Review: Estee Lauder Double Wear Light

I'd like to declare myself the un-official foundation queen. If there is one beauty product that I hoard more than any other, it's foundation. I've tried most drugstore foundations and many higher end ones, except the very high end like YSL, Chanel, Girogio Armani, which I would love to try eventually. Today's review is the Estee Lauder Double Wear Light, which is a fabulous foundation.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light is the "lighter" sister to the Double Wear foundation and is described as "15 hour wear, light as air, lightweight, comfortable makeup stays vibrant and fresh, no matter how active your day becomes. Resists smudging and won't "melt" off through heat and humidity. Controls oil. Won't blog pores. Provides anti-oxidant protection, sheer to medium coverage. Natural finish. Oil-free. Fragrance free. Non-acnegenic. Dermatologist and ophthalmologist-tested." (back of foundation box). Both have SPF 10 as well. Everyone raves about the Double Wear, but I find the Double Wear Light to be more wearable and less thick.

Monthly Faves: March 2011

I'd say I am excited for April to finally be here, because it means spring is almost here, but in Canada that is far from the case, February-May is basically all rain and miserable weather where I live. On a positive turn, I found several new products that I loved in the month of March. I find that monthly faves generally tend to be "new" products for me, I don't know if that's the case with most people, but most reached favourite type products do not change too much, but since I buy new products all the time, it means these are all new pickups.

StrawberryNet.com Haul

I have a treasure of a website to share with you today, it's StrawberryNet.com. This is a website that I recently learned of, first time ordering from them too. I placed my order on March 15 and received it on March 25. Their packages are shipped from Hong Kong, if I am not mistaken. There is a note on their website that if you get charged customs, send them your invoice and they will reimburse you, however I was charged nothing more. I was very impressed with the shipping time, it's always nice to get your packages before the weekend so you have time to play around with the stuff. What I like most about this company is their wide assortment of high-end products and free shipping worldwide. I am often bothered that companies do not ship to Canada (and other places of the world) and even their sales and discounts are US only, it's really irritating and turns me right off. StrawberryNet.com takes Paypal too, which I like a lot, it saves me racking up my credit card bills. They also offer a loyalty bonus, the more orders you place with them the larger % off you receive.

I ordered two things, the Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer and Estee Lauder Double Wear Light, I am super excited about both products. I saved a bit of money on the Laura Mercier, I actually bought a discounted package, it's expiring in July. I did some research and apparently, product expirations are just guidelines and in this case it's probably just the SPF in the product that is expiring, and since I always wear SPF under my makeup anyway, I wasn't too phased. This product is normally $42US, not sure how much in Canada, but I know around $60 and that's just BONKERS for a tinted moisturizer in my opinion. And... Laura Mercier at Sephora online is restricted to Canada so I can't even look up how much it is for you all.  Anyway, I got it in the colour "Porcelain" the lightest shade.

Next, the most exciting part of my package was the Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in Intensity 0.5. Now you're probably wondering, Intensity 0.5? there is no such shade.. but there is! Check it out here. When I saw that, it was like the heavens opened up, my prayers have been answered! I've been meaning to try this foundation for a long time, but Intensity 1.0 seemed too dark to me, and I have read many people complaining that their colour range sucks, so I didn't even bother. But 0.5 is like MY SKIN colour, totally, it's perfect. I am not sure if this is a Hong Kong exclusive or what, maybe an Estee Lauder employee can contact me and let me know because I need more of this shade and I think many other pastey girls do too!

Here is a comparison pic, Laura Mercier TM in Porcelain on the left, and Estee Lauder Double Wear 0.5 Intensity on the right, they look very close, so if you wear that colour in the Laura Mercier, 0.5 is your shade.

And blended in a bit here, you can tell the Estee Lauder, I want to say has more of a neutral undertone perhaps (my lighting is way too orange here). Also note the coverage difference, the Estee Lauder is definitely more opaque and covers much more, the TM settles into my skin more. I will do full reviews on both products soon. But I am thrilled at the colour selection on the Estee Lauder, it's like my discovery of the month!

The Stila eyeshadow in the first picture is a free gift that came with my order, it's in the shade "Ray". With every order, there is an option for a free gift, this gifts varies depending on stock, but you get a choice of several items. I just looked now and they've got GOSH lipsticks and eyeshadows. Please tell me your experiences with StrawberryNet.com below.

Have you tried StrawberryNet.com?

Review: Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Makeup

Estee Lauder's Double Wear is a foundation that possibly everyone has heard of at one time or another. I've heard it's very long wearing and provides excellent coverage. So I had to give it a try. I put it to the test for a couple of weeks and here we go with the review. Coverage is phenomenal on this, although it is quite drying on my dry skin and not a foundation that I would recommend wearing everyday. It's stubborn to take off too as it clings to your skin. I ran out of makeup wipes (first step in my makeup removal routine) and I was using face wash and could still feel this stuff on, I then opted for my eye makeup remover (and cotton pads) and wasted a ton trying to get this off, shows you how long-wearing it is! I think a cleansing oil would be beneficial to use to remove this, if you guys have any other suggestions please let me know. I hate having foundation residue on my face after I cleanse it.

Little Revlon Hauling and Trying out Estee Lauder Double Wear

I picked up some Revlon items today, Zellers had a 30% off sale that ended today. I didn't go crazy because frankly, I have too much makeup, enough to last me the rest of my life so I am trying to be good. Also, I am moving to Toronto next month and started organizing, packing, throwing stuff out. The later was the biggest, throwing shit out that I don't need/use/like/have a need for etc. It's ridiculous the amount of stuff I have. Makeup is pretty but.. happiness is wanting the stuff you already have!

Anyway, the items that I picked up:

1) Revlon Age Defying Moisturizing Concealer (Light): A concealer that is moisturizing sounds good to me. I've been hearing about this one a lot on youtube, so I decided to try it out.

2) Revlon Gray Suede: I passed on this nail polish when the Daydreamer collection first came out, but I liked swatches that I saw online.

3) Revlon Grow Luscious (Black): Being a mascara junkie, I had to pick this up, but couldn't stomach paying $8-10 for yet annnother mascara, so I am glad that I waited for a sale. I will report back about whether it made my lashes 'luscious'.

4) Revlon Super Lustruous Lipgloss in Pink Pop - This is a backup, I have this already and it's super pigmented and a lovely colour, so I got another, it was like $5.

And then lastly, I went to the Estee Lauder counter at The Bay (like Nordstrom for my American readers) and got colour-matched with the Double Wear foundation. The girl was really nice, she was helping someone else when I got there and I waited patiently until she was done, she kept telling me to sit down and she'll be done soon, and I was like it's cool, I can wait. My apartment was being shown today and I avoided being at home on purpose so I had all the time in the world.

I researched shades online first, having never used anything Estee Lauder before. They had a lot of shades online, but at the counter there were only like 3 possibilities for my skin colour. She tried a few on me and then decided "1W2 Linen" was the best match. She didn't have enough to give me a 10 day sample in the bottle, so she gave me the closest shade "1N1 Ecru" but said that Linen would be better at canceling out redness. I wanted to test it out before I buy it, see how my skin responds and how it wears. It's $42 and that's a lot so I want to be sure I like it first. Look how cute the little sample bottle is aww. I will report back in a week or so and tell you guys how I liked or disliked it.

If you've tried Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation please comment below on if you liked it and your colour match.

Gift with Purchase Bonanza: Clinique, Lancome, Estee Lauder and Anna Sui

Who doesn't love a gift with purchase? And there are lots of them going on now at certain Canadian retailers. Hello to all my Canadian readers! ;)

Alright here is the rundown of where they all are and what you get:
Holt Renfrew/Clinique - Spend $35 or more on Clinique products at Holt Renfrew, and get this lovely gift with purchase, stuffed with many goodies ($100 value)! Now until June 6th.

The gift with purchase includes:
1. High Impact Mascara in Black
2. Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
3. Clinique Foldover Mirror
4. Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Moisturizing SPF 20
5. Milly for Clinique Cosmetic Bag
6. Long Last Lipstick in A Different Grape/Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 in Clearly Pink in a Clinique Key Chain
7. Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Powder With Brush
8. Rinse-off Eye Makeup Solvent
9. Different Lipstick in Raspberry Glaze

Sears/Lancome: Sears.ca has a Lancome GWP of $45 until June 11, 2010. Choose your bag and every item in the gift.

The products include:
- Color Design Sensational Effects Eye Shadow quad in (Bikini Golden, Latté, Vue, Statuesque) or (Trendy, Garment, Luring, Positive)
- Color Design Sensational Effects Lip Color in Fuschia Clutch or Sugared Maple
- Absolue Premium ßx Absolute Replenishing Cream, High Résolution Refill-3x Triple Action Anti-Wrinkle Cream SPF15 or Rénergie Anti-Wrinkle and Firming Treatment
- Crème Mousse Confort Comforting Creamy Foaming Cleanser or Nutrix Royal Body Cream Intense Lipid Repair Cream
- Définicils High Definition Mascara in Black or Bi-Facil Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover.

The Bay/Estee Lauder: The free gift with purchase is on any Estée Lauder skincare or foundation purchase of $38.50 or more. Only at the Bay, now until Sunday, June 13, 2010.

The free gift has 7 peices, including a chic striped summer beach tote and Advanced Night Repair Serum in a deluxe size.

Sears.ca/Anna Sui: Sears.ca has an Anna Sui gift with purchase on, this is one brand that I have not seen a gift with purchase from before, so that is cool. With any $60+ Anna Sui purchase at Sears.ca, this exclusive free gift can be all yours.This is online only, until June 4th.

The free gift includes:
• Lip Rouge Glossy – 3.4 g
• Lip Sui Brilliant – 6 g
• Hydrating Gel Cream – 3 g
• Anna Sui Purple Pouch + Small Towel

You getting anything? I like the look of the Clinique GWP at Holts, they always have nice ones, but I don't have any Holts around me, and can't order online.