Beauty 411 : Favourite Drugstore Primer

I am a believer in, lover of and advocate for the importance of a primer. Whether I am opting in or out of wearing a full coverage foundation, I always opt for wearing a primer first. It is the product that I always recommend investing in to improve the appearance, application and wear of your foundation. Although, my favourite options are often accompanied by a high-end price tag and I have struggled to find a drugstore alternative that lives up to my expectations. I am here to share the only high-street primer that I have ever been impressed by and now reach for on a daily basis; L’Oreal Paris Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer.

Expectations:

I expect a primer to smooth out the texture of my skin, reduce the appearance of my pores, even out my skin tone and leave a matte finish. It should improve the wear of any makeup placed on top or the appearance of my skin on a makeup free day.

Primer Profile:

Brand - L’Oreal Paris
Name - Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer
Price - £14.29
Claim - ‘Inspired by professional make-up artists, this primer masks wrinkles and uneven textures in the skin, making the complexion feel smooth and soft, with a remarkable velvety touch’

Result:

The first thing I love about this primer is the texture. It is smooth, silky and blends seamlessly into my skin to disguise imperfections and minimise pores. It leaves a velvety, matte finish that is the perfect base for a foundation and one I often prefer over my high-end options.

Only a pea-sized amount is needed at a time and I simply dab it onto the areas that need smoothing out. I rub it into my forehead, nose, chin and around my mouth to prevent my foundation from settling into laugh lines or creasing. It doesn’t leave a greasy residue and instead my skin is left feeling velvety soft. 

I apply this daily on top of my moisturiser, whether I am wearing foundation or not. It prevents my face from looking oily throughout the day and helps to blur imperfections.

This is the only drugstore primer that I have tried that actually performs. Although price-wise it is at the higher end of the drugstore, it is still only a fraction of the cost that a luxury option would set you back. I hope you enjoyed this review and I would love to hear your thoughts as well as the primers that work for you in the comments.

Devon

xoxo

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Beauty 411 : Liquid Liner

This instalment of the Beauty: 411 shall be dedicated to Liquid Liner; that dreaded routine that causes a tense moment of breath holding for all of us. Mastering the art of the feline flick requires both practice as well as the right tools and I am here to share my goto high-end and high-street liners.

1. High-End

After my guilty Cult Beauty Haul, I made the discovery of the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Eyeliner and I have been putting it to the test since. I am happy to award this as the best liner in my collection and I would eagerly invest the £13.00 again to repurchase. 

This is in the style of a felt tip pen, which makes drawing a thin line along your lashes incredibly easy and the tip creates the perfect flick. An instantly opaque, pitch black line is revealed that dries almost immediately. 

Even on my oily, small lids this liner stays in place all day; a feature that I always struggle to find. Both gel and pencil liners instantly transfer onto my lid and will smudge after only a couple of hours. With this, I can rely on my feline flick sticking in place until I wash my makeup off at the end of the day.

2. High-Street

As a lover of liner and in my constant quest to find the perfect match, I have tried my fair share of drugstore offerings. My favourite one that I always return to is the L’Oreal Paris Super Liner, priced at a purse friendly £6.49. This has a thin, study sponge tip that allows you to draw an instantly dense, black line with ultimate precision.  

I love the Black Lacquer colour, which creates a shine finish; although this can easily be toned down by running a black eyeshadow over the top with a detail brush. This not only creates a matte finish but also adds to the wear time of your liner.

That’s it for this Beauty 411 and I hope you enjoyed this handful of tips and my suggestions for the best liners on the market. You can also read all about my favourite primers for a flawless finish in my previous 411 post.

Devon

xoxo

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Beauty 411 : Primers

I am a firm believer that to achieve a long-wearing flawless finish, your makeup routine should always kick off with a decent primer. This invisible yet powerful base will improve the appearance and wear of any makeup sitting on top. In this post I shall share my dynamic duo for ensuring an impeccable finish that lasts as long as possible. 

Both these products are each primer a-listers in their own right; however their performance is even more impressive when paired together as I often do.

Firstly I apply the Stila One Step Correct Colour Corrector; a triple-swirled helix serum to even out and brighten my skin tone. My attention was instantly captured by the intertwining lavender, peach and green serums that swirl up the centre of the bottle. 

When you pump the product out you are left with a swirl of the three tones, which then blend seamlessly into your skin. The effect is to add life to a dull complexion by calming down redness as well as blurring out uneven skin tone and imperfections. 

Once I have this initial base, I then add the Benefit Porefessional Primer to my t-zone. This is the area where I suffer the most with large pores, breakouts and oily skin. This primer provides extra power for keeping my makeup in place and looking flawless on top of these troublesome areas. 

This Benefit primer is a holy grail beauty product that is worth the hype. It blends into my skin to even out all imperfections and create a smooth, matte base for my makeup to sit on top off. 

Once I have this perfect base I can trust that any foundation I wear on top will blend evenly, look flawlessly smooth and last a lot longer. If I were to suggest one beauty product for anyone to invest in it would always be a flaw-defying primer.

I hope that you all enjoyed this Beauty 411 post and I would love to hear what you think either in the comments below. What is your favourite primer or makeup essential?

Devon

xoxo

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