Phew~! I can barely catch a breather these days – there’s the usual wave of Spring Summer products to feature, as well as the sudden influx of western brand cushion foundations. I’m not complaining though – I love, love trying out makeup items, especially cushion foundations. Heh. In case you haven’t been able to catch up with the western wave of cushions, I’ve already reviewed YSL’s Le Cushion, Biotherm’s Evermoist CC, Lancome’s Blanc Expert Cushion Compact High Coverage, and Dior’s Perfect Moist Cushion. Behold the 5th one (and there’s more to come!).
Estee Lauder Double Wear Cushion BB
Estee Lauder Double Wear Cushion BBS$68 (case + refill in the case), S$52 for refill alone
I say…
The Packaging: The usual compact casing that’s slightly smaller (7cm across versus the more common 7.5cm). It may be smaller but the puff is still the same size as most of the other It’s got a flat surface that makes it great for stacking, as well as the sponge-holder/airlock tray. The cushion holding the foundation is soft but appears to be more porous than the other Korean brands.
- Note: This refill is not compatible with Lancome. will update about the other brands in a bit when I get home!
The Scent: Surprisingly unscented, or a really, really faint scent that I can barely sniff out. It’s one of the rare cushions that isn’t heavily scented. Not that it’s bad though – there’s just an almost-negligible powdery scent.
The Texture/Finish: Great medium-high level of coverage with a mostly matte/powdery finish and some dewiness (say 70:30 once it settles down). I love that it brightens the skin, evens out the skintone and makes it appear smoother. Too bad it doesn’t cover up the dark eye circles, but as I’ve said countless times before, my dark eye circles are in a league of their own. It stays relatively long enough, around 4-6 hours before it started doing the Copperfield – which isn’t surprising cos it utilises the brand’s best-selling and long-staying Double Wear range of foundation.
The One Downside: Here we go with the O again – oxidisation. Thankfully, this is a less severe case of the Os (versus Dior’s Perfect Moist Cushion). After about 5-6 hours, the chin area starts showing signs of oxidisation and looking patchy. Note that for Dior, I had patches all over the face wherever I had sebum glands, but for this Estee Lauder one, I only saw it on the chin. Dabbing with a tissue doesn’t really work in this case cos it’s not a moistfull cushion – you’ll need to gently swipe it away. The good thing is that not a lot of product is lifted up by the tissue. However, since it’s not the hydrating sort of cushion, reapplying this in a dry environment (ie winter, airconditioned interior) or on dry skin will result in a somewhat patchy touch-up. Even spritzing the skin with some mist and touching up doesn’t really do much. Note that the patchiness is the sort that’s only visible when you’re staring closely at your face in the compact’s mirror – it’s not that bad sort of patchiness that will be picked up by your non-beauty junkie friends.
- Tip: Touch up with a more hydrating cushion (Lancome, Biotherm, The Face Shop) to ensure that you continue looking flawless throughout the day.
The Verdict: That aside, I actually do like this cushion foundation – it gives relatively good coverage, has a mostly-matte finish which is a rarity in the cushion world, is unscented and has a medium wear time. I can’t really say decisively if it’s better for those with combi-dry (but then it gets patchy), or those with combi-oily (then you’ll get splotchy bits). However, if I really had to pick (gun to the head), it’s probably suitable for combi skintypes that are slightlyyyyy more dry than oily (maybe dry 60%: 40% oily) since the oxidised splotches outweigh the dry patchniness more. Since the oxidisation takes place on selective areas, you can take note of where these patches appear, apply an oil-control primer there prior to the cushion, and you should be good to go. It’s also not as pricey as YSL’s $88 and Lancome’s S$75, so it’s worth a try.
Available in April 2016
