little white truths

Verdict

I tend not to go for these pore-plugging, silicone-based mattifying primers because I have dry skin and don't want to look matte (I'm all about the dew), plus I don't love the feel of these products on my face - but I bought this because I've become more concerned about pores as I've gotten older, plus I'd seen some good reviews so when Priceline had a half-price sale, I decided to go ahead and buy it.

It's a standard, clear silicone primer that goes on smoothly and a little goes a long way so I wouldn't overdo it with this or your makeup will slip and slide around.

It definitely does have a pore-blurring, mattifying effect when you pop it on, so if you wanted to just wear this and not bother with makeup for the day, you could definitely do that because it makes my skin look better when used alone. Not when used with my tinted moisturiser or foundation.

I've no idea what actually happens to this product when I put something over it, but as soon as I do, it stops blurring my pores and they're as obvious as they were before I applied it. Perhaps it's that my base product dissolves or lifts this one, but if it doesn't do its job underneath makeup, then as far as I'm concerned, it's not a good product and it doesn't meet its claims.

I've also tried patting this over makeup because sometimes pore-plugging primers work better when used over your foundation, if your main concern is open pores rather than longevity (that was my experience of Benefit's The Porefessional, for example, reviewed here), but unfortunately this one does absolutely nothing when used this way. Except make my face feel oily.

On that, there's something really greasy about this product. Yes it will feel greasy and slippery if you apply too much, but I've also discovered that I often get oil breakthrough with this primer after a few hours - even if I only apply a little bit - and I know it's the primer that's doing this, rather than my dry skin, so that's something to be aware of.

Also, this doesn't make my makeup last longer. If anything, it makes it last a shorter amount of time, given that it tends to make my base greasy and therefore more likely to slip around.

So in sum, I don't think this is a good primer and I wouldn't recommend it. Perhaps it might work better on a different skin type (or underneath powder foundation, for example), but it doesn't work for my dry skin and it only looks good when used alone - which of course isn't what you want from something that's designed to go under makeup.

Not for me.