I have never used a foundation primer until I went to Sephora and had a little bit applied onto my face as I got color matched for some bareMineral foundation. After that little taste of foundation primer and how soft and silky it made my skin feel, I was hooked. However, I was not hooked enough to want to spend $21 on a tiny bottle of primer. So before going on a splurge, I got a couple samples of bareMinerals Prime Time Foundation Primer and the Oil Control version to make sure they didn’t cause me to breakout.
Prime Time Foundation Primer (1 fl oz. – $21)
This primer goe
s on smoothly and evens out my skin. I love the silky feeling I get from the primer, and it also keeps my foundation powder on longer. The silky feeling from the primer isn’t very oil and is quickly absorbed into the skin though after using this for a couple days it caused me to have minor breakouts.
Pros: makes skin feel soft and silky, not too oily, a good foundation primer
Cons: Expensive, causes minor breakouts on my oily skin.
Prime Time Oil Control Foundation Primer (1 fl oz. – $21)
This primer is a lot thicker than the regular formula. The sample mini jar I had had a dollop of primer and it remained that way until I used it all. As for the regular primer, it is a lot oilier and the moment it was put in the jar it just started to coat the bottom of the jar, but the primer isn’t runny or watery just a bit viscous and not a thick gel like the Oil Control.
I found that because of the thickness of the Oil Control primer, I had to use more primer to cover my whole face, and it did not leave the nice silky feeling that the regular primer had. Also after about two hours, my face would feel very oily, oiler than usual, and I would have to blot out excess facial oil with blotting tissue. Maybe that is the function of oil control and it supposed to keep oil off the skin, but I really did not like the feeling of oil all over my T-zone. Also the primer sort of smelled like glue.
Despite these issues I had with the Oil Control Primer, the primer still did its job in keeping my foundation on; smoothing out my face and making my pores look smaller.
Pros: Works well as primer for mineral powders, did not cause breakouts
Cons: Expensive, primer is thick, does not have silky texture when applied, makes my skin feel very oily, smells like glue
After trying out these samples, I still could not bring myself to spend $21 on a tiny bottle of primer. But Cyn directed me to the Eyes Lips Face (E.L.F.) website and mentioned their primer ran for nearly half of the price of bareMinerals. So I figured it couldn’t hurt and gave it a try.
E.L.F. Mineral Infused Face Primer (.49 fl oz. – $6)
This primer was everything that I hoped for. Just a little pump and I have enough primer to cover my whole face. My face feels silky smooth and it does not cause me to break out. The primer is a great base for my powder foundation and does everything that the bareMinerals primer did. Though the main difference between primers is that it is not as viscous as the bareMinerals Prime Time formula, but the E.L.F primer is far from watery. Though the first time I used the primer, it did come out very watery, but it might have been because it was a really hot day because the next time I used it, the primer came out as a gel and has always been a gel-like texture ever since.
There have been complaints about the bottle pump being cheaply m
ade and it stops pumping after several uses, but I have been using my bottle for a while and have not had any problems with the pump. The only minor problem I have is that the cap for the bottle is a bit loose and has a tendency to fall off when in my makeup bag.
Also you don’t need a lot of the primer to cover your whole face. I usually use only half a pump and it is more than enough to cover my entire face, so this little bottle should last you a while.
Overall I am very happy with the E.L.F. primer and will probably stick to it because it is much more cost effective for my tight budget.
Pros: Makes skin feel silky and soft, cheaper price, good foundation primer for mineral powders, has not caused me to breakout yet, don’t need a lot for whole face
Cons: A bit small, but two bottles of these still costs less than the other brand, cap for bottle not tight
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