No-one likes a shiny greasy looking face least of all me, and since I am not blessed with oil free skin I have to work for it. I am forever trying to find a makeup and primer that prevents my face literally sliding off throughout the day so I am continuously trying out primers and foundations in the search for a flawless look.
For the past few weeks I have been trying out the NYX HD Studio Photogenic Primer Base (£12) and Avon’s MagiX Face Perfector (£10.50).
First up Avon’s take on their HD finish complex. To start with I found the texture absolutely horrific. It was really grainy and I felt I was applying a facial scrub to my face not a primer. As it started to dry in, the product was very patchy and when I applied my foundation it was very hard to spread and blend and had took on a life force of its own with its dry and crumbly texture. Not wanting to let this product beat me I tried it again the next morning with my moisturiser and if anything it made things worse. All in all I wouldn’t be recommending this as a go to primer. My face was far from smooth and flawless.
Next up was NYX HD Studio Photogenic Primer. For those of you wondering what the whole HD photogenic concept is about, in a nutshell the theory is that it erases the appearance of fine lines and pores and smooths imperfections that once a photo is taken the light will reflect off the primer and therefore giving you that flawless look.
The formula of the NYX Primer is bright white in colour but do not let that put you off it applies colourless to the skin. It is very lightweight compared to Avon’s and it applied well and very smooth. My foundation glided on and my skin looked so much brighter and fresh faced than before. I looked like I had a few good nights sleep which is far from reality. So far I was very impressed but the true test would be if it would last throughout the day.
Several hours later and I hadn’t needed to touch up my foundation at all with any powder, whereas without the primer I would be constantly touching up throughout the day that by the time it came to take my makeup off it would look like it was inches thick.
How did it fare when it was selfie time? Well see for yourself below. The photos where took on an iPhone, no fancy photography equipment was used and no filters applied, just the phone’s flash. Indeed my lines and pores and any imperfections where dramatically lessened, my face looked brighter, it was a few shades lighter compared to my skin colouring on the rest of my body so something to be aware of for those with darker skin tones. But that is the whole point of these HD products that they work by having light reflect off them so no matter how much makeup you apply you will always have a lighter face than the rest of your body.
By far NYX HD Studio Photogenic Primer was the winner for me and such reasonably priced it is definitely an affordable everyday primer.
