Estee Lauder has a new anti-wrinkle product (I know, what a shock; add this to the other 300 anti-wrinkle products they sell from their various lines). Perfectionist [CP+] Targeted Deep Wrinkle Filler ($39.50 for 1 ounce) is said to be a “powerful daily treatment for your deepest wrinkles”. It’s designed to be used on lines around the eye, creases in the forehead, furrows between the brow—anywhere you have lines that don’t go away when your face is expressionless.

This type of product isn’t anything new. Estee Lauder’s defunct Prescriptives brand offered a version of this product years ago in their Magic line, Lancome had their Touche Optimage Line Blurring Concentrate, and Lauder-owned Good Skin (sold at Kohl’s department stores) sells TriAktiline Instant Deep Wrinkle Filler. All of these are silicone-based serum-like products that serve as a soft spackle for wrinkles and large pores. You pat the product into and over creases, and they have a superficial, temporary filling effect. How long results last depend on the formula and, more critically, how expressive you are. And of course, none of these products have even a fractional ability to work like Botox or dermal fillers, but that’s another story.

We’re about to review this new Perfectionist product on Beautypedia, and although we don’t typically try products before we review them (we prefer to focus on the ingredient list, product claims, and research rather than personal experience which doesn’t help thousands of women know what really works) I decided to give this a go. At age 36, I have some minor lines around my eyes and wanted to see how Perfectionist would work to “push up” my wrinkles, as the copy on the packaging reads.

I followed the directions provided and dispensed a small amount of this wrinkle filler into my lines, gently patting to smooth the excess. This filler has a texture that is very much like spackle, so I instantly felt like I was doing some serious patchwork under the bright lights of my bathroom. Perfectionist feels supremely silky and sets quickly to a soft, powder-like matte finish laced with subtle sparkles, which I didn’t care for. The filling effect was impressive. It really did a good job of smoothing superficial lines—definitely better than my usual moisturizer.

Here’s the part where things started to go downhill. I reasoned that most women using this product are likely to apply it before makeup. After all, why bother with the cosmetic effect of filling lines right before going to sleep? You want your lines to be less apparent during the day, right? So once Perfectionist had set, I pulled out a Lauder foundation and applied it around the eyes. Imagine my surprise when the makeup looked TERRIBLE over the area where Perfectionist was applied. Lauder’s liquid foundation looked patchy and, as the day went by the skin around my eyes looked cracked and crepy—Perfectionist + foundation actually made me look older! How depressing is that?

Back at the office, I tried several other foundations over the Perfectionist Wrinkle Filler. Any liquid or cream-to-powder foundation with any type of silicone in it didn’t look good. In fact, the combination made wrinkles and even minor lines more apparent. When I applied a silicone-free foundation (Laura Mercier’s Oil-Free) over Perfectionist, the result was great. This combination kept the lines filled while actually allowing the foundation to look better than it does when used alone. The problem is that the majority of foundations, concealers, and most tinted moisturizers sold today contain one or more forms of silicone. You shouldn’t have to give up your favorite foundation or concealer in order to experience the benefits (however temporary) Perfectionist offers.

Oddly enough, the aforementioned TriAktiline Instant Deep Wrinkle Filler from Lauder-owned Good Skin works beautifully with foundations and concealers that contain silicone.

One more comment: Lauder isn’t known for offering fragrance-free skin-care products, and Perfectionist is no exception. After a few days of applying this product around my eyes, I experienced stinging and tenderness on my skin and in my eyes. Both issues went away as soon as I stopped using this product, which has a much stronger scent than what anyone should be applying so close to their eyes (and what woman who purchases this product to fill wrinkles isn’t going to try it around her eyes?)