REVIEW: Estee Lauder Double Wear vs. DW Light

My very first blog post, woohoo! And what better way to break ground in this new beauty blog than with a post about foundations?

I'm sure many of you have heard about Estee Lauder's Double Wear foundation either from other beauty bloggers or YouTube beauty gurus. I can't remember exactly when I was first introduced to this line of makeup, but I do know that it's been on my radar to try out for awhile. When I first heard all the hype surrounding this foundation, though, I was confused. In my mind, Estee Lauder is what my mom used to wear.. I'd always thought it was for more mature skin and an older demographic. Then I realized ... I'm probably now the same age my mom was when she was wearing Estee Lauder. WOAH, talk about reality check!

Anyway, after having my second baby, I've found that I have even less time to get ready in the morning. I need makeup that I can slap on relatively quickly and not give a second thought to. Touch ups throughout the day? I don't have time for them! I like makeup that'll perfect my tired skin but not look too "done-up". While I was at Nordstrom asking the sales girl about this foundation, I noticed that they had a "Light" version of the same Double Wear foundation. After talking with her about the differences, I was really torn between which one to purchase. So! I bought the Light version and got a sample of the regular Double Wear to test at home.

(L) Double Wear Light; (R) Double Wear

I did get color matched for the regular Double Wear foundation but since I only got a sample of that one, I don't actually know what shade she gave me! I have warm undertones and was intensity 2 if that helps at all. In the Light version, I am in the shade Intensity 2.0.

 As you can see, the Double Wear (R) has more of the yellow undertones that my actual skin has because their shade range accomodates specific understones vs Double Wear Light (L) which is slightly pinker. Despite this, I still found this shade of Double Wear Light to be a good match for my skin.

First, I'll talk about the regular DW foundation -
I was the most excited to try the regular formula since that's what I'd originally gone to the store for. When I first tried it on, my reaction was "Oh my gosh.... this stuff is AMAZING." The finish is semi-matte and the coverage is medium to full, definitely buildable. Let me say... true to the name, this stuff does NOT budge. I have combination skin with an oily t-zone, and my makeup tends to slip and slide EVERYWHERE by the end of the day. Normally I have to wear my favorite Hourglass Mineral Veil primer underneath ALL my base makeup otherwise there's no point in me putting any on to begin with. But when I tested this foundation, I didn't use any primer because I wanted to see how good the foundation was on its own. Boy, was I IMPRESSED. Even without any primer, it looked better than most of my other foundations look WITH primer. I loved it so much that I wasn't even sure if I should try the Light version...

Speaking of which... The DW Light foundation -
I didn't think I could like it as much as I liked the original DW. But, you guys... believe it or not, Estee Lauder really hit it out of the park with BOTH of these products! The light version has the same budge-proof formula but true to its name, it's slightly lighter. The finish is a more natural finish, and the coverage is a little lighter although it can definitely be built up to a medium coverage which is how I like to wear mine. I seriously cannot speak enough about how great the stay-put ability of these two foundations is. I wore the Light version for 14 hours yesterday... FOURTEEN HOURS!! And when I came home, the foundation looked juuuust about as good as it did in the morning. There was just a little bit of redness peeking through where I have some spots but I didn't look shiny or greasy at all. And I'd say up until the 12 hour point, the redness was still covered pretty well so the foundation really only started breaking down after a full 12 hours in my opinion.

Okay, let's break it down:

The similarities

• Budge-proof formula (both are AMAZING)
• Quick-drying
• "Sticky" feeling - Let me clarify. It's not that the foundation feels sticky on my face, but because they're long-lasting foundations and they don't dry down to a powder finish, they have this slightly tacky feeling after application. For this reason, I like to set my face with one of my Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders just to smooth out the texture, not because it needs any extra coverage or mattification (is that a word?). 

The differences

• Color range - The original Double Wear has a much wider range of colors, complete with undertones, etc. The Light version still has a good range of colors but you'll probably be able to find the PERFECT match for your face with the original DW. That said, I think my DW Light in Intensity 2.0 is pretty spot-on for my light-medium warm-undertone complexion.
• Consistency - DW is more runny and DW Light is slightly thicker
• Finish - Both look incredible on the face, but DW gives a more "perfected" complexion look whereas DW Light looks like "Your Skin But Better" (aka more natural)

The verdict?

Personally, I prefer Double Wear Light after testing both of them out for about a week. The reason why is because as beautiful and flawless as the regular Double Wear looks, it's almost too perfect for my everyday face. As a mama to two kids, most of the time I'm just at home in shorts and a tee, or running errands around our town. Double Wear Light not only gives me great coverage but it looks super natural, which is important to me. I'd feel pretty silly going to the grocery store looking all made-up like I was going out for a fancy date-night with my husband, you know what I mean? Double Wear Light evens out my skin tone but still lets my normal skin kinda peek through. 

Either way, I'd recommend both Double Wear and Double Wear Light for you oily-skinned gals who need a good foundation that won't move at all throughout the day. If you're working or meeting clients, etc, I'd say Double Wear is probably more up your alley, whereas if you're like me and the only people you need to impress are preschoolers, then Double Wear Light is the one for you. 

Both Double Wear and Double Wear Light are $37 for 1.0 oz and can be readily found at retailers like Sephora and Nordstrom.