Sunday, April 17, 2011

Battle of the Price Points- PRIMERS

Hey Beauties!

I'm going to be doing a new segment on my blog called "Battle of the Price Points". In this segment I will be comparing three different beauty products ranging from low to high price points! I want to show everyone that you can be beautiful and fabulous no matter what your budget and which products it's worth to splurge or save on.

I hope you all find these segments helpful, and just remember everyone is different so my opinions are not the be all and end all :) If you have a difference in opinion of one of my reviews, please comment in the box below. Diversity is the spice of life!

My first Battle of the Price Points is PRIMERS.

I've been trying to find the perfect primer for AGES and have been trialling the below three for about 2 months now.

I've been trialling Le Blanc de Chanel, MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage and FACE OF AUSTRALIA Face Base Primer.

The Contenders L-R- Le Blanc de Chanel, MAC Prep + Prime, FOA Face Base Primer


High Price Point Primer: Le Blanc de Chanel 30ml RRP: $84.00


What Chanel Says:
"Ingenious multi-tasking fluid 'primes' skin perfectly for makeup, while adding subtle contours and radiance to the face. A unique blend of powders reduces the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines for smooth, even, flawless finish"

What I say:

Pros:
  • Love the glass bottle packaging
  • Thin fluid glides easily on the skin
  • Hydrates skin
  • Cancels out redness and pigmentation and brightens complexion
  • "Fills in" lines around my mouth and eyes
  • Makes foundation glide easily onto skin
  • A little of the product goes a loooooong way
Cons:
  • The price- $84.00 OUCH!
  • Getting the product out of the bottle- I don't think Chanel really though about this. AT ALL. You can't turn the bottle upside down on your hand to get the product out (I did this and it went EVERYWHERE! Not happy, Jan!), instead you need to use the white stick applicator thingy to get the product out of the bottle to dab it on your face. Weird. I've already lost said applicator thing.
  • The fluid is really really thin, like almost water thin. You really need to concentrate on ensuring the fluid does not splash all over your bench when you apply it.

Le Blanc de Chanel


Mid Price Point- MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage 30ml RRP: $45

What MAC Says:
"An ultra-fluid lotion formulated with special-effect silicones. Calms and soothes the skin, blots away excess oil, and evens out skin redness. Improves the laydown and application of foundation or powder."

What I Say:

Pros:
  • Sleek black packaging
  • Easy to use pump applicator so you get the right amount of product each time
  • Hydrates skin perfectly
  • Makes foundation glide smoothly onto skin without patching
  • Reduces oiliness and shine on T-Zone during the day
  • Evens out skin tone and brightens complexion
  • Makes foundation last that little bit extra longer
Cons:
  • I can not fault this product. It's perfect for me and I absolutely love it!

MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage


Low Price Point: FACE OF AUSTRALIA Face Base Primer 50ml RRP: $11.95


What FOA Says:
"FACE OF AUSTRALIA Face Base Primer is specially formulated to apply under your foundation to improve your complexion and assist make-up last longer. Face Base Primer contains Vitamin E to nourish and hydrate skin and chamomile to smooth your complexion, leaving it fresher and brighter, ready for foundation application. FACE OF AUSTRALIA Face Base Primer fills fine lines for a more balanced surface, so that your foundation applies evenly and stays on longer for all-day flawless skin"

What I Say:

Pros:
  • Fantastic Price!
  • Product can be bought in a plethora of stores
  • Incredibly hydrating and soothing on the skin (thanks to the Chamomile in the product)
  • Plumps and fills fine lines and wrinkles around my eyes and mouth
  • Reduces shine on T-Zone (not as long lasting as the MAC Primer, though)
  • Evens out skin tone
  • Oil free so it won't clog pores
  • Foundation glides easily onto skin
  • A little product goes a loooong way!
Cons:
  • Caused my Chanel foundation to "slide" slightly during the day- this primer is best used in conjunction with a FOA foundation- which really isn't an issue as I ALWAYS use FOA Foundation :)
  • Be careful getting the product out of the bottle- I was a bit overzealous and squeezed too hard and it squirted on my top :(

FOA Face Base Primer


Conclusion:
So as you can see, price DOES NOT equal quality. I'm definitely keeping the MAC and FOA Primers in my kit and I'm not going to re-purchase the Chanel. It was a bit of a joke really. 

I hope this was helpful to everyone! What Primers do you use? What was a joke for you? I'd love the know!

Keep it Haute!

Anni xox

Disclaimer: I purchased both the Chanel and MAC primers with my own money. The FOA Primer was kindly sent to me to trial. This did not, in any way shape or form influence my thoughts on the product. I will always be honest and real in every review that I do.

13 comments:

  1. A great cheapie primer I've found is Rimmel London Fix & Perfect Primer.
    It minimises pores and works really well in making my foundation stay put all day.

    Once this spending ban ends, I'm going to do a big FOA haul. I only ever hear good things about their products.

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  2. Oh by the way, I love the Battle of the Price Points idea!

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  3. @Melinda- Thanks Melinda! FOA is a FANTASTIC brand- really cheap and easy to find AND it's Australian! WEE!
    Thanks for your lovely comment! I'll have to try out the Rimmel primer!

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  4. I've used the FOA primer for ages and it's such good value for money. Great post, such a good idea to inform people so they don't waste their money.

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  5. I've been using the MAC primer literally since the day it was first released in Australia. I am... not good at change, haha. I do have the FOA primer here as well but I'm so gunshy about starting new silicone-based products.

    Battle of the Price Points is a great idea, by the way!

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  6. @Megsy- Thanks Megsy! I've made so many expensive mistakes so I thought I'd pass my knowledge on!

    @Swatchgirl- MAC is the bomb dot com. I was a bit hesitant about silicone based primers as well but so far they haven't affected my skin at all. WIN!

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  7. My budget means I should probably stick to the FOA, but my unreasonable desire for the top-end brands has me lemming for that Chanel primer! Great post series idea too!

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  8. Awesome review!! What a great idea for a blog series :) I look forward to reading more!
    xx

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  9. Great name for the blog series =) I've been meaning to talk about Drugstore vs High End sort of series too... hehehe

    Uhm in terms of primers, I must say I've tried several... Australis, Laura Mercier, Gorgeous Cosmetics... but Hourglass probably tops it but it's on the expensive end, and I'm running low! Ah! The Napoleon one I tested for the first time today (from that goodie bag at BBBE) seems quite promising... I'm thinking I might give the MAC prep+prime a second chance.. hehe I'm a sucker for primers and base products for some reason hahahaha

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  10. I love the concept of this post! I find the FOA primer doesn't reduce the shine on my forehead, though :( Glad to see it's working for you!

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  11. As always a great review! Absolutely agree - not always price equals quality. Have you seen my post about eye-creams? I had similar result for Chanel eye-cream - it was pricey and nice but didn't do much :(
    On the other hand, talking about those limited edition Chanel eyeshadow palette - that would really worth of buying! You pay $100 for 5 amazing colors! or you can pay $20-30 for each color say if buying L'Oreal or Bourjouis... I'd rather buy Chanel in this case:)

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  12. I definitely agree with you.. Just because something is expensive doesn't mean it's a great product! I actually use Monistat Anti-Chafing powder gel as primer. It's realy, really inexpensive and holds my makeup on my oily face all day!

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  13. I always go back to Smashbox Photo Finish, what can I say my skin must love silicone lol! Also as kind of a spackle to fill in my pores I really like Benefit DR Feelgood when applied right. ( I use it under my foundation most of the time though).

    ReplyDelete

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