Battle of the Long-Wear Foundations: Revlon ColourStay vs. Estee Lauder Double Wear

Hi, everyone! Today's post pits two highly popular long-wear foundations against each other. In particular, it will provide a side-by-side comparison of the formidable Revlon ColourStay Liquid Makeup Combination/Oily formula in Buff vs. Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup in 1N1 Ivory Nude. An epic battle indeed!

I apologize in advance for the cheesy-looking graphic below. Sometimes on a grad student's (and Maid of Honor's) time schedule, hours with Photoshop isn't feasible ;)

When planning my makeup for my sister's wedding, I was certain of one thing: I needed a foundation that would stay put all day. One that would remain true during the ceremony, an afternoon of photos, and hours of dancing! I have been using and loving Revlon ColourStay for years, but the upcoming event had me curious about whether another foundation might do a better job at lasting on my combination/oily skin. I opted for Estee Lauder Double Wear, as it has received tons of hype over the years for its good coverage and impressive staying power.

I figured the most scientific way to compare them was, quite literally, side-by-side. I applied ColourStay to half of my face and Double Wear on the other, then went about my busy day, paying attention periodically to how my face was looking!

Here is a photo of me wearing ColourStay, on the right side of my face (your left) only. As you can see, it does a great job at masking redness and imperfections on my skin:

Wearing Revlon ColourStay in Buff on the Left side, no foundation on the Right

And yes, it was an early  morning, hence my sleepy, puffy eyes!

Now here is a photo of me after applying Double Wear to the left side of my face (your right). Luckily Buff and Ivory Nude were great colour matches, so my face looked fairly even despite the two different shades and formulas.

Wearing foundation only; Colourstay Buff on the Left and Double Wear in Ivory Nude on the Right

And here is my finished makeup look, including a layer of mattifying setting powder over top of the foundations:

Revlon ColourStay on Left, Estee Lauder Double Wear on Right

And then the experiment began! I photographed my face at various times throughout the day. Below, I've labelled the amount of time since application and noted my general impressions at each stage.

As a quick note, the day was rather warm and I was quite active, both factors that would have increased oil production on my face. What better way to test the foundations than under (semi) extreme conditions like that?!

3 Hours since application (indoors, sunlight)

After 3 hours, there was a bit of breakthrough shine on my skin, but nothing too notable. I couldn't detect any major differences between the formulas at this point.


4 Hours since application (artificial light)

After 4 hours, I took a look at my face under some artificial bathroom lighting. Examining my face head-on, things seemed to look pretty even, with no increase in shine since hour 3.

Looking at each side individually, however, I did notice a slight difference. The side of my face sporting Double Wear (my left, your right) was demonstrating some patchiness around the chin area (which I hope you can see in the photo below). The formula seemed to be clinging to some semi-dry patches on my chin, which made things look a bit cakey:

(After 4 hours): The Double Wear side of my face, betting a bit patchy around the chin

On the other hand, the ColourStay side of my face (my right, your left) had no evidence of caking or patchiness:

(After 4 hours): The ColourStay side of my face, no cakey or patchy bits

Overall, I was quite surprised to see there was a visible difference in the formulas after only 4 hours! Granted, the disparity could only be seen close-up, but it was definitely noticeable.


6 Hours since application (mix of natural and artificial lighting)

(After 6 hours): Revlon ColourStay on Left, Estee Lauder Double Wear on Right

Here I am, 6 hours after applying the foundations. As you can see, there is a noticeable amount of shine on my skin that wasn't evident a couple hours before. Again, I was quite busy and the weather was pretty warm that day. I also avoided any touch-ups, to be as scientific as possible.

There seemed to be a greater amount of shine on the Double Wear side of my face (my right, your left), as well as some additional patchiness around my nose and chin:

(After 6 hours): Double Wear side of my face, quite shiny with cakey patches around nose and chin

While the ColourStay side of my face showed signs of shine and wear, I couldn't see any evidence of things getting cakey or blotchy:

(After 6 hours): ColourStay side of my face, shiny, but not cakey or blotchy

9 Hours since application (natural light)

(After 9 hours): Revlon ColourStay on Left, Estee Lauder Double Wear on Right

My last set of photos were taken 9 hours after applying the foundations. As you can see, I'm quite shiny at this point (again, I didn't blot, powder, or touch-up at all during the day, for the sake of the experiment).

While there was a fair amount of oil breakthrough on both sides of my face, the Double Wear side was particularly shiny, blotchy, and patchy:

(After 9 hours): Double Wear side, shiny and patchy

On the other hand, despite the shine I think the ColourStay side held up rather well!

(After 9 hours): ColourStay side, shiny, but still quite even

Overall, I found this experiment super informative! Though, it was definitely difficult not to blot and powder throughout the day ;) While the differences between the formulas weren't dramatic, I was definitely disappointed in how Double Wear got quite patchy in areas, just a few hours after application! While it didn't completely disappear on me as other supposedly long-wearing foundations have, the blotchiness was a clear turn-off.

So, while I'm always a sucker for a grass-is-greener sentiment, this exercise really proved to me just how effective and lovely my Revlon ColourStay foundation really is! Because it performed so formidably here, it was my go-to choice on my sister's wedding day. Paired with Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation Primer, MAC Blot Powder, and Urban Decay All-Nighter Setting Spray, my skin stayed matte and even throughout all of my Maid of Honour duties. One less thing to worry about during a busy day!

I hope you all found this post to be helpful! What are some of your favourite long-wear foundations? Have you ever tested foundations side-by-side?

Thanks for reading! xo