Battle Of The Primers - Round 2.0 {Review}

Hey Lovelies,

I thought I'd finally get round to reviewing a second set of primers as they are one of my all time favourite beauty products! I find they make such a difference to your skin and your makeup! Furthermore, my Battle of The Primers Round 1 | Link, is one of my most popular posts on my blog so I was dying to revisit the post! Also, if you are confused on what a primer is, how to use it or any other questions they will most likely be answered on my first primer post, but if not feel free to comment below!

Also if you're wondering why there's a lot of Seventeen products I'm not sponsored by them, I find they're just really cheap and was recommended to try both of them.

Primer 1 - Seventeen Skin Wow! 3 Way Highlighter £5.99

This is described as "Use to prime, add to your foundation, or apply onto cheek bones to lift, lighten and wake up your skin with a luminous glow."

I normally use this either under my foundation or mixed in with my foundation and I adore how lightweight it feels on the skin! I also find it doesn't add to my oilness - although I normally steer clear of applying it to my t-zone and use a mattifying primer there instead. It leaves my skin with a lovely, natural glow that is perfect any time of the year and the fact you only need a tiny amount for how cheap it is, is perfect!

Although, the only issues I have with it, is beginners need to be super careful with how much you use as if you end up pumping/applying too much it can leave your face looking like a disco ball.

But besides that slight issue which can easily be resolved with time I adore this primer!

I would recommend it to anyone and everyone - especially someone with dull skin that desires a quick pick me up!

4.5/5

Primer 2 - Seventeen Flawless Poreless Primer £5.99

This is described as "Apply with fingers allowing the silky primer to create a smooth canvas ready for foundation to glide onto".

Sadly this one didn't live up to the expectations I had built it up to, as even though it's extremely cheap like the other Seventeen primer and did leave the skin smooth, soft and silky I found it didn't help foundation apply any easier than usual.

I also found it didn't help enhance lasting time of my make-up, and my t-zone only remained matte for a few hours. It also didn't really hide any of my pores and I found I had to use quite a lot of the product to see an actual difference. Furthermore, I felt it left quite a similar feeling to the Benefit primer which I reviewed previously | Link, it also reminds me of the new YSL primer that has just been released. Even more so, I didn't like the fact you have to put your finger into the product to apply it, as I find it becomes quite unsanitary and it definitely isn't great for acne/sensitive prone skin.

I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone unless you have simple, normal skin and just want a cheap, easy to use primer to help aid foundation application.

2/5

Primer 3 - Nivea Daily Essentials Hydration Primer Normal/Combo £4.99

Nivea describes this primer as being "An even and smooth base for effective make-up application; helps your make-up stay put, absorbs instantly thanks to its light texture and uses an effective hydrator for lasting moisturisation."

Overall, I really like this primer and tend to use it around the more drier, dehydrated areas of my face - e.g. my cheeks. It leaves my skin much smoother, softer and supple which prevents cakiness and has a pleasant smell all nivea products have. I also like that it has built in skincare benefits as well.

I also have pretty much 0 negative comments to say about it besides the packaging, as the fact it's a jar makes it quite bulky and heavy to carry around and also it's quite unsanitary instead of something like a squeezey tube.

Besides that, I would recommend this product to pretty much anybody, especially as Nivea has also released one for people with sensitive/dry skin types. The only type I'm not sure it would suit is extremely oily skin types.

4/5

Primer 4 - Becca Line and Pore Corrector £14.99

Becca explains this as a "non-oily primer prior under-eye concealer, eye shadow, lip-liner application. Gives soft focus effect to minimise lines and refine visible pores. Free of paraben, preservatives and fragrance."

I normally use this as a normal, all over face primer - especially focusing on my oily areas (the dreaded T-zone), as I wasn't aware that it could be used specifically for other things so I'm definitely going to give it a go in other areas. But, for what I have been using it for I've had very mixed feelings about it.

As I love that it keeps my skin matte and oil/grease free for a decent amount of time. I also like that Becca doesn't put any nasties in their product, this is especially great for me as I have sensitive skin.

But, the feel it gives is extremely silicone-ey which I don't honestly love and I also feel it doesn't do anything for my pores. If anything, I feel after a few hours they're more visible than if I hadn't used the primer in the first place. I also find its pretty expensive for how little it does.

If I were to recommend this primer to anyone it would be more normal - combination skin types, especially anyone with sensitive skin that is trying to find a primer that won't upset their skin but still does something.

3.5/5

Overall, my favourite primer this time round was the 'Skin WOW' by Seventeen and I'm still loving using the Smashbox primer from the previous Battle of the Primers. 

I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions or recommendations don't hesistate to comment! Please also don't forget to follow me on social media - I follow back!

Love,

Battle Of The Primers {Review}

Hey lovelies!

Today I'm going to do a post on a big review on a few primers I've tried over the years, including drugstore and high end, and will be comparing them with each other.

{UPDATE: I've done a Battle of The Primers 2.0, which you can check out here.}

What is primer you say?

It's a product that allows your make-up to be applied easier, gives longer lasting length, reduces appearance of fine lines and pores and enhances and improves the appearance of your make-up. You apply this after moisturiser but before foundation/concealer.

Personally for me, primer is a massive part of my make-up routine as I feel it just massively improves your make-up and the fact I have combination skin means it helps prevent my make-up from sliding off my t-zone for longer. Although, I believe any skin type should use primer, it's just about finding the right one for your skin.

1. NYC Cosmetics Primer for £2.49

This is the first ever primer I ever bought and is by far the cheapest. It claims to "fade redness, boost radiance and revive tired skin." This primer has quite a light texture and is similar to a moisturiser, it also contains shimmer - not glittery pigments! I find this does help enhance youthfulness and does give me a more glowing complexion but can make my face seem really shiny - especially in areas that are already shiny from oil, i.e. the dreaded t-zone. But, it does help my foundation apply a heck of a lot easier and does disguise pores. Furthermore, at the moment it's only in one shade which is white, I find the fact it's white helps enhance my skins glowy-ness but I do hope they will release a wide variety of shades. I wouldn't say this primer for me is perfect but out of the only two drugstore primers I've ever tried this is definitely my favourite - so far in saying I've recommended it to my friends and family when they've decided they want to try out a primer but don't want to part with half of their bank account.

3/4

2. Benefit the POREfessional Primer for £24.50

This well known primer has been circling the beauty world for years now, and I can understand why. I first came across this primer when my Mum decided to buy it, a random purchase at that, years ago before it was hyped over. After discovering how smooth it made my skin feel I began to start sneaking in to my mothers bathroom and stealing it so I could achieve this silky finish with my own make-up. This continued until I was caught and had to end up buying my own primer (the NYC one). But, recently I bought a truck load of stuff off Benefit, haul post here, and got sent this wonderful primer as a tester - so now I don't need to steal my Mum's! It states that it 'minimises pores and fine lines for a smoother-than-smooth skin' I can fully agree with this! I love the fact the texture is quite a creamy balm so is a lot easier to apply, it's skin-toned coloured as well which is perfect for me as it adds that extra coverage and I find I only need the tiniest bit on my t-zone! So, if you want to try out a more expensive primer then I would definitely recommend this one to just about anyone - being as it's so versatile!

4/5

3. Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light for £25.00

So far this is my all-time favourite high end primer! This comes out white but actually applies clear and is of a gel-like consistency. I love the choice of primers smashbox sell and the fact my one, the 'light', is oil-free which helps a hell of a lot with my oil control on my t-zone. I find this primer does everything the Benefit one does and more! This one actually helps my make-up last longer and prevents my t-zone from getting oily for that much longer. I can actually tell the difference when I'm wearing this. The only thing that could possibly make it better is adding coverage like the Benefit one does, but besides that it's lovely!

5/5

4. W7 Prime Magic Camera Ready - Anti Redness for £3.15

This is one of the few primers I've tried that I've fully hated! This comes out green and literally feels like play-doh, no not attractive. I bought this in hopes it would disguise some of my redness, but sadly it didn't disguise any. I feel W7 have tried to copy Smashbox's primers but have sadly not succeeded. Luckily, this primer wasn't expensive so didn't leave a massive dent in my bank account but it's still disappointing. This primer, for me, I also found didn't really enhance my make-up, improve make-up application nor help my make-up last. 

1/5

Thank you for reading lovelies!

I hope this was helpful in giving a better light on primers and a few of the ones out there, please comment, subscribe and follow me on BlogLovin!