To borrow from William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” It relates to the social standing of the play’s character, but the same can be said for those truly great beauty products – the ones we instantly adore because they make a discernible difference to our day. Estée Lauder’s much-loved Double Wear foundation is just that: a product that quickly became a hard-working staple following its launch in 1997.
The ’90s are back
Double Wear offered our complexions a previously unseen trifecta of benefits: a flawless matte coverage, hard-working oil control and all-day wear. And boy did we fall for it. Makeup artists swooned over its filtered, skin-like finish, while women loved its ability to even tone, mop up shine and hide imperfections with minimal touch-ups.
“When Double Wear launched in 1997, it was the most long-wearing makeup on the market,” says Marianne Russo-Carbone, executive director of product development at Estée Lauder in New York. “Our founder, Mrs Estée Lauder, was a visionary and a beauty pioneer. She wanted to ‘double’ the wear of the leading long-wear makeup at the time. The rest is history.”
It was a bona fide winner. Double Wear shot to the number one foundation ranking in 16 markets worldwide. Today it remains a global leader, selling more than twice the number of units compared with the next leading foundation. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that, for nearly three decades, Estée Lauder’s formula has been the benchmark for what a foundation formula should be.
“Double Wear has maintained such a loyal following over the [years] because it not only delivers on its promise of flawless long wear, but the quality of the wear is unsurpassed,” says Russo-Carbone.
“No touch-ups are needed with a formula that is colour-true, transfer-proof, waterproof and sweat-and-humidity resistant.”
A new era for Double Wear
This year marks nearly 30 years since the foundation burst into our collective consciousness with a campaign fronted by Elizabeth Hurley. And with that milestone comes a fresh iteration fronted by Estée Lauder’s high-calibre stable of global brand ambassadors, including Carolyn Murphy, Imaan Hammam, Paulina Porizkova and newcomer Daisy Edgar-Jones.
“No touch-ups are needed with a formula that is colour-true, transfer-proof, waterproof and sweat-and-humidity resistant”
Marianne Russo-Carbone, executive director of product development at Estée Lauder
The foundation now comes in 67 shades for seamless skin matching, and has clever new capabilities. More buildable and breathable, with all-day mattifying and skin-balancing abilities, the new formulation gives a matte finish that still lets skin shine through thanks to a “polymer mesh matrix”.
The complexion benefits
This new technology ensures less transfer, less fading and less caking or settling into fine lines, while keeping your shade true. “The polymer mesh matrix creates an ultra-fine, breathable network that locks makeup in place without feeling heavy,” explains Gemma Rogers, ANZ senior education manager at Estée Lauder. “It’s like an invisible safety net. It flexes with facial expressions [while also] letting skin breathe.”
New-gen micro-pigments, meanwhile, help give a more dimensional matte finish that keeps skin shine-free and uniform but not mask-like. “The new pigments now have a clear coating, so colour appears more vibrant and colour true,” says Russo-Carbone. “Each drop in the new Double Wear encapsulates 20 trillion colour treated micro-pigments that are fully oxidised and stabilised to deliver uniform, skin-true coverage that does not shift or change throughout the day.”
“A little goes a very long way, so the thin layer application technique is best”
Gemma Rogers, ANZ senior education manager at Estée Lauder
Changing a longtime cult favourite can be a challenge and Estée Lauder didn’t take altering the original formulation lightly. The reformulation took seven years, with more than 100 scientists working on the project. The R&D teams studied 7500 skin tones and went through 167 formulations, 15,000 skin data points and testing on more than 4800 consumers before the new Double Wear was launched. In other words, the powerhouse beauty brand believes they’re onto another winner.
The oil control gets better
“What’s exciting is the fact it was inspired by consumer feedback,” says Rogers. “This new-generation Double Wear has been developed to be more buildable, more long wearing – with 36-hour wear – [have] more ‘skin-like’ shades, and more skin-caring benefits.”
For those who loved the OG Double Wear for its oil-balancing abilities, the revamped formula has improved here, too. A newly added “double balancing complex” with AlgaNiacin is a clever bit of tech that, with repeated use, helps to control oil, support skin moisture for a solid 36 hours, and cumulatively reduce the skin’s oil production in four weeks.
And while the original formula often required fast work when applying, the new formula’s fluidity and weightless buildability makes application a breeze, regardless of your skills. “A little goes a very long way, so the thin layer application technique is best,” advises Rogers.
“Start with one drop, using the back of your hand as a palette and then use your fingers, brush or sponge to press and blend using patting motions rather than dragging. This gives a seamless, second-skin finish.”
Whether you are a loyal user of Double Wear or new to its skin-enhancing abilities, this fresh iteration is packed with everything you could want from a modern foundation formula while staying true to the original’s greatness.
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