Primers: Tried & Tested

Hello again lovelies! Until recently I never really thought of primers as an essential part of my make-up collection, however i've been using them a lot more regularly lately and I thought i'd share my thoughts on the ones i've tried so far. They vary in price, ranging from high street to high end and they are all slightly different in their formulations and what they aim to deliver, so i'm going to go through each one separately.

(From left to right: Maybelline Dream Smooth Primer, bareMinerals Prime Time Brightening Foundation Primer, Laura Mercier Foundation Primer, bareMinerals Prime Time Brightening Eyelid Primer and Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion)

The Dream Smooth Primer by Maybelline "smooths and perfects the skin to create a flawless canvas for effortless make-up application". It is a clear gel that reduces the appearances of pores, fills in any lines and essentially perfects the skin surface creating a flawless base for your foundations. I use this almost every day after applying my moisturiser and before putting on any make-up and I really love the way that it improves the finish of my foundation. It's the cheapest primer in my collection and I would definitely repurchase this again, especially as the tiniest amount is sufficient to cover your whole face as it smooths across the skin so nicely. The only downside is that it has a slightly odd smell which reminds me of those gooey alien toys that were the craze when I was in primary school! (google them!) 

You can pick up this primer for £8.99 at Boots or Superdrug. 

The Prime Time Brightening Foundation Primer from bareMinerals not only smooths out fine lines and minimises large pores, but also gives a healthy glowing effect. As you can see in the photograph above, when the product is pumped out it does look as though it has quite a strong colour to it, however when blended into the face this initial colour is barely visible and instead you are left with a glowy, ever so slightly shimmery look. One factor that I really love about this primer is that it has been formulated to "combat dry patches", which is great as I can occasionally get dry skin, particularly in the winter and some foundations accentuate this, so this product comes in very handy. This primer is quite expensive, with an RRP of £21.00, but you can find cheaper deals online such as on feelunique.com, where it is selling for £18.50.

I actually received this Laura Mercier Foundation Primer in this month's Birchbox (to read my full post on this month's box click here). The formula of this primer is slightly different to both the Maybelline and bareMinerals ones, as it is a creamy consistency. Laura Mercier claim that "just as a painter 'primes' a canvas, Foundation Primer - the original- was created by Laura Mercier in 1995 to 'prime' the skin." I'm actually really surprised to learn how long this primer has been around as I hadn't even heard of primers until a few years ago! This primer is excellent at perfecting the surface of your skin and increasing the longevity of your foundation, as well as containing vitamins A, C and E to protect the skin, which I feel justifies the price. 

A full sized 50ml tube of this will set you back £28.00 and can be purchased from Space N.K.

The bareMinerals Prime Time Brightening Eyelid Primer "provides a smooth, brightening base to maximise the colour intensity and staying power" of eyeshadows. It also helps to prevent creasing and generally helps your eye make-up to stay looking perfect for longer. Similar to the face version of this primer, it has a glowy sheen to it, however the shimmery golden champagne colour of this primer is so pretty that it can be worn alone, but generally speaking I do prefer colourless primers. Be warned as it's very easy to squeeze out too much of this as you really do need an absolutely tiny amount. The packaging has been changed since I bought mine though, so it could be less messy now! This product has an RRP of £16, but again feelunique.com have it cheaper for £13.95 (every little helps!).

Last, but by certainly no means least, is probably the most famous eyeshadow primer ever, the coveted Urban Decay Primer Potion. This product acts as such an amazing base for eyeshadows and dramatically improves their staying power. This version has a creamy consistency which dries clear, however there is now also a range of coloured alternatives that can be worn alone as well as as a base. I actually got this tube with my Naked Palette and considering I received that in February and i'm only just running out of this highlights what good value for money this is. Unfortunately i'm a poor student so will probably have to use up my other primers before I can actually justify repurchasing this, but it really is worth the hype. 

You can get it for £15.00 from Debenhams.

Have you tried any of these primers? Do you have any recommendations?