Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator Review

Another serum, promising to reduce pigmentation and even out skintone has hit the market - the Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator. According to the Estee Lauder website this is an 'intensive, yet gentle oil-free serum features powerful technologies to address the look of every key sign of uneven skintone:

• Triple-Optic Technology provides skin with a brighter, more luminous look from the very first application.
• Correct Tone Technology visibly reduces uneven skintone in 2 weeks, while anti-oxidants help prevent its re-appearance.

Proven gentle and effective for all ethnicities. Skin looks noticeably clearer and brighter, vibrant and more even-toned'.

I was lucky enough to be sent this product to trial as part of Beauty Heaven's trial team and have now been using it for about three weeks.

The serum comes in a pump bottle, which I love because it maintains the hygiene of the product. I am always a little concerned with serums that come with eye droppers as I invariably touch the dropper on my face and then am worried that the serum will become contaminated. When you are paying a lot of money for your serum, the last thing that you want is for it spoil before you have had a chance to finish the product, so the pump bottle had me impressed before I even tried the product. 

How to use Estee Lauder give the following instructions to use the serum:

• Apply on clean skin. Follow with your SPF moisturiser.
• For maximum even skintone results, use AM and PM for the first 12 weeks, then continue with your regular Estée Lauder regimen, using Even Skintone Illuminator every AM.
• If you use Advanced Night Repair at night, continue to apply it first, then follow with Even Skintone Illuminator.

I found I needed two pumps to do my whole face (the picture above shows the amount that two pumps is). The serum is very shimmery/pearly looking and you can see in the picture below that my finger are left looking very pearlescent after applying the serum. Rest assured that your face is not left looking this way. I think that the product must have collected in the ridges of my fingerprints, heightening the pearlescent effect. On the face it is much more subtle. My face was left with a glowing luminosity, rather than a sheen. I could see that light was reflecting off the shimmery pigments but it didn't leave it looking shiny. Instead, it reflected light away from the spots and areas of pigmentation on my skin, giving it the illusion of an even skin tone. The effect was really quite impressive.

Throughout the trial I got a couple of pimples and found that the Even Skintone Serum, in combination with my tinted moisturiser, did an excellent job of masking them. They didn't completely disappear but were no longer the eye catching red traffic lights on my face. I also get a fair bit of redness on and around my nose and this was also beautifully masked.

The serum is not at all oily and dries to a completely matte finish. Lately my skin has been quite oily and this has almost sealed the in oiliness. I had stopped wearing my tinted moisturiser as my skin was being too oily for it - it was sliding straight off, but since using this serum it now lasts all day - they work beautifully in combination (I am using the Estee Lauder DayWear tinted moisturiser). The serum is not a moisturising serum so you definitely will need to wear a moisturiser over the serum.

After using the serum I can definitely say that it has an instant evening effect on skintone. The shimmery particles really do help to reflect light and left my skin glowing and really even looking, but surprisingly not shiny looking. After about 3 weeks of use there does seem to be a reduction in the appearance of my pigmentation. I had quite a defined patch of pigmentation on my forehead, which had a really marked line between the pigmented skin and the non pigmented skin. After using this serum twice a day for the three weeks there does seem to be a decrease - there is no longer such a marked line between the pigmented and non pigmented skin. However I have been doing this trial during winter and whilst I have been going outside, I haven't been going to nearly as much as I do in summer and obviously the sun is not nearly as strong. So, to truly comment on whether this has an effect on pigmentation, I will repeat the trial during the summer months when my pigmentation is at its worst.

I really love how this makes my skin look and can definitely see myself using this beyond the trial period. If my pigmentation does get worse during the summer months then I will use this twice a day, otherwise I will just be using this in the mornings as, I think, the shimmery particles make it more suitable for day wear. The serum is a little on the pricey side but so far a little is going a long way. If uneven skin tone is an issue for you I recommend that you try and get yourself a sample of this to see if it works for you as I have found that this serum and a tinted moisturiser is enough to give me a beautifully even complexion.

Available now (in Australia) from Myer's, David Jones and online at Estee Lauder. RRP $105 for 30ml or $150 for 50ml.

All opinions stated in this blog are my own. I have no affiliation with Estee Lauder and received no remuneration for my comments. The serum was provided to me by Beauty Heaven to review as part of their Trial Team.