I use primers on a daily basis and I have several different ones all off which do different things and are differing budgets too. Some days I want a brightening primer and other days I want a primer that moisturizes so I like to rotate around these five. All of these are designed to be used after moisturiser and before you apply your foundation. In the photo for each you'll see what the product looks like out of the bottle on the left and what it looks like blended in on the right. So here's my Five great budget primers from £7 to £50.
First up is the cheapest primer and this one is the e.l.f. Brightening Primer for £7.50 for 14ml. A slightly scary purple colour this primer inside a pump bottle has the silky feel of something like Benefits Porefessional which smooths out your skin and the lilac colour gives skin a vibrant boost. I love this. I like how smooth it makes my skin and a little does go a long way so its a brilliant budget product. Its hard to tell in the photo the effect its had on my hand colour wise on the right but you can see how smoothed my skin looks.
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BEST FOR BRIGHTENING & BUDGET
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Next is the Lancôme La Base Pro Hydra Glow Illuminating Makeup Primer £28.50 for 25ml. This primer has a creamy texture and not only does it moisturize but it gives your skin a lovely illuminated sheen as you can see on the right of my hand. I like this one when my skin needs a glowy boost and it sits lovely under a dewy foundation.
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BEST FOR ILLUMINATION
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Third is the Smashbox Photo Finish Radiance Primer £30 for 30ml. This primer is much thicker and tinted. When you open the lovely heavyweight pot you might be mistaken thinking this is a foundation but its actually is designed to "illuminate, perfect and enhance radiance while hydrating for better makeup application". It contains hyaluronic acid & shea butter for moisture and blur pores, fine lines and imperfections. It also has a strong tint from the micro-fine amber & bronze pearls which create a warm glow. I like this primer and actually sometimes it works just on its own when I want an evened out skin tone and a touch of colour but don't want to wear foundation.
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BEST FOR SKIPPING FOUNDATION
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Fourth is a great all rounder primer the This Works In-Transit Camera Close Up primer £30 for 40ml. I have a couple of small tubes after getting it in a Glossybox a few times and I LOVE IT!!! Its a cream primer that's quite loose like a light moisturiser in texture. Once again its agot that all important hyaluronic acid which sounds scary but is actually an incredible moisture element so this product will leave your skin really nourished.Its also got caffeine in there and lots of plant oils so its going to make your skin look wide awake and plumped. Its a mask, moisturiser and primer in one product and it is lovely plus a little goes far because of its texture so I'm still working through my mini bottles, the big bottle will last aaaaaagggges!
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BEST FOR DOING EVERYTHING
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Last up is the brand new REN Perfect Canvas Primer £50 for . This silicone free primer comes in a really luxe matte bottle with glass dropper and has a very runny gel like texture which was hard to photograph on my hand. Its described as a "probiotic elixir for healthier, smoother skin" and is designed to matify skin and smooth giving you perfect skin for makeup. I really liked it. I took it on my cruise to test drive it under a couple of my fave high coverage foundations and it was great at creating such a smooth pore free finish to my skin as well as not feeling drying at all. Its the priciest of my primers but its ingredients are all natural and it felt the least artificial on my skin.
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BEST FOR NATURAL HEALTHY PRIMING
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So that's my 5 great budget primers from £7 to £50 I'd love to know if any of these are your favourites too or if you try any of these ones out?
Debs
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This post may also contain PR Samples or gifted items. It may also contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy here
2 Comments
Great post! I’ve used a few of the different e.l.f. primers and I love them for budget buys. My favourite is probably the clear mineral-infused primer but I like the blemish control one too.
I really want to check out that Smashbox primer. I have giant pores so a thicker primer looks great, especially for times I want to skip foundation but not be totally bare-faced.
Also, don’t know if this is a weird thing to comment on but I love the way you photographed and demonstrated the primers – so helpful to see them before and after!
No Sarah thats a great thing to comment, I’m really glad it was helpful. Some are very hard to capture mind you x
Debs