A skin primer makes a huge difference in a woman’s skin tone, point blank. Whenever I do makeup for a client or a special night out for myself, I do not approach a face without first adding a skin primer. And I will admit to being a “primer snob” in thinking that I should only use a more expensive brand name because I’ve been burned in the past with drugstore ones. But not anymore, thanks to Hard Candy’s Sheer Envy Skin Perfecting Primer ($8).
{My new drugstore primer love!}
I thought I was going to be taking one for the team when I decided to experiment with trying out my new cheap Hard Candy primer along with my staple Smashbox Photo Finish ($36) primer on my face at one time – half and half! I figured I owed it to all of you in case it went horribly wrong that you could see the difference on one face! Here’s a photo gallery of how it went highlighting both primers at once.
{Swatch of Hard Candy on left, Smashbox on the right.}
At first sight when viewing each formula side to side, the HC wasn’t as clear as the the Smashbox but was barely a noticeable difference since both were colorless. They also both felt and looked just alike when rubbed into the skin.
{Hard Candy applied on the right side of my face, Smashbox on the left side.}
Imagine there was an invisible line drawn directly down the center of my forehead to my chin. The above picture shows my bare skin with BOTH primers applied – with no noticeable difference at this point. After applying them both, I can honestly say, my skin didn’t appear any different between the two, and the surface of my skin felt exactly the same, smooth and silky!
{My finished face after foundation and color.}
{Close up of skin after all color applied.}
Can’t see that invisible line between the two products can you?? My foundation (L’Oreal True Match N3), concealer (Cover Girl & Olay Simples Ageless in #230), and blush (Nars Orgasm) all applied the same with no variation in how they looked on either side.
{Extreme close up of the center of the face.}
I can’t believe I’ve found a primer that acts, looks, and feels JUST like my pricey beloved Smashbox!! I feel like I’ve just found buried treasure to the tune of $8!! So what do you think of my new primer – don’t the pictures make you a believer?
Do you go the extra step by wearing a skin primer? What’s your favorite brand?
