I seem to collect foundations at the moment and I had heard really good things about this budget foundation by Essence with people even comparing it to Estee Lauder Double Wear which is my all-time favourite foundation! But if I can find a cheap and decent dupe for it I will try it, so I popped to Wilko and picked one up to see if it lived up to the hype...
I was struggling with shades as they appear to only do three so after doing a few swatches I decided on Nude Beige. I really think cosmetics companies need to draw inspiration from L'Oréal and Estee Lauder and widen their range of shades available to appeal to a wider market. When I swatched this shade in store it appeared to be slightly on the orange side but when I applied, it was actually just the right shade for me.
It recommends that you apply this using a sponge applicator, however I always use my fingers to apply foundation as I find that beauty blenders, brushes and sponges soak up way too much product. Application was easy and it blended like a dream! It says this is a concealor and foundation in one but I didn't really notice the concealor, I still felt the need to apply my Collection concealor afterwards. It leaves a satin and slightly dewy finish which is by no means on the shiny side, I happen to think that satin finishes look the best as it gives your skin a healthy glow. This is how it looked just after application, now I have to admit that I did use the Bare Minerals Perfecting Veil powder to set it but only because I have super oily skin, especially during the summer months.
I loved that the look and feel of this foundation! It felt very light weight and yet it's full coverage, it also worked as a great base for my contour, blush and highlight. I concentrated some of it on the blemishes on my cheeks and even on my mole to test coverage out and it covered both. But the real test would be how well it performed throughout the day, I put it through its paces as I spent a hot day out shopping and then unfortunately I was rather ill so this is how it looked after round eight hours of wear and no touch-ups, bearing in mind I had been ill at this point so please forgive my look in this image...
As you can see it was slightly oily on my t-zone and nose but this didn't really bother me. I did find however that after a few more hours after this was taken that it began to transfer easily, I touch my face a lot and whenever I was, because it had become oily I found it was coming off very easily which then made it very patchy around my nose and chin. I tried it again the next day and I found that it lasted better for some reason, so I'm undecided on its staying power since I've had mixed experiences. I find that regardless, it will go oily around my nose but that could just be powdered over.
All in all I absolutely love this foundation for the price of £3.80! Not many people have heard of the Essence brand but I love it! You can only buy it from Wilko so I suggest you run out and grab one! Is it a decent dupe for Estee Lauder Double Wear though? I would have to say yes it is, obviously it doesn't last as long or perform as well under difficult conditions as the double wear but for the price you can't grumble.
Jen
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