever used before, I grew tired of the chalky feeling after it dries (and yes, I know you have to rub it in too!) So here I am, on the hunt for a new primer to satisfy my oily, acne prone skin.

Price: £22.50 but I got it for around £14 because of pricematch and partner discount.

The packaging is very fuss free, nothing special to comment on it really, it is a normal squeeze tube. 

Before

This is my freshly moisturized face. Not the most flattering picture, I'm aware, and yes I'll get down to sorting out the bad pic quality - can't find my camera atm! 

As you can see my nose is VERY oily, it's the area that I always get the oiliest and I always have to powder down halfway through my day. 

After

On application: Whilst dispensing the primer, I noticed that it was very lightweight and I suspected that it wouldn't keep my face very matte. As you can see in the second picture, my skin is reasonably more matte than it was in the first picture.

Final Thoughts

I think this primer is great if you have normal/combo skin, but if you have oily to severely oily skin then I don't think this would do much. I would even say it's slightly more lightweight than Benefit's Porefessional. It is an average primer for my type of skin but I would definitely recommend it to someone who doesn't have specific skin concerns as far as controlling oil goes. 

Review: Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

I definitely prefer foundations to BB creams (that IS because I've tried so many and I haven't found one that lives up to my kind of coverage "standard") and for the longest time, I was looking for a good everyday foundation. I'm glad to say that I've found it! I even feel like I've burned through this bottle but I'll definitely buy another, it's a really great foundation. The RRP is £10.99 which is on the more expensive side of the drugstore but for a foundation, it's pretty standard.

I really do believe that there are real gems in your humble drugstore. I have never agreed with the mentality that as long as everything is expensive, high-end and luxurious, it's good. (If you think that way, you probably don't really love makeup, you love showing off!) But that's another post for another day...

This is from the Boots website with details of this foundation:

"Give your skin a boost of radiance with Bourjois’ Healthy Mix Serum Gel foundation with a vitamin-rich fruit therapy formula for an even complexion and an instant anti-fatigue result!

Its fresh and instant blending gel texture blends and glides onto the skin for an even, natural finish with no mask effect. Imperfections are erased, signs of fatigue are smoothed and the skin’s radiance is boosted for up to 16 hours*.

Its instant anti-fatigue vitamin-rich fruit therapy formula is made from a fruity blend of litchi, goji berries and pomegranates. Available in 6 radiance-boosting shades."

I do agree with the anti-fatigue result, but it doesn't cover my acne scarring unfortunately and to be honest I haven't really found any foundation that will 100% cover my scarring, except for my MAC pro-longwear concealer. I usually dislike dewy finish foundations because I have super oily skin, but with my trusty Milk of Magnesia primer (I will definitely do a post on that!) I love the finish that it gives- it looks as if your skin is glowing. Shade wise it's an almost perfect match to mine, I'm shade 53 Light Beige and it matches me better than my Bobbi Brown skin foundation does. I use this as my every day foundation when I'm going out or going to work and it usually lasts me about 6 hours no touch ups which is a big deal for me because my skin is quite oily. My only wish for this foundation is that they possibly come up with a formula for oiler skin and more choices colourwise as there were only lighter shades available.

Before and after application. Notice the red scar on my hand on the left and how it has decent coverage?

The Verdict:

Price: 4/5 - Packaging: 5/5 - Longevity: 4/5 - Pigmentation: 4/5