Hello everyone! I’ve been on vacation, but I’m back now and I have another review for you. The Body Shop has kindly chosen to gift me some of their products, and as I mentioned last time- I am excited to be able to review some products from one of my favorite companies. This month they gave me their new “Instablur” primer to try. I’ve used it a few times. Immediately, I noticed that it reminded me of Smashbox’s Photo Finish primer. Upon inspection, they both have similar application. The Body Shop one is slightly more robust (thicker) and has a light scent. While the Smashbox one is thinner, with no scent.
I had a lot of fun comparing this to other primers I own. I went through my makeup drawers and grabbed every primer I could find. This primer bears little similarity to Boscia’s Skin Perfecting primer, Sephora’s Anti-Shine Foundation Primer, or Laura Mercier’s Foundation Primer. These all apply “wetter,” and as more of a moisturizer than the Body Shop’s Instablur and the primers I will be comparing to it.
I also found that Ulta’s Professional Matte Prime applied similarly. It has the most shine to it, but the ingredients are very similar to those in the Smashbox Primer. (The first three ingredients are exactly the same, and there are other ingredients listed that are also the same further into the lists) I didn’t find that it had much of a scent either. For reference, the ingredients and other information about the Ulta primer and the Smashbox primer can be found by clicking the links in this sentence.
The Body Shop’s Instablur is an effective primer. It applies a little thicker than other primers, but reduces to a thin, matte finish. You don’t need a lot, just put a little on your finger and keep rubbing it in until it goes smooth. It’s thick at first, but it will blend into your skin for that matte finish we all love. I used it a few times under my makeup, and I can definitively say that it did not break me out. I’ve had issues with liquid makeup items causing breakouts in the past and that didn’t happen with Instablur. (Thank Goodness!) On The Body Shop’s website it says that this primer is supposed to do 5 things:
- Shine Controlling 12h
- Reduces appearance of pores
- Blemish Hiding
- Complexion Unifying
- Make-up Extending
Let’s tackle the list, shall we? I don’t have issues with shine or sweating, so I really can’t say whether this was effective at controlling shine. I can say that it applies matte, but I can’t speak to its shine-controlling abilities. It definitely reduced the appearance of my pores. I would say that this one performs the best at that and at complexion “unifying.” I think “complexion unifying” is a silly thing to call evening out your skin tone, but nevertheless this did accomplish that. I think that reducing the appearance of pores, and evening out your skin tone begets the fact that it will also hide blemishes. So check “yes” on that one as well. I have some issues with white heads and other smaller blemishes, I think that a concealer would work best to hide larger flaws, but this works well for small inconsistencies in the skin. As far as “Make-up extending” goes, I just can’t be 100% sure. I wear good quality makeup that is designed to last and I also use Urban Decay’s Makeup Setting Spray to keep my makeup from moving. I’ve had exceptional experiences with that stuff. So, I can’t say it necessarily helped my makeup stay longer, but I can say that I did not experience any straying or moving of makeup I did apply after using this product.
I have yet to be “wowed” by any primer but so far my favorite things about this one are the scent, the non-greasy application, the matte finish, the fact that it doesn’t break me out (seriously- I’ve had issues!), and the pore/ blemish/ complexion awesome-ifying.
This retails for $22 and goes on sale in Monday, August 25. In the meantime, I found this cute promotional video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejk5uCb3TmI and here’s a picture of the product itself:
#NoRetouchTBS
