thatsmytake's Full Review: Estee Lauder Equalizer Smart Makeup for Combinatio...
I've never shopped Estee Lauder much. This is simply because I've never found exceptional products at Lauder. I once bought a wet-dry eyeshadow from Lauder that was completely awful. And over the years, I've come to think of Lauder as an "old lady's" line. I turned my nose up at all the ghastly Palm Beach-y orange lipsticks and the overly-perfumed skin care and makeup in decidedly unhip purple plastic packaging. And I couldn't indentify with their big-haired sales ladies in those matronly purple smocks. It seemed they all sported the same overly tanned and overly dewy faces with the same overly visible lip liner. Cringe.
But I was recently driven to Estee Lauder in sheer desperation! You see, I was in search of the "perfect foundation," and I'd been to a dozen other lines with no luck.
I work as a beauty advisor (aka counter sales person) for a very well known, high end cosmetic line. I cannot use my own line's foundation (don't tell!), because I'm very fair skinned, and my line does not make an option for truly fair women. Unbelievably, this is also the case with most other lines.
Sure, almost every line has it's token "ivory something-or-other," shade, which sounds promising, but usually ends up being too dark for me, or having a too-warm (obvious yellow or orange) cast. And then there's the preponderance of "porcelain something or other" foundations, which are often light enough for me, but have a too-cool (pink or blue)undertone.
Cosmetic companies seem cruelly fond of creating these un-subtle and un-natural shades for fair skinned women. I'm not sure why. Maybe they think being fair skinned predisposes us to being color blind.
Alas, I am happy (and kind of amazed) to say that I not only found my ideal color match, but also my ideal foundation in terms of texture and coverage. All in one product!... EQUALIZER!!
I just couldn't resist popping back in to share this surprising find with those of you who are looking for a great foundation.
PRICE: $32.50. Expensive, yes, worth it. I once paid $56 for a bottle of Prescriptives so-called "custom blended" foundation. Let me tell you, they did not even come close to my skin tone, and the texture of the stuff was useless. So, expensive does not always mean "better," but in the case of "Equalizer," it pays to pay.
PACKAGING: The box is indigo and gold, quite nice. Very nice square glass bottle with gold screw top lid. The glass bottle is a little misleading, though, in that it is bulkier than it needs to be for the amount of product it contains. You only get the standard 1 ounce of product, despite that the bottle makes it look as if you are getting more. Also, I would ideally want a squeeze tube or pump-top container, since those are the more sanitary ways to dispense any cosmetic product.
TEXTURE: This foundation is made for a combination skin, like mine. It is well suited to that skin type. It is oil free, and described as "non-acnegenic." It's designed to "intercept oil and release hydration exactly where needed." This is a common claim these days, in both skin care and makeup products. Many products, though, do not deliver when it comes to this rather magical claim. But this foundation does deliver! My oily areas seem to get oily less quickly, and my normal/dry areas feel comfortable. Extremely oily skins, however, may want a drier foundation, and extremely dry skins will probably crave a more creamy product.
Equalizer is a thin lotion consistency, and goes on smooth as satin! Look forward to effortless blending. It feels weightless and soft on the skin.
FRAGRANCE: NONE! FRAGRANCE FREE! I'm in heaven! I guess Estee Lauder has gotten with the program over the years, and has finally realized that perfume on the face is not a good thing.
COVERAGE: The package says "medium coverage" and I totally agree with their assessment. In other words this is not a super-sheer (do-nothing) foundation, nor is it a heavy coverage (industrial strength) foundation. It evened out my skin tone effectively, but also let my skin show through somewhat. Applied lightly, it could be considered a sheer foundation. I still need concealor for undereye circles and blemishes.
The coverage is somewhat adjustable, as it it can be applied to achieve medium coverage as well. Any attempt to get full or heavy coverage will probably not work for you; it's just not thick or tenacious enough to achieve that.
I have some visible pores here and there. On me, this makeup does not exaggerate pores. This was a nice surprise, since most foundations tends to skip right over my pores, or else pool into them weirdly.
FINISH: Elegant! The finish on the skin is somewhere between "matte" and "dewy." It's "natural," just like the box says. So your skin will look just like, well, skin... and that's the way I want my skin to look. If you look at a baby's facial skin, it is certainly not "matte" nor is it "dewy," it is just healthy, softly glowing skin. No foundation can give you that coveted glow-from-within, but this one comes impressively close.
WEAR: Excellent. I do not have a problem with the makeup's color changing during the day, or with it creeping into fine lines or disappearing. But you should know that this is not one of those "long wear" foundations that can go from dawn till dusk. The price you pay for a beautifully natural look is that it is temporary. There is stuff available out there that wears like iron, but it often looks like iron, too.
If you wish to increase the wear and coverage of this foundation, try wearing a loose powder on top. I think it would be a shame to wear a pressed powder on top, as pressed powders tend to render the skin matte, and that would defeat the beauty of this makeup's beautiful natural finish.
It was four or five hours before I wanted to blot with my oil absorbing facial tissues. That's an all-time record for me! With many foundations, I have felt the need to WASH my face after just a couple hours, never mind "blot!"
SPF: This is an SPF 10 foundation. I like that. One less thing to worry about. The sunscreen agent is titanium dioxide, which is common and reliable one that is ideal for sensitive skins. Some products with this sunscreen agent can be too greasy or thick. This one is not, so I don't expect a problem with it clogging my pores over time.
COLOR: There are lots to choose from, both light and dark, and in between. Many of them are subtle and gorgeous renditions of normal skin tones, no less! I wear the lightest shade, which is "PEARL."
ODE to PEARL:
"Pearl" is very very fair, which makes it a rare pearl indeed. It is a nice clear, clean pale ivory. It's slightly warm (yellow)undertone will look much more natural on most fair skins than a cool (pink) undertone.
With "PEARL," Lauder has done a real public service to the many, many fair skinned women out there who are walking around with foundation that is too dark or too "off" and does not match their necks!
Thank you, Estee, for Equalizer, and for "Pearl." I take back every bad thing I ever said about you! Well, except for what I said about the purple smocks.
Update: After wearing Pearl for a few months, I decided it looked just a tad too light, even for me. Especially because I don't wear blush!... So now I am mixing "Pearl" in equal parts with the Equalizer shade "Beach." Perfection!
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.