We are going through a heatwave in this corner of the world. I don’t deal well with the heat. I melt. And it’s not fun to wear makeup either because even that thin layer on top of skin feels hot, and – guess what – it melts. Off. Still, some days I have to put on a face, so I’m reviewing two makeup primers in hopes they help solve this problem. Because even if you’re able to fry an egg on my forehead, at least it should be over a flawless, long lasting full beat face.
Laura Mercier has range of primers of which I have two, with two very distinct purposes: one is hydrating, the other is blurring.
Laura Mercier Hydrating Pure Canvas Primer
As one can tell by the name, the purpose of a hydrating primer is, well, to hydrate. It’s meant to prevent the skin from looking dry or crepey, because dry skin will accentuate fine lines and texture, and even more so when using an oil controlling setting powder. This is the main reason why I sometimes prefer hydrating primers over mattifying ones in the scorching heat – because the rest of my base will be oil-controlling enough, and I still need it to look good.
Texture and application: the primer is a light gel-like fluid, nicely refreshing and easy to spread. It feels like a lightweight moisturizer.
Finish on skin: it has that typical moisturizer shiny finish on the skin. The skin does not look greasy or oily.
Performance: regardless of what the primer focuses on, there is one thing they should all do: make the makeup apply and look better, and make it last longer. Well, the hydrating primer does not make a difference when it comes to the rest of my makeup. My foundation does not apply any better or worse, looks no different, and last the same. You could say that there is no point in using it then, and you would be basically correct, but the fact is that it is hydrating, without being greasy, and I like it to add just a bit more moisture to my skin. It’s one of those that I’ll gladly use and enjoy doing it, even though I probably won’t be buying it again.
Laura Mercier Blurring Pure Canvas Primer
This primer is meant to be blurring, so it should smooth out pores, wrinkles and skin texture. The brand also claims that it is oil controlling and because of that I will be judging it on that capacity as well.
Texture and application: this primer feels like a light cream with a slightly silicone feel to it (even though it is silicone-free). I’m used to blurring primers being very thick, almost paste like, and this is none of that – it closer to a lightweight gel. It is relatively easy to spread, as long as you don’t have already a lot of creams on your skin, in which case it starts to ball up really easily and it is a nightmare to deal with, because the only solution is remove everything and start over.
Finish on skin: this leaves a matte (but not dry looking) finish on the skin. It is indeed blurring and pore minimising, texture on the skin is less obvious, and this gives an overall smoother look to the face.
Performance: if you don’t wear any makeup on top, it works. However, applying any sort of foundation becomes a hassle. This starts to ball up and flake off like no other – forget about using brushes, or your fingers, the only chance you have of getting this to stay on your skin and not roll up into little beads of dirt is by using a sponge and tapping a small amount of foundation, bit by bit, until you cover the whole face. And if at least all that effort was worth something in the end – but it isn’t! Even though this primer looks blurring without anything else on, once foundation is applied, it looks cake-y. My base looks worse with this primer than without. Longevity wise, it does nothing – not better, not worse – and the same goes for oil control, regardless of what the brand says: it’s exactly the same as not wearing primer.
Comparison & Final Thoughts
Two very different primers that end up behaving the same when it comes to makeup longevity – they do nothing. They don’t make it worse, but no one would buy them based on that, right? They are definitely not the solution for a makeup-melting heatwave.
I have the smaller sizes (25 ml), they come in a squirt tube and cost 24,95€ each.
Of the two, I clearly prefer the hydrating. It’s nothing to write home about, but it slightly moisturizing, and it could be a useful extra step for dry skin types.
The blurring was the biggest disappointment: so promising, so close to working, but so annoying in the end. I never had a primer that made foundation application such a hassle. I will not be using this with makeup on top probably ever again, but I’m going to try to use it up on those days when I don’t wear makeup, just sunscreen, because when used by itself the skin does look smoothed out.
This being said, I’m not really recommending either. The only use I can see that is worth the purchase is for the blurring primer, if you are someone who prefers not to wear foundation but would still like to have smoother looking skin. Other than that, it’s a pass.
