Max Factor All Day Primer

My experience with primers has left me rather indifferent to them and it's been a long time since I used a proper primer on a daily basis as memories of unsightly flakiness that Clinique Pore Minimizer tended to cause were just too painful and Garnier's Perfect Blur performance was very mediocre on me. However, you may have noticed that I included this primer in pretty much every favourites post recently. It was for good reason. I've been trialling this gem for a month now and I'm nothing but impressed. 

Texture: It's a thick lotion which has a strange sort of a "glue-ish" texture that seems like it should be sticky, but it isn't at all. The application is a breeze and it just glides on the skin, leaving behind a nice light and even coat of primer that doesn't flake. The finish of it is matte, but not in a drying way and I'm especially happy about it not emphasising dry patches. The skin feels smooth and dry to the touch, but the primer doesn't disguise pores, though it doesn't promise to do that. It feels super light on the skin, I pretty much don't even feel it, so it kind of reminds me of a thicker version of L'Occitane's Angelica Ultra Matte fluid. 

Does it actually work?: It promises to prolong the staying power of foundation and it definitely does. I notice a massive difference at the end of the day and even Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum lasts surprisingly well. There is a lot more foundation on the cotton pad when I'm taking my makeup off at the end of the day as opposed to when I don't use this primer. My skin is normal, but I can get a slightly oilier T-zone especially in the summer and I think this primer helps keep oil at bay quite well. It has SPF 20, which is nice as far as I'm concerned, since it means I have an additional layer of sun protection and a completely clear, light-feeling SPF for winter months. 

It also works wonderfully as an as an eyeshadow base and keeps the makeup fresh longer.

Scent: This might sound strange, but it smells like a pool, so chlorine, though only if I put my nose to it.

Packaging: The primer is stored in a nice heavy glass bottle with a pump. The dispenser is very good and easily pumps out the desired amount. The only thing that is out of place is the plastic cap, which for some unknown reason looks already heavily used and it did even right after I removed the plastic slip around it. 

Strangely this has no ingredients on the bottle. There is no peel off label or anything, which I'm not sure that a company is allowed to do. Basically, this is supposed to be the primer part of the Facefinity All Day Flawless 3 in 1 foundation. I'm positive that it's a silicone primer, but it doesn't feel like one meaning there is no thick slippery coat of silicones on your skin (as at Garnier's Perfect Blur for example) and it's as if the skin can breathe. It doesn't clog my pores at all.

Price and availability: I got mine in Müller for 12.99€.

What can I say, I am very pleasantly surprised. It's a lovely primer that leaves a nice smooth finish, feels super lightweight, makes the application of foundation easier and it actually does what it promises - prolongs the wear of foundation and makeup. This is one of my favourite discoveries of late and I have to say I really missed it when I loaned it to someone for a few days. I've been using it almost everyday since I got it as it also prolongs the staying power of my tinted sunscreen. It truly is a drugstore gem.

Have a great day!

Garnier 5 Sec Perfect Blur Smoothing Perfecting Primer

When it comes to primers, I'm on the fence. During my teens when my skin was more oily, I was rarely without Clinique's Pore Minimizer Instant Perfector (old formula), since it was the best mattifier I found. However, as soon my skin changed and got drier with lots of flakes, I found that primers only made it worse. After years of being primer-less, I tried Catrice's Prime and Fine Smoothing Refiner, which was just horribly greasy, so I swore off drugstore primers. But then Garnier's Perfect Blur was launched and gained some respectable reviews. My cousin raves about it as well and I tried it on my hand when she came round. Since it actually looked nice, I decided to give it a go. I've been using it for over a month now and sadly, I'm no longer impressed. 

Texture: It's very whipped and airy, not greasy like the Catrice Prime and Fine, but at the same time not as dry as Clinique's Pore Minimiser. It feels like it's in one solid piece in the tube since mine rattles when shaken, which it's odd. Occasionally clumps of primer just shoot out of the tube when I squeeze it because of the excess air inside. I use the tiniest amount as a little goes a long way and using too much makes the skin feel almost a bit greasy. It applies very smoothly, without flaking off, it sort of coats the skin and makes it really smooth to the touch. It terms of oil control, this didn't impress me at all. I still need to use powder on my T-zone.

The blurring: I'm afraid I notice very minimal blurring on my skin. Honestly, my pores look the same with or without it. I have these two smile lines around my mouth (*sobs*) and this fills them up a bit, but that effect is gone super fast. Essentially, what this primer actually does is create a smooth (feeling) base to work on.
See on the pictures how there's almost no difference between without and with primer? (yay, wierd close up's of my skin!). I'm wearing Rimmel's Match Perfection foundation in 010 Light Porcelain over the primer in the bottom left picture, which looks decent, but it looks about the same also without the primer (there are large enough pictures of how it looks without a primer in the foundation's review). On the bottom right picture, I'm wearing NARS's Radiant Creamy concealer in Chantilly on top and it already felt as though I'm wearing so much on the skin, something that doesn't happen to me without a primer.

Prolonging the make up: I'm not sure if it prolongs the staying power of make up. If it does, it's for a minimal amount of time.

Drying of the skin: It doesn't dry out mine, even though the instruction says it needs a moisturiser underneath, which I admit I do forget to use a lot in the morning and I go straight for foundation. Clinique's Pore Minimiser always reminded me in the evillest possible way with a load of dry patches during the day if I forgot to moisturise, but this one doesn't.

Scent: I detect none.

Ingredients: Primers are essentially just silicones. They don't clog my skin, but they can to other people, so keep that in mind when buying a primer.

Price and availability: It's widely available in drugstores and some larger supermarkets. I paid 6.95 € when it was a part of an introductory promotion, but regular price is 9.95 €.

A decent effort on the part of Garnier, especially for a drugstore brand, however, I still feel it could be better. It's a nice affordable version for someone who wants to try out primers and see what all the fuss is about, but if you're looking for something amazing, you'll have to find something else.

Have a great day!

Why Waste Perfectly Good Pictures

I take a lot of pictures and some never make it into a post. Because it takes a lot of time to edit them, I don't want them to go to waste, so here they are.

The first is a nail polish by Catrice from the Neonaturals LE and it's called Mrs. Brightside. It's one of my favourite colours, but I always forget to take a picture of it when it's on my nails. It's kind of pointless anyway because it was LE, but it's a bright pink with some coral and just stunning in person.

Essence Colour & Go 109 Off to Miami is an orange-coral shade, which I wore only once. I don't really like how orange it looks on me, I expected something more coral. I'm wearing it here in the first picture where I'm holding the lipsticks. I'm looking for a colour that would look exactly like this on me, but most corals turn out to be too orange on me. Any recommendations, apart from Essie Cute as a Button, which is on the picture? 

Real Techniques Core Collection - I use the buffing brush and contour brush everyday. I did a review here.

I got Catrice Prime and Fine Smoothing Refiner a while ago, but I really don't like it. It's feels too greasy and doesn't leave a smooth enough finish. As far as primers go, my favourite so far was Clinique's Pore Minimizer Instant Perfector, which works great on oily/combination skin.

Dove Hair Therapy Oil Care Nährpflege 1 Minute Kur-Spűllung or Nourishing Oil Care Express Treatment Conditioner, it depends on the country how it's called, is my favourite drugstore hair treatment and I've used up at least a dozen tubes of it (review here and here). However, I bought the version that comes in a pot a couple of months ago and it's not as good. I'm almost done with the pot and I won't repurchase it, the tube version is much more moisturising. 

I already talked about my experience with Mavala Double-Lash here, but here are more pictures of it that I was keeping for a review. Since I wasn't impressed by it, I won't review it in detail. The applicator is a mascara wand, which isn't particularly handy when you're trying to get the product to the root of the lashes, so I used an eyeliner brush.

I got the Cherry Culture lip balm in Chocolate for free as a gift with purchase. You can pick your own scent/flavour at the checkout. It smells like coffee and I really dislike anything that smells like coffee, so I gave it to someone else. 

Nyx Black Label lipstick in India was a gift for my cousin, but I did snap a few photos of it (she agreed of course). It's a peachy nude shade that is very similar to MUA's lipstick in 15 Juicy.

Thanks for looking.