Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth Infusing Makeup SPF25, Review, Swatch, Comparison & FOTD

I am posting at odd hours, talk about jet lag, it is 5:30 am here. No way I would wake up this early. After a great Chanel haul at Amsterdam Schiphol and a long but comfortable flight, I arrived to Detroit. I watched Amour from Haneke on the road, which received Palme D'Or at Cannes a few years ago. It was on my to watch list for such a long time. That said it was probably the wrong choice for the flight,  although beautifully done, I guess I needed something more uplifting.

Back to beauty, I have been testing new foundations lately. Estée Lauder foundations are usually raved for a good reason so when they released a new one last year, I was very intrigued. I don't believe that anti-aging foundations should be used later in life. I think our skin can profit from a few extra ingredient any time, so I put Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth-Infusing Makeup into test.

Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth Infusing Makeup SPF25

Packaging: Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth Infusing Makeup comes in a glass bottle, which feels heavy and looks luxurious. I prefer my foundations in glass bottles other than plastic for an unknown reason. Of course if you are traveling a lot you might prefer it to be as light as possible but all other times, when it is on your make-up desk, glass certainly wins. 

The product is dispensed through a plastic pump, which makes it hygienic. The pump can also be used as little as needed, so you can adjust the pressure to get less or more product. That was you don't waste your foundation by getting too much of it. My only little concern is that the golden letters with the company name fade too quickly, other than that all thumbs up for the packaging.

The application:  It has to be stressed, make sure to give the bottle a good shake, especially the fist time around, before you apply. I didn't do that and ended up getting out more liquid than the foundation. I found the application very easy, it glides on smoothly with the fingers and even without much moisturizer, it doesn't look flaky on my normal to dry skin. Estée Lauder Perfectionist was released together with a brush to apply it seamlessly but on me, even with fingers, I don't have any problem applying it. I have tried other tools such as Rae Morris Radiance to blend it out after the application (which was anyway not needed) , a damp beauty blender or dampened duo fibre brushes for a lighter coverage. All work fine, but I ended up applying it more with fingers where I can best control the coverage on the areas I need.

Tools for Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth Infusing Makeup SPF25

The finish: I would classify Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth Infusing Makeup as medium coverage skin like finish. It is not matte, not luminous, perfect if you want your skin look natural and at the same time get rid of most of the redness or discoloration. Its finish reminds me of Tom Ford Traceless Perfecting foundation (reviewed here) but my skin liked Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth Infusing a little more since it is slightly more moisturizing, so if you find Tom Ford version drying on you but you like the finish, you might want to check out this one. 

Below you can see that I had some inflammation on my chin, which is partly covered but other than that all spots are almost gone and the complexion looks even. I haven't used any concealer by the second photo, so that is still to be applied to the areas which need more coverage (e.g. my chin). 

Before/After FOTD: Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth Infusing Makeup SPF25

Shade Range: I tested the shade called 2C3, which is a nice match for my undertones and just very slightly deeper than my skin tone. I have swatched it against my other light to medium foundations to give you an idea. You can see that Diorskin (no dear autocorrect not Deerskin) Nude Air is peachier by undertones and slightly lighter (which is a good match for me). Chanel Vitalimuere Aqua is warmer and a little deeper. Tom Ford Traceless Perfecting in Fawn is warmer and YSL Fusion Ink B20 has close undertones but just slightly lighter. All of the foundations in this swatch are good matches for my light to medium complexion with natural undertones.

The only thing a little disappointing is that at counters in Germany, 2C3 is the lightest shade. I have heard though in other parts of the world, there are lighter shades of Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth Infusing Makeup, so shade range appears not to be a problem in general. That said Dior's Nude Air also starts with 020 here, so it is not only EL who does it. *shrugs*.

Comparison swatches

Here is also the ingredients list, which has some anti-oxidant and skin conditioning ingredients for a younger looking skin. It provides a broad-spectrum sun protection, SPF25, with titanium dioxide.

Ingredients list for Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth Infusing Makeup

Also check out the review of Linda at Silverkis.

Oh and tomorrow I have an exciting guest poster for you here, since I have to concentrate on my presentation on Wednesday. More about it tomorrow, stay curious ;-)

Final thoughts: Estée Lauder Perfectionist Youth Infusing Makeup has a skin-like finish and with its medium coverage, it does a good job to even out the skin tone and cover some blemishes.  On my dry to normal skin, it doesn't emphasize dry patches and it lasts all day without reapplying. My only criticism is the shade range in Germany starting first from light to medium. Online shop has one more shade, 2N1 Desert Beige, which can be lighter. All in all thumbs up, it is my one of the most reached foundations at the time.

How do you feel about extra skin care, anti-aging ingredients in foundations? Do you like them or find them not so useful?

Disclaimer: The product in this post was provided free of charge for my consideration. 
I am not paid for this review. All opinions are honest and my own.