Primer Review Part 1

By Monday, December 07, 2009 , ,

Primer Review:

I have tried quite a few face primers over the years and felt like doing a review on what I have used. I was going to wait until I got two new primes but they seem to be taking alot of time being shipped to me. I have decided to go a head and start with a few primers and break it up into a few parts.
Today I am going to review Smashbox's Photo Finish Foundation Primer and Quo's Total Pefection Face Primer

SMASHBOX Photo Finish Foundation Primer:
This product comes in seven varities. I have only tried the original. This seems to be the orginal and favourite primer for many people. I used to use this product because it was infact the only primer I could find at the time. I still love this product but have moved on to experementing with many new and different varities. When I first used it there was a different bottle that was awful, in fact if there could be a complaint to be made about this product it would be the old packaging. It was just a plain glass bottle with a pump, but because of the tickness of the product not all of the stuff would come out and you would be left with 1/3 of the product stuck in limbo and able to use it. For $45 a bottle that really is not a good thing. The new bottle (seen at the left) has not straw in it and the floor of the bottle moves upward as it used (via suction). Now there is little waist and much less struggle to get every last bit you can out of it.
I found that this product left my skin soft and supple after applying it and that foundation would apply much easyer. I have dry skin and found this to be a godsend, I have complaints about it and only can rave about it.
Other formulas avalible are:
  • Light - for olier skin types and and acne prone skin and claims to be oil free and 60% water (where as the original is silicone baised)
  • SPF 15 & DERMAXYL™ - is for 'older' skin and has a spf for sun protection. Has a pink tone to it but goes on clear. Is a few dollars more than the original.
  • BRONZING FOUNDATION PRIMER - is a bronze colour and claims to 'warms and evens out skin tone as it creates the perfect canvas for foundation application'.
  • BLEND - is apricot-toned to even out skin tone and counteract discoloration and dark spots.
  • BALANCE - is lavender-toned to brighten dull or sallow skin.
  • ADJUST - is green-toned to reduce redness.
Pros:
  • works really really well
  • leaves dry skin feeling soft and supple 
  • fills in cracks and wrinkles
Cons:
  • Is Costly (about $45 canadian, other versions may cost more and smaller ones cost less)
  • can be a bit too slick for oily skin tones (but the light is meant to be a good alternative for oily skin)



Quo's Total Pefection Face Primer:

I tried this about 4 years back, I had run out of my Smashbox primer and went to Shoppers to get some more. I saw that Quo (Shoppers Drug Mart's makeup line) had a primer. It was in the exact same bottle as the Smashbox's (the old bottle at the time), it had a slightly pink hue to it and was half the price (HALF!!!), so I swatched it and the Smashbox on my hands. They both felt the exact same so I decided to try it. I liked it alot and to this day I think it is made by Smashbox. It had the same horible bottle issue that the Photo finish primer had. I have noticed on the shoppers drug mart site that there is a new bottle for it but have yet to see it in my local store, hopefully it has be made much better so that there is not so much waist. There also seems to be a new product called RE-TEXTURE CREAM FACE PRIMER. UPDATE: I still have not seen the new bottle of the primer in my store but they do have the Re-Texture bottle in the store. I swatched it on my  hand and it felt much more watery and less smooth. It has a luminescence to it and leaves the skin slightly sticky. I do not think I would like it since it is sticky and lumencent.
I would buy this again in a second. I think it is as good as Smashbox's but at a fraction of the price.


Pro:

  • Is a good price ($25 Canadian)
  • does a good job filling in fine lines and giving the skin a good base for makeup
  • does everything that the Smashbox version does 
Cons:
  • Like the Smashbox version, it may be too much for oily skin and leave them too shinny.


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