Estee Lauder Double Wear review on oily skin: four months in, and what happens by lunchtime

I wear Estee Lauder Double Wear almost every day, and on my oily skin it starts to break up around my nose about four hours after I put it on. I would still buy it again, and this post is why.

I have been wearing it since June 2026, so about four months now. My skin is oily to combination, fair, and sensitive, which matters for this one, because a foundation sits on my face all day, every day.

I am part of the No7 Beauty Community, No7's advocate programme, and this post mentions No7 products I use alongside Double Wear. I get product and vouchers from No7, and I earn nothing from my links at the moment: commission only starts at tier 3 and I am on tier 2. I bought the Double Wear myself, and No7 have no say in what I write.

What it is

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup is a liquid foundation in a 30ml frosted glass bottle. It is one of the best known foundations around, and it is sold as long-wearing and full coverage.

I wear it in 1W0 Warm Porcelain, which is one of the lightest shades in the range. I am fair.

The RRP is £39.50. I paid about £17 for mine at an outlet shop at the outlet village in Braintree.

Has it been discontinued?

Someone commented on one of my TikToks saying Double Wear had been discontinued, so I went and checked. It has not. Estee Lauder have reformulated it, so if you buy it new now, you get the newer version.

I bought mine at an outlet, and I do not know for certain whether it is the old formula or the new one. I have not tried the other version either way, so I cannot tell you how they compare. Everything below is about the bottle I have.

How I wear it

Almost every day, apart from the odd day off or a travelling day.

I put a thin layer on with a makeup puff from Momo's Workshop. I never use much, partly because a little of this foundation goes a long way.

Here is the whole order, because the products around a foundation change how it behaves:

1. Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun Aqua SPF50+
2. A grippy primer from Maybelline
3. Estee Lauder Double Wear in 1W0
4. r.e.m. beauty bronzer in Solar Storm
5. No7 Lift & Luminate Serum Concealer
6. No7 Pro Artist Powder Blush
7. No7 Set The Scene Loose Setting Powder
8. My eyeliner
9. No7 Pro Artist setting spray

What I like about it

The texture. It is thin and it feels breathable, which is not what I expected from a foundation with this reputation. It does not feel heavy or thick, and I like the texture on my skin.

The coverage is good without me having to build it up. A thin layer evens out my skin tone, and I have slightly uneven skin, so that is most of what I want a foundation to do.

And it has never made my skin react. When something does not agree with my skin, it goes a little red and blotchy, and sometimes I break out. That happens most when I put lots of products on quickly one after another. Four months of Double Wear almost every day and I have not had that from it once.

What I did not like

It does not last all day on my T-zone. If I put it on at half eight in the morning, by about half twelve or one o'clock I start to see a bit of build-up around my nose and across my T-zone. It does not slide off my face, but it is not the "lasts all day" foundation I had heard about.

It goes dry and patchy just under my nose. That is the driest part of my face, even though the rest of my T-zone is oily. When I set Double Wear with my No7 loose setting powder, which I find can be quite drying, that one spot goes patchy. On their own, I like both products. Together, under my nose, they do not agree.

I have not found a fix yet. I use the setting powder and then a setting spray, and I have noticed the spray seems to melt everything together: the foundation, the bronzer and the powder. I do not know whether that helps or hurts the foundation. I am still looking for the combination that keeps it in place all day, and I will update this post if I find it.

It can show my pores. Even with a thin layer, it makes my pores stand out a little in some areas. Not dramatically, but enough that I notice.

Who should skip it

• If you need your base to look identical at 6pm with no touch-ups. On my oily skin, it does not.
• If your main worry is pores. It shows mine in places, even used thinly.
• If you want to know how the new formula wears. I cannot tell you, because I have not tried it knowingly. Find a review of the newer version.

Is it worth the money?

At the £17 I paid, without question. At the £39.50 RRP it is a bigger decision, but it is often discounted, and on the day I wrote this it was £26 at LookFantastic. A thin layer covers my whole face, so a bottle goes a long way.

Would I buy it again

Yes, definitely, with my own money, considering how much I wear it. Compared with the foundations I have tried before, it is good quality. It is thin and breathable and I like the texture on my skin.

The lunchtime build-up and the patch under my nose are the price of that, and I would rather tell you about them than pretend this foundation is perfect. If I find a way to fix the patchiness, it goes straight in here.

Common questions

Is it good for oily skin? For the first few hours, yes. On my oily T-zone I see build-up from about four hours in, so plan on a touch-up.

Has it been discontinued? No, it has been reformulated. I do not know which version my bottle is, and I have not tried the new one.

Does it make pores look bigger? On me, a little, in some areas, even with a thin layer.

Has it made your sensitive skin react? Not once in four months of near daily wear.

What shade? 1W0 Warm Porcelain. I am fair.

How much is it? RRP £39.50 for 30ml. I paid about £17 at an outlet shop, and LookFantastic had it at £26 on 7 October 2026.

Why does it go patchy around my nose? On me, it happens where my skin is driest, just under my nose, when I set it with a drying loose powder. I have not found a fix yet.

Would you buy it again? Yes, with my own money.

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I am a content creator, not a dermatologist. This is my experience on my own skin, oily to combination, fair and sensitive, over about four months of near daily wear, and yours may behave differently. If your skin reacts to a product, or you are dealing with ongoing breakouts or redness, please speak to a GP or a pharmacist rather than relying on makeup or on me.