For months I’ve been experimenting with a variety of 5 different makeup primers to find out what really is the difference between them all. For someone who normally forgets to even put primer on 90% of the time, this post is long overdue but I’ve finally pulled myself together to find out if there really is a difference between primers or if we’ve just been brainwashed into thinking it’s another item we need in our makeup routine for flawless skin. So, I used the same makeup products on top for this experiment to get the most fair results and this is what I discovered:
1. Benefit’s Porefessional Primer
I’ve been using this primer for a few years now and not really thought of it as anything THAT special. In all honesty when I’m wearing it and when I’m not wearing it I don’t see a difference. My makeup doesn’t last longer with it on and I don’t really have many pores to notice if it does anything in that perspective but otherwise I wouldn’t rate this primer too much. I’d give it probably about a 4/10.
2. ELF Mineral Infused Face Primer
After using this primer my makeup literally glides onto my face. It makes more of a glowy than matte makeup look but throughout the day I started to notice it went slightly patchy which wasn’t the best look. The only way I could think of fixing this was by using a different foundation but that didn’t work either.. If I had the time every morning to blend for 5 extra minutes then it would be perfect, but unfortunately I don’t.
3. Smashbox Photo Finish Primer
This is one of the most popular primers in the makeup industry at the moment so I just had to include it in this post. It made my makeup last all day and I didn’t see a flaw in it as time went on. As soon as I applied my foundation I could feel it already dissolving into my skin creating a nice, even base.
4. Becca First Light Priming Filter
This is another one I didn’t notice anything different when wearing it and when not wearing it. It is said to be good for photos so I used it on a day where I was taking photos for my blog and again, didn’t see any different when wearing it than when not.
5. MUA Pro Base Primer Oil
This is the cheapest one out of the lot. As soon as I apply it I notice a more radiant glow to my skin but as soon as I apply foundation it goes back to a patchy mess unless blended well. Saying that, I have it on right now and I have the most radient, glowy look but I spent a little while longer blending as I had no specific time slot to get ready in. So if it weren’t for the slight patchyness this one would definitely be my favourite.
As you can tell, I’ve included primers from a range of different prices. The real main different I came to figure was that some create a better makeup base for specific makeup looks than others.
Thank you for reading, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments!