L'Oréal Paris Color Riche Fixing and Unifying Eyeshadow Primer

I was a bit confused by this product at first. It seemed weird that it was encased in plastic that you have to sharpen. It's really hard on the sharpener and on the plastic, which doesn't sharpen evenly. This is my major grievance with the product, which would all be fixed if they made it in a twist up/no sharpen format.

I'm really impressed with it as a primer though. For me it's quite long lasting. It gets me through the workday without any smudging, and a few hours after that too. It ends up being my eyeliner that smudges in the end! It works especially well with some creme eyeshadows that I have by CoverGirl- it somehow extends it's staying power.

One thing to watch out for is how fast it dries. It's rather thick to put on (so I wouldn't recommend it for super sensitive eyelids since it pulls a bit) and if I don't blend it immediately it becomes fixed where it is.

Because it's pigmented for colour correction, I don't really understand why there's only one colour option. I might actually go a shade darker if they had it as it seems to lighten up my skin a lot. It does a good job with coverage and evening skin tone though.

Benefit The Porefessional Face Primer

This stuff is my go to primer right now. It seems Benefit primers love me!

It has a slight tint to it, but when I apply I really don't feel this makes a huge amount of difference. It has the usual drying effect of every other primer I've used.

But I hardly need to use any at all to get the job done, which is awesome for a more expensive item. And it applies and blends in smoothly.

Besides that, what I'm looking for in a primer is something that will hold my foundation all day and fill in my pores as much as possible. This is the only one I've found so far that does both. Even with my pore test, under the Rimmel Lasting Finish full coverage foundation, it smooths everything down. And it keeps any foundation completely in place for me until the end of the work day. Even at the end of the day it's just my oily spots that have started to show through a bit. No smell either!

Revlon PhotoReady Color Correcting Primer

This was given to me with enough left to try for a little while, so by no means have I used as much as the pictures suggest!

It's on the liquid side of creamy, and has the typical primer side effect of feeling dry after the application. There's a faint rose scent to it, but nothing bothersome.

It claims to be colour correcting and looks slightly tinted. I don't notice any difference to my skin tone when I put it on. If I had a really even skin tone I'm sure it would be all I needed, but I don't.


What I'm looking for in a primer is to keep my foundation in place and to fill in my pores. This is about average as a foundation primer. It sticks around through most of the workday, but not quite til the end.

Swatch of Revlon PhotoReady Color Correcting Primer in 002

It does surprisingly well under a heavy foundation. One of the tests of a good primer for me is to see how visible my pores are after application of primer and the Rimmel Lasting Finish, and although this doesn't completely cover them, it does a better job than most.

This product isn't for me, but I would recommend it to someone who doesn't need a lot of coverage and who uses a light foundation. Has anyone found this works well for them? What are your favourite colour correcting primers?

Hard Candy Eyeshadow Primer

I haven't tried anything from Hard Candy before and this was given to me by a friend to try out.

It has a liquidy cream texture, and blends from white to clear. It doesn't take long at all to dry on the eyelid and you don't need much to cover from lash to brow. Unfortunately it doesn't like to stay there. It last for about half the day (~4 hrs) before my shadow and eyeliner find their way up into the crease. This could be good for someone who wants something super easy on the skin and who doesn't need their makeup to stay for a long time. But for me it's on to other primers!

Lise Watier Base Miracle Pore Minimizing Primer

I was excited to try this because of the name attached to it. But I was a little disappointed. It's a clear textured gel that goes on smooth. I do find it dries my skin a bit, maybe because it's supposed to give a matte finish (which it does). 

And as a pore minimizer it comes up a bit lacking. My main trouble spot where my pores show through is on my cheeks closest to my nose. No matter how much I use, it doesn't seem to completely fill them in. This isn't a problem for light or light/medium coverage foundations, but the heavier the foundation, the more my pores become visible. (I was worried at one point that my pores would forever show under my more serious foundations, but I have since found a few that make them disappear!)

As a primer to set foundation, I find it works great. My foundation stays on through the entire day, and only after the end of my work day do my trouble spots start to show through. So a plus for that. 

It's basically great for everyday use under a light or medium coverage foundation. I just feel like if you're going to spend $40 CAD on an everyday use primer, you may as well get one that works on the heavy duty nights as well. I can see it being well worth it for those without pore problems, but that is what this product is saying it can fix. 

Benefit Air Patrol BB Cream Eyelid Primer

It took me quite a while to get a good grip on how I feel about this product. I think there was just so much that it was proposing to do that it took time for me to work through everything and get used to it all. 

There is so much going on with this product. Because it is a BB cream it has a lot of properties that are good in a general way. The main good effect is that it's supposed to protect against air pollutants and other environmental stressors. It also has an SPF, but with the amount of testing and proofing it would have to go through they don't officially mention it. But that's alright, there's other things to draw your attention...

It's also being marketed as a good colour corrector, enough so that it can be worn on it's own when you don't want to do the whole eyeliner/eyeshadow routine. I did try this, and I will admit it does a fine job of colour correcting all around the eye (I always wonder about with the skin toned Benefit products is if it really works with ALL skin tones). It is a bit gummy on its own though and it seems to need a powder to set it.

Another feature is that the tip is supposed to be softer than your pinky finger. Which it is. But as an applicator I find it a bit lacking. Yes, it is soft enough to apply it directly to the eyelid. I still need either a blending brush or my finger to blend it in properly though. 

At the base of the tube is a clicker to push the product up to the tip. It's supposed to be one click per eye, which is a little lacking. I find that I use about 2 clicks per eyelid and a bit more to cover both the lid and the under eye area. The cool thing is that you can click it back if you've clicked it too far forward and it will take some of the product back into the tube.

And finally, the main thing it's supposed to do - be a primer! Usually my liner ends up in the crease, along with my shadow, and this made it stay put for at least 9 hours, which I figure is pretty good. 

And of course the packaging is pretty cool!

Swatch of Benefit Air Patrol BB Cream Eyelid Primer

Products Post: GOSH BB Skin Perfecting Kit

I can't give very good pictures of the inside of this because it's mostly used up! (I had to dig some product out of the creases with a tool for the swatches) A friend gave it to me because it wan't working for her (she got it in 01 Light) but it worked okay for me.

But I can say that it was really good as an eye primer, under eye concealer, and highlighter. Unfortunately I have yet to find something that works wonders on my spots! And at first I really didn't like the lightest colour in the palette as a highlighter (which is what it is supposed to be) using instead the lighter skin tone as under eye concealer and highlighter. But it somehow grew on me and it gets used as a good dewey highlighter on its own or as a primer for a powder highlighter.

I really like the fact that there's two skin tones together in this kit. It's perfect for blending together and just being able to use a different tone depending on the place you're putting it or how your skin looks that day. The texture is really smooth and it blends in well. It does crease at first, but if I wipe off the excess it won't again.

Swatches of GOSH BB Skin Perfecting Kit in 01 Light
From L to R: Light concealer, skin tone concealer, highlighter