The Glueless Scr4pbook.

I recently received this Laura Mercier Foundation Primer free as part of my Vogue subscription and I have used it almost every day since receiving it (excluding the last week where I have been testing out my new Chanel Primer), so I thought I'd try and do a mini review for you guys.

I have the deluxe size which is 30ml, the full sized product is 50ml and will set you back around £30, this is the original formula I believe, and I know there are now Oil Free and Radiance versions available too. The consistency is a thin gel cream which is very watery and slippy so not a lot is needed to cover the whole face, once on it dries in almost instantly and doesn't feel tight or greasy, kind of feels like nothing's there at all really, it doesn't have the powdery feel of the Porefessional or the silky feel of Babyskin, it just feels like normal skin which I think is one of the best things about it.

Unlike a lot of other primers this one only has one aim: to make your foundation last, it doesn't claim it will diminish pores or disguise them, it doesn't boast anything about smoothing out the skin, it purely states that it is "the perfect canvas for make up application", and I really would agree, I have used this primer with my MAC Studio Fix Fluid, my Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation and also when I just use my Nars Radiant Creamy Concealers alone, and with all three I have noticed they actually last me the whole day, I don't quite know how it does it or the science behind it, but if you find it hard to keep your make up in place all day, I really recommend this.

I'm so glad I got it as a freebie because it was on my wanted list, now I can go out and get the oil free version and see how they compare. Hope this was helpful.

The blurb on this states that it is a skin perfecting primer which has an ultra lightweight formula, it minimises pores, controls shine for up to 8 hours, won't feel greasy or heavy and creates a soft, perfectly matte complexion. I must agree that most of this is entirely true, I have used it for the past week, under my make up and it keeps me shine free for most of the day, I would say around 6 hours, baring in mind that I have a job that involves a lot of running around and sweating (sorry, but it's true) so I truly believe that it has the ability to last for a full 8 hours on a normal day to day basis.

This is just a quick review on a few of my pore minimising products, the Maybelline Baby Skin, Lancôme Pure Focus T-zone (actually no longer available), Clinique Pore Minimizer and lastly Benefits Porefessional. 

I picked these four products as each pair is so similar, firstly there is the gel type products, the Maybelline and the Lancôme, as you can see from the picture they are almost identical (Lancôme on the left, Maybelline on the right) and I would like to state that they also both feel and look the same once on the skin too, they both smooth out the majority of my pores, are lightweight, make my skin feel like velvet and give a nice matte finish. I apply these before my make up as otherwise I find they completely separate my make up and make me patchy. I don't find either of them to work for very long, I would say 4 hours before my oil starts appearing and in my opinion they cannot be reapplied because of the make up separating dilemma. They are however good to be worn alone, or with a fake tan base because the matte effects of these primers won't completely flatten you as you will have your fake tan glow.

Secondly I have the more mousse type formulas, Clinique and Benefit, again almost identical (Clinique on the left, Benefit on the right), these are both a thin airy whipped mousse type consistency, they are both again soft on the skin and do cover the pores, but the problem I find with these mousse type formulas is that (obviously these "pore minimizers" don't actually shrink our pores, they merely fill them so that they are flush with our skins surface to give the illusion that the pores aren't there) as they are ever so slightly tinted, they tend to be more obvious, you can kind of see the gathered up product just sitting in your pores which really isn't great when you are trying to make them LESS noticeable. They both give a very matte finish and I find they also last for around 4 hours, I also notice that this consistency tends to go cakey a lot. I know there are lots of huge fans of the Benefit Porefessional but these are just my thoughts. Oh and by the way these are again products that I recommend using under your make up, even though the packaging says either or.

In conclusion, my personal preference is the gel formula primers, I think they sit better on the skin, they look more natural and they still give a matte finish. I am currently using the Baby Skin by Maybelline the most as it is the newest and therefore the most intriguing.

Hope this was helpful guys.