Shining Prime Time

I love primers. I have about as many primers as I do foundations/BB creams/tinted moisturizers. Not only do they make your make up application smooth and the make up itself last longer than on its own, but now primers come in a wide variety of extra functions such as colour-correcting, pore minimizing and brightening. Now, generally, I'm a fan of the pore-minimizing ones, but I've started to branch out a bit more to indulge myself in this primer obsession. While all the primers in this post can be considered to be brightening primers, they each have a different effect when applied on the skin. 

Soap and Glory Hocus Focus Instant Visual Flaw-Softening Lotion

This one is probably my favourite of the lot, simply because the smell isn't overpowering and it absorbs easily into the skin. While not strictly a primer, it does have the same effect of smoothing out the skin, getting it ready for makeup application. While it doesn't offer any coverage, it does make your skin look quite smooth and healthy, so if you're feeling a good day, you could probably give foundation a miss when using this one.

Laura Mercier foundation primer in radiance

I don't own a whole lot of Laura Mercier products, a bronzer, a contouring palette and the coveted tinted moisturizer. But considering how much hype the tinted moisturizer gets, I was hoping that this one might have some appeal too. But I am not a fan of this one. It takes a bit of effort to blend it into the skin, and when it is blended, it's either a hit or miss. Some days, it will have little or no effect, but on other days, it will make my face look greasy and somehow sallow. So this one is probably not best to wear on its own, it works out better when you mix this into your foundation itself rather than applying beforehand.

Missha BB Boomer

This is the only product that I own by Missha. For some reason, everytime I go to purchase their ever so famous BB cream, I decide I don't need it, or maybe even be let down by all the hype. So on another whim to buy the BB cream, I ended up chickening out again and purchasing this primer. This product is actually made as a primer not for foundation but for BB cream. A lot of the BB creams I own tend to give a bit of a cast on my face, and sometimes end up quite drying and flat (these are the Korean ones, mind). So I was hoping this could give some pep, and it definitely does. I was not expecting much out of this primer at all, especially when I first applied it, it made my face feel sticky and good lord, the pink pearl in it was quite obvious. But, true to its purpose, this is a wonderful primer for BB creams. To be honest, I have not tried it with foundation, but with BB creams, it really makes your skin glowy and healthy.

Benefit "that gal" brightening face primer

I was excited when I first got this product, as it is the first brightening primer I ever purchased, and high hopes for this product, considering, well, its Benefit and all. However when I first applied it, it made my face feel sticky again and didn't really serve to "prime" my face, so much as it make it horribly pink and shiny. I will admit though that it did really make my make up last, as expected of a Benefit primer. Not a smidgen out of place at the end of the day, just imagine how their new primer is. This one comes in quite a unique packaging, it's a wind up tube that disperses product in a sort of sieve at the top, but it makes it easy for application on the face.

left to right: Hocus Focus, Radiance, BB Boomer, "that gal"

Without Flash

With Flash

From the swatches above, you can see the huge difference in the tones of each primer. The Soap and Glory one is the thinnest of the lot, probably why it was so easy to absorb into the skin. But you'll notice that it does indeed have that glowing effect it claims it does. It seems to have a bit of iridescence to it, I can see this looking lovely in photos (especially because I'm into that "other-worldly" look). The Laura Mercier one is quite dark, especially for a brightening primer, but this one feels the nicest on the skin when it's absorbed it. I do like the overall effect of it, if only it was more consistent. The lightest shade of all is the Missha one, and it does make sense that it is so light, considering it is meant as a base for a BB cream, what with BB creams generally being very light themselves. This primer is a brilliant primer, but I would not recommend it alone. I tried. It was not the best. I'm sort of on the fence with the Benefit primer though. It makes my make up last, but it is also very pink and quite sticky. Once covered with foundation though, it looks really good, it's just a bit of effort to get the right ratio.

I'm pretty glad I have these products in my collection overall though. It gives an opportunity to change up the look without having to get another foundation with a different finish. Probably the best key to keep in mind, is do not overdo it with the primer. Although they prep for foundation and help to add to the foundation (not only in longevity but also in effect depending on what type of primer), they are just that: to prep for it. So to overdo it unless you want the weirdest textured foundation that will never seem to set. I'm speaking from experience here.