Estee Lauder Double Wear is the one I’d reach for currently — great shade range and excellent coverage/wear.
— Christine
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I haven’t found one yet that doesn’t look cakey and awful on my texturally-challenged, aging skin 🙁
Hi! Do you exfoliate your skin? I’ve seen difference after using AHA (normal to dry skin, oily skin need BHA {salicylic acid}).
So far it’s Tom Ford Traceless Perfecting or MAC Studio Tech. I’ve heard great things about Giorgio Armani Power Fabric and want to try it after I run out of Studio Tech!
My current fave is Marc Jacobs Re(marc)able. I am loving it. EL Double Wear is right in the same ballpark in terms of coverage and longevity, but the MJ match is better on me and my current winter coloring. (For reference, I’m mid-50s, so no spring chicken here using a full coverage product. 🙂 )
This is the thing I’ve discovered about the MJ…. Some seem to struggle with it. I think it’s in the application. I have cheap foundation brushes, expensive Japanese ones. None of them works well with this product (at least not the selection of brushes I have, and I went through my whole stash). Beauty Blender is no good either. But if I use the blenders God gave me — my fingers — perfect. Could not get a better finish if I photoshopped it, I swear.
Estee Lauder Double Wear, but only for filming and special events. Usually I don’t wear full coverage.
I don’t know if one would consider it full foundation but it is the one I love right now Bare Minerals original Foundation I sometimes use YSL Touche Eclat foundation. I was using Bobbi Brown Serum foundation once in a while but I have not used it in a long time. My favorite is Bare Minerals Original I just love the finish & it is very natural. I also use once in a awhile mostly not Clinique Beyond Perfecting Concealer & foundation which would be considered full coverage. With this foundation if you don’t get the correct shade can run very orange.
estee lauder double wear. but i found it so quick, that interesting to see others in the market. will be trying hourglass powder to liquid foundation.
Not really a full coverage foundation, but a tip I read about recently and love: MAC Pro concealer. Add it to your foundation, CC cream, TM, to bump up the coverage. I use it with my Shiseido tinted sunblock to bring it up to full cover without having to wear separate sunblock and foundation. NC20 is indispensable for me for adjusting shades and mixing bases. I apply with on well moisturized skin with damp BB.
That’s genius! The cover fx custom drops did not work for me (everything separated after a couple hours and was super obvious) but this is an alternative I have to try. Was the sunblock you used the shiseido urban environment one?
Hey Maggie: I had same experience with Cover FX drops.. the texture always ended up looking too grainy and chalky and then the disgusting separation after 3 or 4 hours; esp. around nose and chin..yuck! The MAC works like a charm for me and does not separate which is a stroke of luck because I’m typically not a fan of their foundations. I also lucked out because the NC20 pro concealer nails part of my complex undertones. I start Shiseido Wetforce 50+ BB in shade Medium which is actually very light; somewhere between NC15 and NC20 and Mix in the MAC Pro concealer in NC20 and then also add a touch of IT cosmetics CC+ in Light (NW 25ish, in depth but undertone wise much more beige, less pink/peach). I need the hit of neutral beige in my formula for my olive skin. Apply the mix with wet beauty blender and done. I do not really have to powder, but I have dryer skin and the Wetforce sunscreen tends to run on the dry side as well.
(NB: If your skin is similar to mine, the shades are not consistent across the Shiseido sun product line and Urban Environment shade 2 medium is way off for my skintones; too dark and pink and definitely more emollient than Wetforce).
Long descrip.. just wasn’t sure if you wanted shade info as well. I’m just shocked and happy to have a big win with a MAC face product.
Thanks for the details! I think we’re skin tone sisters actually bc that color description sounds spot on for me so I will have to try this. Thanks again!
Hands down, Marc Jacobs! The Remarcable is insane!
Hi Erin!
RIght? Nuts coverage, yet it doesn’t look fake. So light too. Double Wear, even though I like it a lot, is heavier feeling. I am impressed. I have to use my fingers to apply– haven’t found anything better What do you use?
I just ordered this – very excited!
Lancome Teint Idole 24H Long-Wearing Foundation. Great shade range, covers my cystic acne, and feels so lightweight.
Yep!!! It’s great stuff, Rachel! ^
Now that I’ve gotten ahold of Lancôme Teint Idole Foundation, I would say so far so good! It lasts all day without doing anything strange. It doesn’t give me the shrink -wrap effect of MAC Studio Fix or Revlon Colorstay, nor does it pool up into my pores, yet wears off my t-zone like Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation. An added plus is that this shade match is very good, too: N 360. I might have found my HG foundation!
MAC Studio Fix Fluid, L’oreal Total Cover, And that super full coverage one from Becca!!!
I’m still on the hunt! Estee Lauder Double Wear is sadly too dark. Any suggestions for very fair, neutral skin would be great!
Pro companies like Kryolan, RCMA, Graftobian but! in-person shade matching is key. Hope this helps.
For full coverage I would say Marc Jacobs Remarkable. It has the best shade match for me but it is hard to get it to look right on my skin as I am pretty dry. I mix a facial oil with the foundation and apply with an Artis Oval brush and that gives me the best coverage without being so dry that it sucks the life out of my skin. I also pre-application spray with a hydrating mist and then again when application is complete.
Having said that, I am really enjoying the Cle de Peau foundation that I had a sample of and then just recently purchased. It doesn’t give me full coverage but I love the finish and purchased the full size while in Seattle two days ago. When I pair it with the concealer I get pretty good coverage.
Clarins Super Restorative Foundation in linen – the shade is currently discontinued – why Clarins, why? It is the perfect shade for me and it lasts all day.
My favorites are MAC Studio Fix and Lancome Teint Idole. For those who like EL Double Wear and Bare Minerals powder foundation, have any of you experienced oxidation? ELDW turns quite orange quite quickly and I wondered if anyone else has that problem. I wore Bare Minerals for years and then all of a sudden it started doing it too.
I had no luck with ELDW foundation. It oxidized to a dark shade and was so matte it took away my skin’s natural glow, unlike Lancome, Bobbi Brown, Dior, Guerlain, Charlotte Tilbury. ELDW works for many, just not for a few of us.
Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear has been a longtime favorite for full coverage.
Kevin Aucoin’s Sensual Skin Enhancer- completely opaque but is an absolute pain to apply so it looks skin-like.
I’m going to have to tty Lancome’s TI & the Marc Jacobs one.
Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover, Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer (which needs a lot of fussing to work, but results yeah) and Marc Jacobs Remarcable foundation are all great coverage for me.
However, prep needs to be absolutely on point, have to build gradually and BLEND (blend, blendblend!) for a decent finish and I need to add a lot of definition back to my face (blush and brows at a minimum, highlighter and eyeliner/mascara preferred too) otherwise I look a bit flat!
I will never find the perfect full-coverage foundation but, for me, MAC Full Coverage is the best I’ve tried. It is like Photoshop for the skin. You can control the level of coverage so that it doesn’t look too thick or cakey. Plus, my current compact has lasted me nearly two years even with daily use. The only downsides are the lack of SPF coverage and that I need blotting papers for oily areas. It also serves as a concealer.
Armani Luminous Silk, but that’s billed as medium coverage, although it gives all the coverage I could need. For fuller coverage, Maybelline Better Skin. Since the vast majority of my higher end purchases are not foundation, I really haven’t tried too many that aren’t drugstore.
I love trying new foundations and with acne and acne scars and redness, it’s only full coverage for my skin. I’m also very fair and find most fair or light drugstore foundations to be too dark on me. So, I’m on the hunt for two in ones: Light in shade and full in coverage.
Kat Von D (L42. A bit TOO light)
Marc Jacobs Re(Marc)able (10) — my favorite!!!!! I’ve never felt a foundation like this before… so pigmented and spreadable, but I use it sparingly because it’s so expensive and I want it to last forever. ?
Estée Lauder Double Wear (1c1 cool bone and I have to lighten This because it’s too dark)
Lancôme Teint whatever 24H. (090)
Any other suggestions? I’m up for it!
MUFE HD Foundation
I love both EL Double Wear and EL Maximum Cover Camouflage foundations. I am also a fan of MAC’s Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof foundation. Today I’m trying out a sample of KVD’s Lock It Tattoo foundation, which was a bit difficult to put on, but 7 hours later it’s holding up quite well. Still, I’ll go with Double Wear as my number one at the moment.