Tarte Double Duty Beauty Empowered Hybrid Gel Foundation-A Review!

Hello, Everyone! 

Today, I want to give you my opinion on the Tarte Double Duty Beauty Empowered Hybrid Gel foundation. Such a long name!! This foundation is exclusive to Ulta Beauty and is $39 USD for 1.0oz. Here is what Ulta's website has to say about this product: "Smooth skin is in with this radiant, full coverage foundation with skin-loving ingredients wrapped in a luxurious, creamy gel. The unique oil-free blend of smoothing, plumping and pore refining ingredients help brighten skin while moisturizing and blurring the look of fine lines and pores. The cooling, hypoallergenic gel feels like a drink of water for your skin, while masking any redness, dark spots, acne and uneven skin tone for 12-hour wear across skin types. It's available in a range of shades to match any skin tone with a soft, rose scent and natural, radiant finish."  The Tarte Double Duty foundation only comes in ten shades, and it is supposed to cater to different undertones, as well. This can make it difficult to find your perfect shade if you're very light or very dark. 

Fair-Light is the lightest shade in the range, and it was a tad too dark for me. I could make it work, but it wasn't a perfect match. This foundation has a wonderful texture, and it feels really nice while applying it. The description says it has a rose scent, but I don't smell it. Tarte Double Duty is a thicker foundation, as you would expect in a pot. Speaking of the pot container, I don't love it. It is extremely messy and unhygienic. There is one of those inserts that go in between the lid and the foundation, and every time you put the insert back on, foundation seeps out over the sides. 

It does feel cooling when you apply it, and it is hydrating (which my dehydrated skin loves). it looks amazing when I first apply it, especially in photos, but unfortunately that's where my love for this product ends, Ulta and Tarte claim this is a 12 hour foundation, but on my dry/dehydrated skin, it's not even close. It's supposed to be a full coverage, that blurs the look of fine lines and pores, but I don't agree. I can get a true medium coverage with one layer, but the freckles I have on the side of my cheek still peak through, and some hyperpigmentation. If you apply more than one layer, it could get cakey. I have large pores on the sides of my nose, and this does nothing to blur or hide them. This is a rather dewy finish foundation, which seems to actually highlight my pores, I use a setting powder on top, which helps a little, but they're still visible. As for the 12 hour claim, I don't get that result. This looks fantastic when it's first applied, but after 6-8 hours, it's faded away and just looks terrible. It also settles into my small laugh lines. I did try applying this with a Beauty Blender and with different foundation brushes, and the results were the same. Tarte did release a foundation brush specifically for the Double Duty Beauty Gel, but I didn't pick it up. 

This is what the Double Duty Gel foundation looks like an hour after application. A beautiful, natural finish, but not full coverage.

This is at the end of the day, so please excuse my messy eye makeup. You can see that it looks like the foundation has worn off. Freckles, hyperpigmentation, and pores are all making their appearance. And scaring off small children. Ulta and Tarte also claim this foundation is suitable for all skin types, but I think if you have combination or oily skin, you're going to want to use a setting powder and setting spray. I used both, even with my dry skin, and you can see my results above. 

My final thoughts: I love the concept of this foundation, and I was really excited to try it out. I don't love the packaging, the wear time, or how it accentuated my pores. I used it on and off for almost two months, so I did give it a fair shot. However, these are just my opinions, and it doesn't mean this can't work for you! 

Have you tried this foundation? I'd love to know what you thought!


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*All opinions are my own, and all items mentioned were purchased by me.