Primer Reviews

I'm finally getting round to reviewing the primers I mentioned in this post here.

I decided to put them all into one post rather than just reviewing them separately.

The same picture I used in the primer post :D

Swatches!

Above I have shown four of the five primers.

The tan coloured one is Benefit's The Porefessional,

the purple one is Catalina Geo's Colour Capsule Make Up Base,

the pale yellow is Soap & Glory's Bright Here Bright Now

and the pink one is Benefit's That Gal.

This'll be a rather lenghty post again by the way!

Benefit: The Porefessional

 I currently use this primer nearly everyday.

I apply it to my forehead, nose, chin and cheeks as these are the areas where oil tends to

appear during the day and where I have larger pores.

Benefit claims this primer is airbrushing in a tube as it is able minimise cover large pores

and fine lines. It also is oil-free and includes a Vitamin E derivative to act as an anti-oxidant.

Its ability to minimise pores is, well, minimal to say the least.
The pores which are most visible on my face are on my cheeks, they aren't exactly huge
but are large enough to annoy me. After applying the primer over them, I can
barely see any difference in pore size. My base also settles into the fine lines
around my mouth too.

You're probably now wondering why I'm even bothering with it?

Well to be honest, a little foundation cleverly applied will mask my pores and I'll

just have to keep a close eye on the foundation creasing, so I'm not to bothered that

the primer doesn't do what it claims.

The only reason I started using this primer to begin with was because of it's oil controlling

properties. My forehead often gets greasy and leaves my skin feeling rather uncomfortable

so I decided I needed something to help, and this primer definitely does help in that

department! Sure there is still some oil production (that's just normal bodily functions)

but my forehead is definitely less greasy come midday compared to when I

don't use the primer.
It does also leave my skin looking smoother, too.

Catalina Geo's Colour Capsule Make Up Base

My sister bought this primer from Hong Kong and I'd never actually heard of the

brand before, but I decided to steal it off her and give it a go :D

Even though the actual product in the tube looks like lots of little purple

balls suspended in a clear serum (or essence as they state on the site),

when you pump the primer out it comes out as a grainy textured purple blob.

This originally annoyed me a little as I wanted to squish the little balls myself,

but I guess by ready-squishing them, you get a more even ratio of serum to colour.

When you first spread the product, the texture will initially seem uneven but if

you continue to blend the serum will smooth out.

The base contains SPF (I think it's SPF40++), contains a botanical ingredient
called Royalhersome that lends resilience to your skin, 

moisturises your skin and of course colour corrects it.

The product comes in three different colours: green to camouflage redness,

blue to cover freckles, pigmentation and age spots and purple is used to brighten a complexion

neutralising the yellow undertones in the skin.

When I started using this primer, my main concern was my dull looking skintone and

the need for something with high sun protection. 

I'm not entirely sure if it does neutralise the yellow undertones as the first thing I noticed

was that it left a faint faint cast over my skin due to its high SPF content.

However I continued using it for a while purely for the SPF and because foundation

applied smoothly over it, which basically corrected the white cast it left.

Soap & Glory's Bright Here Bright Now

 Although it's not technically marketed as a primer, I like to use it as one, mainly because
I generally never go out without a foundation.
The primer is golden in colour, has a sort of fruity yet woody (in my opinion) sort of scent
and has lots of shimmers visible.
This one is best if youre skin is rather dry and you need a little something more
than just your original moisturiser to help your foundation apply smoothly.
It contains apricot kernal oil and aloe vera which help contribute to its moistursing
properties; the primer also contains shimmers and a firming complex to help brighten and
lift your complexion, but I couldn't see much of an illuminating effect to be fair, and I
don't use it often enough to see the lifting effects.
The Boots site also states it contains orange essential oil to revive and uplift skin.

I use this primer whenever I have patches of dry flaky skin that just won't go away,
and somehow this primer actually works!
My foundation applies without catching onto any dry flakes, nor do the
shimmers help accentuate the dryness either :D
Although to be honest, the shimmers disappear once you apply
it to your skin anyway.
However if you're looking for something that will really lift and brighten on its own,
this primer may not fit the bill perfectly.

Benefit's That Gal
I decided to buy this after the MUA persuaded me to sit down and let her try out

different products on me. This was one of them, along with You Rebel tinted moisturiser.

When the MUA tried this product of me my skin looked positively more radiant so

I decided to let it come home with me.

Needless to say I could never recreate the glow with the primer XD

Either MUAs have some skill that only they can dish out, or perhaps the shop

lighting is just deceiving?

The primer contains raspberry, chamomile, sweet almond and algae extracts to

sooth skin and help it retain its natural moisture, and has light reflecting pigments

to brighten the face (all taken from the Boots website).

I can't seem to find any trace of shimmer when I study the primer, but I guess it

could be like the YSL Touche Eclat where the highlighter has no visible
shimmers but somehow highlights.

I actually really like the pink colour, it's so girly and cute ^^

I'm also very partial to the smell. It's sort of like a fresh bubblegum scent.
I don't use this primer very pften because it never seems to make much
of a difference, except making me a little happier when I catch a whiff of
the cent when I apply it.
Other than that I can't say it does much for making my skin look
healthy and radiant, with or without a foundation.
However, like the Soap and Glory Bright Here Bright Now,
it does add moisture to the skin and stops the foundation from catching onto any dry flakes.
So if you have money to spare, want your skin to be more moist
for foundation application and aren't looking for a product that will make you go
'wow my skin is glowing!', you can always try this out.

 L'Oréal Paris Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer

Last but not least, is the primer above. It's not a very good photo and I didn't swatch it,
but it's basically a pale, baby pink, very dense squishy textured mousse.
It's main purpose, like Benefit's The POREfessional, is to mask lines, pores
and uneven skin texture, leaving skin silky and matte.

I actually really like this primer. I got it ages ago but never really appreciated it up until
now when I decided to let it live a better life.
I pick some up with my fingertips, smear the primer on my fingertips to warm
up the primer a little and make it easier to smooth onto my skin.
Again, I concentrate on my cheeks, forehead, nose and chin.
This primer imparts a really nice, smooth finish to your skin; also it's oil
controlling properties are not bad either.
Its ability to cover pores are marginally better than Benefit's, but
still isn't amazing. Howeveh for the perfect primer continues ^^"
Just as a bit of trivia, apparently this primer can be applied
around the mouth to stop lipstick from bleeding.
I can't really vouch for this though as I never wear lots of lipstick out,
just a stain most of there time.

Overall, I think my favourite primer is either Benefit's POREfessional or
L'Oréal Paris Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer.
Both of these help control the oil my skin produces and impart a soft focus
effect to my skin.
However, I'm still looking for a primer that fills pores and lines
and keeps them filled throughout the day!

And you have reached the end of this extremely long winded post!
I wonder how many of you will actually reach this point?
I hope this review will be of use to at least some of you though!

Hope you're all having a good weekend!
Jia
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