Review: L’Oreal Paris Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer

What happens when you have horrid large pores having parties every day, all over your face? You fill them up, that’s what you do! That is pretty much the function of face primers – they’re silicone-based products that are applied to the skin before foundation, to leave you with a super smooth base to work on. I have combination skin, and, as a result, I’ve tried a number of different primers to assist with reducing oil in the t-zone, medium sized pores around the nose, as well as prolonging the wear of foundation.

PACKAGING

L’Oreal’s Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer comes in functional packaging – a glass pot with black lid. As you might already know, I prefer tube/pump dispensers as I am bit OCD about dipping my grubby fingers into a pot. As a result – I use a cotton tip to remove a little product each time. The product is quite small – like an eye cream and contains 15ml of product. The product quantity is a little questionable, as the price per ml is actually similar to high-end brands, including M.A.C’s ‘Prep and Prime’ and Smashbox ‘Photofinish’ Primer. (Yep, primary school mathematics sure came in handy!)

PRODUCT AND APPLICATION

The primer is fragrance free (bonus for my sensitive skin), and is a viscously textured, pale pink paste. I needed to warm the product between my fingers to aid it in spreading across the skin. On application, it was super smooth, and blended beautifully into the skin, blurring the size of pores and imperfect skin tone, leaving a matte finish. It felt light after application and was it was invisible, and my pores didn’t feel suffocated. It also helped to help the skin appear more youthful and radiant, as it also diminishes the appearance of fine lines. I trialed the primer under liquid and powder foundations, and I felt that this product performed well with both these mediums.

OVERALL VERDICT

I loved using L’Oreal’s Base Magique Primer – as I felt that the product delivered reasonably long lasting results and performed well according to it’s claims. However, I didn’t feel that this product under or over-performed it’s competitors. Being the primer junkie that I am, I found the pricing and results to be quite similar to the high-end brands that I usually purchase. The bonus? It’s easily accessible and readily available. Plus, keep your eyes peeled as drugstore brands are perpetually on sale. The day retailers stop regular discounts on brands such as Revlon and L’oreal, I will most certainly eat my hat.

REPURCHASE: Undecided. I have to deplete my shamefully large stash of primers first!
RATING: 7.5/10
PRICE: RRP $29.95 at Priceline, Myer, Target, Big W.

Have you tried this product?
What’s your favourite primer?