Tag Archives: foundation

Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation

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“I’m not the greatest; I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ’em out, I pick the round.”- Muhammed Ali

Double Wear FoundationEstee Lauder Gift BagES gift bag

ES lipstick swatch day

In natural light from L-R Pure color envy lipsticks in “intense nude” and “insolent plum”, lip pencil in “rose”

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With flash

You know when something is hyped up SO much that it deters you from even wanting to try the product? That’s how I felt about Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation. I’m a foundation hoarder and there just didn’t seem to be any good reason to splash out on yet another foundation. That all changed when I saw a bottle on clearance for a mere $11 at my local CCO (Cosmetics Company Outlet). $11?! That was a no-brainer and I snapped it up unsure of whether it was even the right color for me. This was at the tail-end of last Summer and I’ve barely reached for my other foundations since.

This foundation stays put. It’s by far the most long-wearing foundation I own and when I took it on my trip to blisteringly hot and humid Ghana and drizzly England in October, it performed fantastically in both climates. I’ve never had a foundation even come close to outlasting the African sun and this did a truly admirable job.

I would describe it as a medium- full coverage foundation and a little bit goes a long way. It is pretty easy to control how much coverage you want so that’s always a plus. It sets pretty quickly so I advise that you don’t dally when it comes to blending it out. It offers a very matte finish so if you suffer from chronically dry skin, I would not necessarily recommend this foundation. It comes in a decent shade range and although I think my shade (7W1 Deep Spice) is a touch red for me, it definitely does the job.

There are a couple of cons though, the main one being that this foundation doesn’t come with a pump. It’s a never-ending source of annoyance to pour out the foundation each time because a lot of foundation gets wasted and it’s just messier in general. Additionally, the bottle is made out of glass so this may cause some concern for the butterfingers amongst you.

I  decided to purchase this new bottle from Macy’s as they were doing a fantastic gift with purchase that I just couldn’t pass up. A $35 purchase of any Estée Lauder item came with a cute bag filled with a ton of (expensive) goodies. There was a choice between an eyeshadow palette and mascara, or two full-sized lipsticks and a lip liner and I chose the lipstick option. The bag also came with deluxe-sized samples of a serum, eye cream, and moisturizer. The lipsticks are lovely and creamy and wore well on me for about 5 hours and did I mention they’re full-sized? This offer is currently still available so if you’ve had your eye on this foundation, this is a fantastic chance to get some great extras with it. The foundation retails for $39.50 and that is slightly lower than most of the higher-end foundations out there so I have no quibbles with the price. I wholeheartedly recommend this foundation so grab a sample and try it out for yourself if possible.

And now here’s a picture of me wearing Double Wear with the rest of my makeup on in natural light. Unfortunately, I don’t remember absolutely everything else on my face because I’ve developed a sieve-like memory and this was taken about a month ago. However, I have listed the things I do remember:

Estee Lauder doublewear on dark skin 7W1 Deep Spice

Eyes:

Viseart theory palette 02 in “minx”

Kat Von D tattoo liner in “trooper”

Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil in “05”

Lips:

Stila Stay All Day liquid lipstick in “chianti”

Face:

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place makeup in “7W1 Deep Spice”

Kat Von D Lock-It concealer crème in “Deep 31”

Nana Adomah

Cover FX Custom Cover Drops: A Review

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“One drop of wine is enough to redden a whole glass of water.” – Victor Hugo

Cover FX custom cover drops n100 n110

Cover FX custom cover drops

cover fx custom cover drops on dark skin n110

Cover FX custom Cover Drops on dark skin N100 N110

Wearing the CCDs in N110 mixed with Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue and concealer. No powder or blush.

Once in a blue moon you come across a makeup product that is life-changing in the true meaning of the word; a product that is so ingenious you wonder why nobody thought of that before. Enter Cover FX’s Custom Cover Drops. I’ve waxed poetic about my love for this brand before but this has to be far and away my favourite thing the brand has brought out.

Custom Cover Drops (CCDs) are drops of pure pigment that allow you to fully customize any of your liquid-based beauty products. They can be mixed with facial oils, primers, moisturisers, serums, other foundations, and the list goes on and on. If it’s liquid, mix away!

Cover FX suggests adding 1 drop for sheer coverage, 2 drops for medium coverage, 3 drops for full coverage, and 4 drops for total coverage. I don’t think I’ve ever tested a product as thoroughly as I have this one. I’m typically N100 in Cover FX products but I purchased N110 in the drops as I primarily got it to mix with all my foundations that are far too light for me. I shudder to think how they would still be languishing in my foundation graveyard if these drops hadn’t come into my life. For example, I’ve tried the drops with argan oil (give a gorgeous dewy glow), with Caudalie’s mattifying moisturizer, with Bare Minerals’ Complexion Rescue (finally gives me the coverage I crave) and with my fave- Murad’s Invisiblur. There hasn’t been a single product the CCDs haven’t meshed well with. I’ve finally been able to wear my YSL fusion ink foundation because of the CCDs and I feel like I have so much more versatility in my face makeup. No longer will  I have to have a “Summer shade” and a “Winter shade” for my foundations and I’m planning on getting the drops in N90 for my foundations that are too dark for me. The CCDs gives my skin a gorgeous and flawless but natural finish and I couldn’t be more pleased with them.

Like all other Cover FX products, the CCDs are fragrance, paraben, gluten, and mineral oil free so don’t worry about them negatively affecting your skin. I’ve had the drops since the day they came out and I would happily pay more than their $44 price tag.

My one and only complaint about them is that the opening of the bottle needs to be much smaller as leaks can occur if you don’t make sure it’s tightly sealed before shaking the bottle. My bottle looks a mess right now because the leaks have accumulated around the opening. I would also love it if Cover FX would come out with a resealable mixing palette so I don’t have to waste the product left over when I mix up my concoctions.

However, that’s a minor quibble and I would run, not walk, to snatch this up. Cover FX have always been great at giving us a wide range of colours for all undertones so I’m sure there’ll be a colour to suit your needs.

The Cover Fx Custom Cover Drops are available at Cover FX and at Sephora for $44.

Are you intrigued by this product? Let me know in the comments below!

Nana Adomah