Battle Of The...Face Primers. ELF vs. Almay.

                 ELF Mineral Infused Face Primer                                   Almay Smart Shade Perfect & Correct Primer

         ($6 @ eyeslipsface.com & Target stores)                                         ($10 - $13 @ local drug stores)

 

                   One pump of each primer                                  Swatch of one pump of each

                  (right: Elf, left: Almay)                                      (right: Elf, left: Almay)

I have never been one to really be in to face primers – I’ve gone with the philosophy that if you try to take good care of your skin and moisturize that you don’t really need it.  Besides, who really needs an extra layer of makeup on their face, I always believed that this could be a contributor to problematic skin.  However, over the past few months I’ve been playing around with two primers, more or less trying to get my feet wet with the whole “extra layer” thing.  What I found from these two products couldn’t be more dramatically different if they tried.

While going through a local target, the ELF (eyes, lips, face) mineral infused face primer caught my eye.  Now, I absolutely love many ELF products, however, I never really tried anything for the face from them.  So I thought, “what the heck, let’s give it a go”.  If it doesn’t work out, no big deal since ELF is rather inexpensive.  To my surprise, I fell head over heels IN LOVE.  Face primers proved to be a mysterious thing – you never know what they can actually do until you try it.  Everything from the staying power to the finish of my foundation and everything in between improved.  Not only that, but I was getting compliments on my flawless face. 

ELF Mineral Infused Face Primer blended out

I really began thinking that primers do make a real difference.  I’m attributing this to its gel like formulation and clear color.  There is no tint on your face when you apply it and it feels like the gel is filling in any cracks, crevices, and fine lines that might be on your face.  It makes the application of any foundation absolutely flawless!!  I was floored with the great impact this has had and in a short time it’s become a staple in my everyday routine and I’ve already gone through one and repurchased another.

I never expected I would be so drawn to primers.  But of course, because I found a product that worked so well for me (and was so cheap!!) I needed to go out and find one better.  I picked up the Almay smart shade perfect & correct primer.  Not as amazing as the ELF primer.  The consistency isn’t the same.  It’s more like a foundation, but it’s green and purple.  I guess that color is supposed to be the “correcting” aspect of the product.  But when you pump some product out it is mostly green, you see almost no purple (literally, I couldn’t even get a good enough swatch to show that there was any purple at all!!).  And when you go to apply it to your skin your face gets a green tint.  No matter how hard I tried to rub it all in my face still looked green.  This in turn made my face look way darker than it normally is once I applied foundation.  My face still had a green undertone.  I’ve tried using the Almay primer multiple ways and cannot find a way to make it work – if you have any suggestions on how to make it work, I’m more than willing to give it a try, but I don’t think there’s anything out there that can help this poor product.  Rather disappointing Almay, I love most of your products, but this one was a fail.

Almay Smart Shade Perfect & Correct Primer blended out

The quest for the perfect primer continues – until then, I’m perfectly fine with sticking with ELF.

Until next time ...