Porefessional Results

This is my holy grail of primers.....for my nose. This is not to say it can't be applied everywhere which it very much can be. I have used my freebie sample from May 2012 which I scrimped and saved all this time with still a little bit left to use. At first I applied it all over my face and loved it. It goes great under all my foundations I've tried including the Max Factor Colour Adapt Foundation which without Porefessional used to settle in any line it could find. Some days I use it all over but usually I put another primer over my face then use Porefessional just where I need it the most. This may sound ridiculous to some but I have many evil large pores on my nose that love to hold blackheads. I clean my skin regularly, use masks,exfoliate and use decent moisturiser but I haven't been able to fix it yet.

Porefessional has a silky smooth texture and is tinted but blends in well giving that extra coverage. It sits smoothly on the skin filling and disguising my pores and the same time with a nice matte finish. It minimises them visibly but then when I apply foundation its as if the problem was never there. Its love at first use and I convinced myself out of this many times as the price is usually £24.50 for 22 ml but if the sample has lasted me this long then getting the full size should keep me going a very long time. 

The Benefits of Samples

When I went to Debenham's last week I was given  few samples to try out along side my purchase of Porefessional. These include the Triple Performing Facial Emulsion its oil free with SPF 15 to hydrate, protect and comfort the skin. The new Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer Base to act like a magnet to lock on your foundation. And last but not least Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation in Ivory. I love that the samples aren't super small so I can get a few applications out of them which is what I've done.

Keep in mind as I write this the temperature today is a high of 28'C. I decided I would test run these samples on the hottest day of the year so far. I think I will have another try on a cooler day as I think the temperature made my make up eventually melt. The above photos were take at 8 am and it was 20'C at this point I was already too hot at this point. Yes, yes I really did wear a almost all black on a freaking hot day in summer!

The Triple Emulsion felt nice on my skin but too thick for under my makeup this would be better for days when you don't want a full face but still want my skin in good condition. 

I don't love the primer, to me it felt too sticky although I'm thinking I may have applied too much. In summer my skin needs to breath and it felt clogged up after applying this. 

The foundation however this is the second application. The first time I used it was with the Smashbox Primer last week and it looked great , it was warm weather but it stayed in place and I liked the smooth finish. This time for some reason I think my skin was already too hot and it felt like it was smearing over the primer then the powder just made it go cakey which I only noticed an hour after I'd left the house. Lucking most of my face make up came off due to the crazy weather we are having so it wasn't so bad. I'm going to go back to a minimal make up kit with my BB cream and leave foundations for Autumn/Winter. I think these products will be better suited then. As for primer I'm sticking with the Porefessional and Smashbox ones for now. The onlt makeup that laste all day was my now very trusted Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze, Blackest Black Great Lash Mascara and Eye Studio Gel Eyeliner all by Maybelline.

It's Your Prime - Smash Box

This is the perfect size minatures of primers for being able to try a product before you buy it. I also found out this weekend just past it's great for travelling with as well. To buy the set it's £14 so by no means cheap but I didn't wish to fork out the £25 for the full size as I'd never used it before. But I also thought why pay £12.50 for the travel size on its own if I could then get the 5 ml Photo Finish Under Eye Primer (worth £10) and the 0.5 ml Photo Finish Lid Primer (worth £3) extra for another £1.50. So in total that's £25.50 worth of product for £14 , it's already sold out on line but I picked mine up from Boots so they may still stock them.

So I've had a small amount of time to test them out. As it's summer I'm going for a less is more approach to my many layers of makeup. I switched to a BB cream or just powder foundation lightly depending on my mood or laziness. So when it came to the idea of three primer I'm not sure what I was thinking. I can honestly say they really help to make my skin look better. I think the Photo Finish Primer did well with my BB cream and also tested it under foundation and the results looked good. It doesn't fix my evil large pores but it smooths my skin so that anything on top glides on my skin that much easier. It's got a slightly greasy feel to it but is colourless and can't be seen on the skin if I do only put powder over it.

 I love the Photo Finish Lid Primer as it is a great base and evens out the skin tone while covering the blue vein lines which I usually cover with concealer which sometimes goes caked on if I use too much. This fixes that and is so light you can't feel it's there. Then I used the Photo Finish Under Eye Primer to perk my eyes up making them look brighter and more awake. Its light silky texture glides on easily and all these small touches make a big difference to how the rest of my makeup sits. 

This is a great starter kit if you haven't tried primers or wish to try a higher end brand without spending full price or just if you want a treat.