First Impressions: Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer

If you've never read Allure magazine or don't subscribe to the magazine, you should check it out. It has tons of great beauty tips, reviews of products, etc.

One awesome thing that Allure does (and other magazines as well) is have giveaways and contests for products. Last month they had the best giveaways I have ever seen. Every weekday at certain times throughout each day in August, you could enter to win awesome beauty products. You just had to be one of the first 500 people to enter (or whatever amount of people they chose for that product).

I received a package this week from Smashbox with their Photo Finish Foundation Primer in it. This was one of the products you could win last month and I actually won! I have always wanted to try this product because I hear tons of people talk about it. I just never wanted to spend the money on it and end up not liking it or something.

I tried the primer for the first time today and want to give you my first impressions of it.

First, I'll give you the rundown on this primer by telling you what Smashbox claims this product does for you.

Create a perfect canvas for foundation application with this silky blend of vitamins A & E, grape seed extract, and green tea. The totally unique formula helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and pores for visibly softer skin. Wear under foundation to increase its longevity, or alone for a velvety-smooth finish.

This primer is oil-free, which is great for someone with oily skin like me. It made my skin feel super soft when I put it on, but I have to say that every primer I have ever tried feels the same way. I don't really have fine lines on my face so I guess I can't comment on whether or not it helps with fine lines. I did notice immediately that my pores looked a lot smaller. I have tried other primers that claim to do the same thing, but they don't actually diminish the look of my pores. As for helping my foundation stay on, I'm not quite sure yet. I put the primer on at 8am and right now my makeup still looks the same as when I put it on this morning. However, I have the whole night ahead of me though, so we will see if this primer lives up to the makeup longevity claim.

This primer sells for $36, which I think might be a little high for a foundation primer. It's hard to find a primer around this price that isn't from a high-end brand though. I'm not sure yet if I would actually go out and buy this. I think I will do a post on the different primers I have tried and compare and contrast them.