Tarte Colored Clay CC Primer

I’m ALWAYS on the lookout for a good primer. I’ve tried many different ones, but never found one that was perfect for me (not enough coverage, didn’t last long enough, too oily, etc etc).

I picked up the Tarte Colored Clay CC Primer (on sale for $26!) because I was fascinated with the product. It’s a primer stick (talk about easy!) that matches your skin tone and also color corrects with green and purple, thus eliminating the need to correct dull or red skin. It also is made with clay, perfect for oily skin, like my T-zone (I have combination oily/dry skin).

This product has been amazing for me! It goes on so smooth and works great as a primer before foundation. I actually don’t have a lot of blemishes, so on days when I want a light makeup look, I use this as a foundation replacement. The Medium color looks great on my skin tone, and the green eliminates all of the redness around my nose area.

The product has mixed reviews online, but I think that’s because people don’t know how to use it! Swipe the stick on your face directly, focusing around the center of your face and especially your nose and T-zone, then smooth it out with your fingers towards the outside of your face. You can also use a brush to do this, but I’m lazy so I just go in there with my hands.

Unfortunately I think it’s about to be removed from Tarte’s makeup line because it’s on sale everywhere I go. I highly recommend you check it out before it’s gone! Also because it’s from Tarte you know it’s made with natural ingredients and vegan friendly. 5/5

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil

Sephora including the tiniest, cutest sample of Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil ($42) in my latest online purchase. Silly me, before I got it, I actually thought I was receiving the primer WATER, not the oil. So when I got the oil, I instinctively said “but won’t this make my skin greasy??” I have combination oily/dry skin, but I was a little nervous about using this and worried it would just make my oily cheeks more oily.

The trick is to let it really set into your skin before you apply your makeup. For me, I have to put this on at least 10 minutes before I put on my makeup, go and get dressed, maybe fuss with my hair, then come back and put my foundation on. The first time I used the primer oil I just put it on and immediately put my foundation on top of it, and two hours later it looked like all of my makeup had melted off of my skin!

Once I figured out how to apply it, it seemed to work well. I really liked it on my dry skin, because it acted as an all-day moisturizer and made my foundation look very light and luminous in those areas. But on my oily cheeks, I don’t think it really helped to keep my foundation on. In that case, I actually preferred my L’Oreal Lumi Primer.

Overall, if you have dry skin, definitely check this primer oil out! But, if you’re like me and have combination or oily skin, I don’t know if it’s for you. Plus the fact that you have to wait 10 minutes before putting on your makeup is a little tedious and adds more time to my morning routine. The high price puts this at 3/5.

I think next time I’m going to pick up the MAC Prep + Prime Fix+ because I’m hoping this is my holy grail primer. I have tried so many primers, but I still can’t seem to find one that I like! HELP.

L’Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer

Ya’ll know I am hopelessly devoted to the L’Oreal True Match Foundation (I recently repurchased in a darker shade because I got a little tan over the summer!). I love this foundation because of the full coverage but light feeling it leaves on my skin. The color matching is perfect.

However, on special nights out or when I need to make my makeup last all day, I have yet to find the perfect primer. I picked up the L’Oreal Magic Lumi Primer ($11) at the drugstore the other day to test it out. It does a couple of things well: it definitely has a luminous effect on the skin…Not sparkly, but glowing. I love this look under my True Match Foundation because that foundation is very matte, and this gives a nice youthful glow. It also goes on easily and makes my skin look very smooth. You can even combine it with your foundation instead of applying it beforehand so that you can get an even glow all over.

However, I’m not convinced that it made my makeup last much longer than it normally would have. Maybe a little bit, but it definitely wasn’t sweat proof or anything. For the price, I think it’s a pretty good deal, and I will probably repurchase unless I can find a better last-all-day primer. 4/5

Drugstore Pore and Redness Reducing Mattifier

By now you guys know that I am self-conscious of my large pore-size, the occasional acne blemish, and redness I have mostly on my cheeks and around my nose area. I’m pretty sure EVERYBODY has these same problems, so I’m constantly on the look out for the best product to fix it.

I was perusing the drugstore, and found the Olay Fresh Effects Clear Skin Redness and Pore Reducing Mattifier ($12) – say that 5x fast – and I picked it up to test it out. I mean, reduce my pores, mattify my oily skin, eliminate redness, and it can be used as a primer?? This stuff claims to be able to do everything! And, since it’s 4th of July, and the heat has been too much for full makeup, I was hoping I could use this instead of makeup on some days.

I’ve used it a few times now, and I will say it feels less like a primer and more like a leave-on acne medicine. You can feel the burn a little bit as you’re putting it on, so you know it’s working and not just covering up the redness and pores. It blurred the pores on my face a little bit, but it definitely didn’t cover them entirely without makeup. I don’t think it’s a very good primer…It doesn’t go on very smooth, so it actually makes it more difficult to apply my makeup. But as an acne medicine or as a foundation replacement when I don’t want to wear makeup, this is pretty useful. Not sure if I would buy it again though because I think it made my skin matte, but at the expense of making it less soft. 3/5

Elf Poreless Face Primer

I have never used a primer before putting on foundation. Honestly, I didn’t even know I was supposed to use one until recently when I start watching YouTube tutorials. But now that I’m wearing makeup more regularly, I want to be able to make my hard work last a long time! So while I was in Target I picked up a bottle of e.l.f. Poreless Face Primer ($6).

I picked this one for a couple of reasons…The price was really great, and the fact that it is meant to smooth large pores really seemed like a positive for me. I personally hate my large pores, so anything that will cover those up works for me. I was excited to use it, so I immediately took off my makeup, toned, and moisturized my skin, then used this primer before applying my makeup.

This particular primer has a very oily texture. It helped to allow my foundation to go on smooth, but I didn’t like the way it felt on my skin. It was light, and despite putting a little more foundation than normal with this primer, I could still definitely see my pores and it did not give a flawless finish I was looking for. It also has a weird chemical smell that I wasn’t a fan of. I’m not convinced it made my makeup last any longer, and it made my skin very shiny after a few hours.

In this case, you definitely get what you pay for. I’ll have to do some more research and see if there are other options out there. Do any of you have a primer that you recommend that’s not too expensive? I heard Maybelline’s primers were supposed to be good…2/5 because it helped my makeup go on easily and the packaging was nice.