I usually do an introduction to a beauty product I’m about to review before telling you what I think about it but today, I feel like I should just jump right in because straight up, this foundation was love at first swatch and application. I’ve never actually tried any foundations by Estée Lauder, not even their famous high-coverage Double Wear but I did have high expectations for this one given that the Double Wear foundation has received such rave reviews. Lo and behold, the Perfectionist foundation delivered and then some.
Description:
For glowing, perfected, more youthful skin, Estée Lauder introduces NEW Perfectionist Youth-Infusing Makeup SPF 25, offering the next generation in age-defying skin-perfection. A first from the “serum experts,” this breakthrough foundation is infused with Estée Lauder’s youth-enhancing Perfectionist [CP+R] Serum technology to deliver real skincare benefits and transforms skin’s look and feel. This super-performing silky makeup glides on seamlessly leaving complexions looking luminously radiant, glowing and noticeably younger – the essence of beautiful skin.
This foundation has a liquid-to-powder texture, which is a pretty popular choice for foundations these days. It’s quite similar to Chanel’s Perfection Lumiere Velvet foundation but not as runny. The shade I’m currently using is in Fresco which has cool undertones. Fresco was good to use in winter but I reckon I won’t be able to use it in summer when my skin warms up because the shade will be a tad too light. Coverage is not heavy; at most you’ll get about a medium.
The foundation is quick to dry and leaves a matte finish on the skin. It’s not overly matte, not chalky and doesn’t exacerbate my fine lines. Having said that, I don’t recommend setting the foundation with a matte compact powder. If you need to set the foundation, use a very light sweep of finely-milled translucent powder or any of the Guerlain Meteorites. Compact powder will be too heavy for the foundation and will make it look cakey on the skin.
This is a beautiful foundation and even though it gives the skin a matte finish, the “matte-ness” settle down after an hour or two and as the hours go by, you’ll be left with gorgeous, natural, your-skin-but-heaps-better skin. The staying power is pretty good too. I didn’t experience any fading even when I’ve hit the 10th hour mark. I actually prefer this foundation to the Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet. Even though I do like the Chanel foundation, I find it quite overrated, to be honest.
I only realised this much later but this foundation is also infused with the Perfectionist [CP+R] serum (the one that comes in a purple bottle), which is the lifting and firming serum from the brand. It could just be a placebo effect on my part but before even before I realised that the foundation actually contains those serum ingredients, I thought it felt different on my skin, as though it was doing more than just being makeup. Again, like I said, it could just be a placebo effect but hey, I’m enjoying the “illusion” it gives. All you combo-skin folks will love this one.
Estee Lauder’s Perfectionist Youth-Infusing Makeup SPF 25 retails at AU$68.00, comes in 16 shades and is available at Estée Lauder counters nationwide and online. Personally, I’d go for this than the Chanel foundation. It’s cheaper too!
What I like about it: Lightweight, non-greasy, very good for my combination skin, makes my skin look pretty damn good.
What I do not like about it: Nothing.
Have you tried this or any foundations by Estée Lauder? What about the famous Double Wear? Did you like it/them?
Disclaimer: This product was provided for editorial consideration.
Oh, I have combination skin, this sounds a good match for me:) I do have Dior star foundation and Shu Uma foundation that I want to try out too. I may try a sample individually and decide on which one to get. I will keep you posted x
Grace recently posted..August 2014 Favourites
Yeah, try getting a sample from them (e.g. squirt a bit of the foundie into a jar, etc). I find that they’re usually all right with samples. Get a colour match, say you need to go back and try out first, blah blah. I’m sure they’ll be happy to help. 🙂
dept store base makeup are coming up with these serum-infused foundation. I don’t usually buy the claim but somewhat the texture and finish seems to be a lot better than their regular line. I’m currently testing Lancome Teint Vissionaire that comes with a concealer. It claims to have Visionnaire serun in it. Aside from the claim I do like the foundation. It has satin finish and last quite well throughout the day. Score a sample of it, you might like it 🙂
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll be sure to check it out!
I just purchased the Double Wear and I love it. I think for summertime I’m going to consider the Perfectionist or the Double Wear BB cream, both with high SPF which is perfect for our Aussie sun.
So glad this is similar to DW, definitely going on my lust list!
Marianne recently posted..First impressions #2
I’ve tried the Double Wear BB cream and to be honest, I think the Perfectionist foundation is better. It’s lighter for summer. 🙂
I’m loving this one as well as the brush that comes with it!
Dustyn recently posted..September & October Goals
Aww man, now I’m wondering if I should have bought the brush. Heard good things about it!
I’m glad you’re happy with it, but I think the fact you have been forced to wear a shade labelled “3C” says it all, in terms of the serious skintone issues this foundation has.
I didn’t like this stuff, at all…
I’m fair skinned, with pink cheeks (“English Rose”/”peaches and cream” type thing, I guess), but not super-light.
Not super pale, or like the colour of paper, or anything.
I’m not even super cool tone.
My wrist veins (such as you can see them) are turquoise; not true blue, or purple (like truly cool-skinned people have).
So, on the recommendation of the online EL beauty advisor, I bought this foundation in 2C1 Pure Beige, rather than in the lightest cool shade avalable.
It arrived and looked an OKish colour in the bottle – more yellowish than I had hoped for, but OKish.
So, I tried it on my hand (on top of moisturiser), but was super-orangey.
My face is slightly darker than my hand, so the depth of colour probably wouldn’t have been a problem – but the orangeness, definitely, would.
Not what I was expecting from a, supposedly, “cool” shade, at all.
If that was “cool”, I wonder what warm, or even neutral, are like?
The colour of an actual orange…..or Donald Trump?
“Cool” should be slightly pinkish beige – not bright pink, but certainly not at all yellow, or orange.
Not only that, but I hated the texture.
I don’t like liquid foundations much, at the best of times (I prefer a little well-matched hydrating concealer, just placed here and there, as required…), so I really wish I hadn’t been talked into buying this stuff, while attempting to buy concealer.
But this was worse than most of the ones I remembered, the last time I was stupid enough to experiment with them, as it set fast into a semi-powder finish (which I hate) and felt drying on my hand.
The hand with the layer of foundation felt, noticeably, dryer than the one with just moisturiser.
Again, not what I was expecting, especially from something that has the temerity to call itself “youth infusing”.
If I wanted a powder finish (which I don’t) I could just add a layer of powder to a dewier base and if I wanted a drying foundation, I’m pretty sure I could find a plethora of them…
So, what exactly is the point of this stuff?
Estee Lauder used to be the go-to brand for creamy foundations, in a good range of colours and tones, when I was a little kid and I used to experiment with the testers, while my mum shopped for make-up and perfume (not that she wore foundation).
But, apparently, not anymore.
I even had a few make-overs, at EL counters, starting when was about 9 or 10 (yes, I wandered around after them, in full make-up, at 9 or 10 years old, lol!) and the foundations were always super-creamy and comfortable to wear.
Loads of brands have always done that horrible, watery, hard-to-blend, sets-too-fast, drying, unnatural powder-finish foundation; so, why try to compete with them, Estee Lauder?
Why not stick to what you do best and what your customers, no doubt, love you (or used to love you) for?
This stuff is probably fine (even in the “cool” shades) if you have very warm (yellow/orange) toned, oily skin, can work really fast and like that all-over powdery look.
However, I just wanted something very natural-looking, dewy and super-hydrating, to use here and there (not all over my face), which matched my skintone perfectly and this, most certainly, was not it.