Best of 2010 - Face Primers

Hi ladies! I hope everyone had a great weekend! I know some of you were probably out hitting the malls for some last minute shopping (I know I was!) and I hope you are now on vacation! Christmas is SO close I can't believe it - I hope I'm prepared! haha

As it is so close to the end of the year, I am doing some posts about my favourites of 2010! This post will round up my favourite facial primers - yes I said primer-s, there is more than one! ;)

Honestly, I only really started using primers this year. I have really oily skin and always found that even though primers said they were mattifying, they weren't. I would end up an oily mess by the end of the day or worse they would make me completely break out! So, the above picture is of all the primers I have accumulated this year from left to right: Tarte ReCreate Primer, CoverFX Skin Prep, Fusion Beauty Acne Control Primer, CoverFX Clear Prep, Clinique Pore Minimizer, Hard Candy Sheer Envy. I'm only going to show my favourites on this post! :)

First up is CoverFX Clear Prep. This is not only a foundation primer but an anti-acne treatment as well! Thats honestly what sold me on this product (and the sales girl at Murale said it was amazing!). This has a clear, super smooth texture - much like other silicone primers, but much lighter. It sinks into the skin and doesn't feel like there is anything on your face (bonus for us oily girls!). This also has really helped with my complexion and my skin looks much clearer (with continued use, like any skin care product!) The more I use this, the more I love it! I actually also use this at night as an acne treatment. It keeps me matte and fresh while fighting blemishes and I don't wake up with an oil slick on my face! As a primer this also works great! My foundation glides on much smoother and wears a lot longer than without primer!

Next up is Fusion Beauty Prime Results Acne Control Primer. The best invention of 2010 has got to be these anti-acne primers! This is Fusion Beauty's contender and it is a great one! This primer has a lotion-like texture as opposed to a silicone and sinks into skin very easily and completely. It has a yellow tint to counteract redness (from acne), which really does calm down the face! It contains salicylic acid and other known anti-acne properties and calming ingredients. Depending on the kind of texture I want on my face that particular day, I waver between both of these primers pretty much equally! They are both amazing options for oily or acne-prone skin! (Oh and did I mention both Canadian brands?!)

Last, but CERTAINLY not least is Clinique Pore Minimizer Instant Perfector. This is a much smaller tube than other primers on the market and is also a little different than regular primers. I like to think of this as a spot treatment or "spackle" for the face. It fills in pores like NOTHING else! I only use this around my nose and maybe my forehead to camouflage large pores and control shine. Instead of rubbing this onto the skin, you "pat" it on to fill in pores. This makes my face look absolutely flawless and keeps shine at bay all day. I usually use this over top of one of my other primers because they don't do as good of a job of filling in pores. You can use this over makeup as well, like a finishing powder - which I regularly do! If you have medium/large pores this is a must!

These are swatches of my three go-to primers! Left to right: Clinique Pore Minimizer, Fusion Beauty Acne Control Primer and CoverFX Clear Prep. As I hope you can see, the Clinique is more of a "balm" consistency that is a dry finish. The Fusion is a very light lotion and the CoverFX is a clear silicone feel. 

These are the swatches spread onto my hand. Hopefully you can see how the consistency changes. The Clinique ends up being a complete "powder" feel, which I love! The other two soak completely into the skin with no tacky feel so they are lovely for oily skin! Overall, I'm so happy that these companies have come out with primers for acne-prone skin and oily skins! I hope there are more great ones coming up in the next year! What are your favourite primers? Do you use a primer?