It took a while for face primers to truly reach the European market, but about two years ago, they came here in full force.
I had a trip planned to Cannes that year for my aunt's wedding and I carefully put together a list of items I wanted, nay, needed to get at Sephora (Switzerland is unfortunately utterly devoid of any good drugstores or Sephora-like stores). Face primers of all sorts were at the top of that list.
I got a few absolutely stellar ones, like the Primed and Poreless from Too Faced (my favourite, bar none, to this day) and two from Urban Decay. But since I've always been a fan of Sephora's own house-brand, I really wanted to try their equivalent, which is the Smoothing Primer. Well, it was a let down.
Today, I want to share with you my experience with this primer. First up, picture time!
You get 15ml for 10,90€ in a little pump bottle. It's half plastic, half glass, so it's quite sturdy.
This primer is completely transparent. It is advertised as being both smoothing and mattifying.
Here we encounter the first problem: it is not properly smoothing. Yes, it does make skin soft to the touch (through silicone is my guess) but it does not smooth over pores and fine lines, yet this is exactly what is advertised on the website. Primers are supposed to perfect skin by optically reducing pores and lines, filling them up a little and thus making the skin more even for all the products that will go on top. This primer definitely doesn't do that. You get the feeling of a primer without the actual action of a primer. That's not good enough.
The mattifying part is also not entirely true. I don't have oily skin (anymore, adios teen years!) but in the few spots where I do get a little oily (bridge of the nose mainly and emphasis on "little"), it did not perform to my satisfaction. My skin looked exactly the same as it would have without the primer and what really controlled the slight shine was the translucent powder I put on top. If this doesn't work on my neutral to dry skin, I doubt it would work for those who really need some mattifying action and buy this primer because it advertises it.
The good news is: you can make this primer work. For instance it's quite nice spread generously over the décolleté and neck. While it may not mattify or smooth, it will make those areas ever so soft to the touch. On a date night or so, that can be a big plus! You can also use it on your hands for the same effect.
Sadly, quite a disappointing primer which does none of the things it promises to do. Definitely not a product I'd repurchase or recommend.
Stay beautiful, inside and out,
Anna
Linky links: Smoothing Primer on Sephora's French website
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