Prime Time Summer - Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer

Hey there!

Can I please tell you about this primer?

First of all, have you figured out that if I am passionate (one way or the other) about something, I begin with "Can I please tell you" or something like that. That tells you the voraciousness of my love or dislike for something. In this case, it is my love.

This primer is not cheap. I played with many, many primers at Sephora the day that I purchased this. My hand was as sleek and slippery as the day is long. I couldn’t even baby wipe all the primer off my hand. But this baby right here was a stand out.

The Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer is what I am talking about.

This primer is lightweight and absorbs quickly. It’s not greasy and even though there is an SPF added, you don’t get that SPF smell, look or feel.

Some folks don’t like that silicone feel of primers. If that’s so, this is probably not the primer for you because it does have a slight silicone feel. I like that feel. Slightly silicone means that the rest of my face products will go on and stay on. And yes, they certainly do with this primer.

There is also a “glow” or “hue” with this primer. I don't mean an ugly tint. I mean an honest to goodness, "her face is glowing" glow. Am I the only person to say that? I don’t know if it’s the SPF15 or unicorn tears or what but there really is a slight glow that you see when it goes on. After you’ve added powder or foundation, that glow is still there. Pretty nice, huh.

And, I know what you’re going to say. At $18 for .33oz ($52 for 1oz, $72 for 2 oz Jumbo), it should leave you with a glow. That should be the case but I’ve tried other high end primers that didn’t do squat for my face and I’ve tried low end primers that I love. So, cost means nothing in the makeup game (well, it means something but not always what you think it should mean).

In this case, this is $18 well spent because “a dab will do ya”. If I’m having a light day, 1 pump in the center of my face is enough. If it’s a full makeup day, I use a pump and a half. I should have started counting the pumps to figure out how many pumps are in there! I don’t know how many pumps but I do know that I’ve been using this container for a month and I still appear to have quite a bit left.

I already said that I love this one so yes, I will repurchase it. I might even pay for the 1 oz size. Yep, I like it that much.

And that is saying A LOT coming from me!!

Prime Time Summer - Becca Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector

Hey there!

I said that this summer would be my Prime Time Summer. I've seen a lot of new primers popping up and I wanted to try a few and see if I like them or if they do anything special for me. I haven't had to spend a ton of money try these primers. The first two I tried were discounted sample sizes and I used a 100 point Sephora perk to pick up the Becca Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector that I tried this time. It's a .27 fl oz tube -- just enough to figure out if you like it. The full size (1.35 oz) is $36.

Well good people, I've spent the past two weeks using the Becca Poreless primer and I must admit, the search isn't yielding many good results.

I do have to give this primer it's due. It isn't heavy on the face (and you know I love that) and it absorbs into the skin quickly without a silicone feel. I don't have a problem with the silicone feel but I know some folks do. It's clear and I like that because "flesh toned" primers aren't "flesh toned" for me. They can make me look ashy. Because this is clear, I don't need to adjust my makeup color around it.

Now, on to what I didn't like. This primer smells funny. That's the first thing that caught my attention. I can't tell you what it smells like -- just funny. But, because primer goes on next to your nose, you can smell it for quite a while. Even once my face powder was on, I could smell it for about an hour. I didn't like that.  And, once again, I didn't see that it did anything special for my complexion. I really wanted it to do something special! I wanted it to be awesome and great and make my face smooth as a baby's....

I won't say I wasted my 100 points because I did get to try it. And, I'll continue to use it...mixed with a bit of BB cream or moisturizer (I am the QUEEN of mixing stuff with BB cream or moisturizer). Yes, I'll smell it for a while but I don't want to waste my 100 point perk.

No, I will definitely NOT pay full price for this or even use any perks.

Prime Time Summer - Rimmel London Fix & Perfect Primer

A week or so ago I mentioned that I was looking at primers. Folks keep talking about how great primers are, if you get a good one. Everyone mentions making your foundation last longer and smoothing your skin. I don't have large pores but I'd love for my foundation to last all day. I put on my makeup at 6am and don't get home until 6:30pm. So, I'm on the hunt for a good one because, I want a great primer too!

This week I have been trying my Rimmel London Fix & Perfect Primer in 001 ($5.49, Target - $1.00 off coupon). Before you get too excited, 001 Apricot is the only shade this primer is available in. I was a bit hesitant by that but I had a coupon so...

On the Rimmel London website it promises that this primer will "create a perfect canvas for foundation application". They say you can use it alone or with foundation and it minimizes pores. I don't have large pores to begin with but this didn't minimize the ones I have, so if you have large pores, I can't see this minimizing yours either.

The color is a shade and a half too light for me (NC42) so wearing it alone would make me look ashy. I have to use this under foundation. Had I done my research, I might have tried the Fix & Perfect Pro Primer in 002. That primer is actually a white, lotiony color that doesn't have a tint to it. That one would probably work without foundation. But, that leads me to ask the question, why would I wear a primer without foundation? I have a BB cream I can use and I can mix it with moisturizer if I want to sheer it out a bit. So they whole "use it alone" doesn't fly for me.

But, for what it is and what I paid for it, it's acceptable. I don't see that it really enhanced my foundation wear time, so it didn't help the case for primer but I don't plan on giving up. Would I buy this again? If I need a primer, I can see that this would be ok. But for what a primer should do, no. To wear alone, no.

So the hunt is STILL on. What's next? Stay tuned.

Prime Time Summer - NYC Smooth Skin Perfecting Primer

I know that technically it's not Summer yet but it's close enough. It's warm and I like warm (hot) so I'll dub it Summer.

For some strange reason, I have ended up with several tubes of primer and pore smoother and face blurrer. I thought about trying them out and making it Blurry June but when I counted the tubes that I have, I realized that have too many to give them a good test during just the month of June. So, I'll try them in June, July and August.

Well, I am probably breaking the rules already (and would you expect anything less?). I've been using this primer for the past month. I've been using the NYC Smooth Perfecting Primer in shade 684. I chose this primer because I hadn't really used primers regularly and I wanted to make sure that my skin would be ok with primers and BB creams and concealers and powders, all on the same day. My face can get claustrophobic and too many products on it makes me feel bad. Really, I just want to remove my makeup instantly.

With this product, my skin was just fine.

 

I wish you could see the pearlescent color. It's really pretty.

I didn't have any problems with the primer at all. The drop that you see is the same amount I use for half of my face. I don't know if that seems like too much to you but what I found was when used in that quantity, it gives my face a dewy finish. Once I put on my foundation and powder that finish was pretty much gone BUT on the weekend I use my moisturizer (with SPF) and then mixed this primer with my BB Cream and a light dusting of powder and it looks great.

Now, the back of the bottle says that it "minimizes skin imperfections, lines and pores for a perfect complexion". I'm not hoping on that train folks! I get a glow but that's about it. It also says "skin feels smooth, silky and moisturized". I can't put money into that claim either because I use it with my moisturizer.  And, I think that's ok. I paid half of $4.49 (BOGO half price baby!) and a nice weekend glow and possibly silky skin is totally worth $2.25.

Would I buy this again? Sure, I'd pay half price maybe even full price. But, I'm saying that before Prime Time Summer has even begun. Let's check back in August, shall we?

Have you figured out your holy grail primer? Or, have you just decided you don't need one. If you are on the fence, try them with me!