Hair New Era

WHAT MAC SAYS: For use under mascara: a white coat that dries to a semi-clear base. Smoothes and conditions the lashes. Intensifies the build and lengthening quality of all formulas. Helps mascara last longer.

PROS: Honestly, I can't think of any!

CONS: MAC says it "intensifies the build & lengthening quality" but I don't see a difference when I use it & when I don't. It feels like an extra unnecessary step. I've been using it everyday since I got it, which is probably about a week or two ago? In fact, I think it kind of encourages clumps when I put on my mascara! I tried a couple days using it on one eye & none on the other hoping to see some kind of difference, but nothing. =[

COMMENTS: Wow, I never thought I would give any product such low reviews but this honestly was a waste of 13.50. I think the primer that comes with the Maybelline XXL mascara does a way better job at lengthening than this does. I know there aren't very many good reviews on MAC's Prep + Prime line, but I thought it might have been worth a try!

Product: 5/5
Packaging: 4/5
Quality: 4/5
Overall: 4.3 out of 5
Price: $4 - $5 @ Drugstores

WHAT RIMMEL SAYS: Skin perfecting primer smoothes and evens out your complexion - prolongs the wear of your foundation.

PROS: Although the primer only comes in an "apricot" color (according to the website) the color doesn't really show at all. It really did hold my foundation in for the whole day without making my t-zone super oily! It actually held oiliness at bay for me. Like the MAC Prep + Prime, you don't need a lot of product to use on your entire face and it didn't break me out at all.

CONS: I'm rather dark skinned, so it might tinge fairer skinned ladies out there, I'm really not too sure. I prefer the pump packaging to this one, it's just cleaner for me. If you really want a silky finish, this isn't really the product for you.

COMMENTS: Overall I think this product is great! It's affordable which is a definite plus and I really think it works better than my MAC Prep + Prime Skin and for a fraction of the price. It kept my make up on a lot longer than the MAC primer also, which was actually very surprising. It didn't leave a silky smooth finish as it claims, the MAC primer was definitely silkier. However, I would sacrifice that silkiness since it makes my foundation & blush last a lot longer!

I really wanna try the Camellia Rose Skin Soothing Primer! I think that'll be the next primer review once I get my hands on that.. lol

I meant to have this review up yesterday, but I think I caught the stomach flu because I was throwing up all afternoon! =[ But I feel better now and I really wanted to put up this review so here it is!



Product: 4/5
Packaging: 3/5
Quality: 4/5
Overall: 3.6 out of 5
Price: $23

WHAT MAC SAYS: An ultra-fluid lotion formulated with special-effect silicones. Calms and soothes the skin, blots away excess oil, and evens out skin redness. Improves the laydown and application of foundation or powder.

PROS: I used it for a couple days to test it thoroughly and it really does even out my skin. I tend to have slight pink patches on my cheeks which make me look flushed and it totally evened it out. I noticed right away that it leaves my skin feeling silky smooth and the smoothness lasts the entire day. After a couple hours my t-zone tends to get super oily and the primer controlled that for the most part. There was still a little shine at the end of the day but not as much as I would have had without the primer. You don't even need to use a lot of product to cover your whole face! I found that one pump was more than enough. I'm really prone to break outs when I try new face products also and I found that this one left me break out free =]

CONS: Since the packaging is black, you can't tell how much product you've got left! Another thing I noticed, the primer has glitter in it. I couldn't tell at all when I was getting ready at home, but after I went out in the sun, it looked like I sprinkled my face with glitter! Some people may like this, but this was a definite con for me. Another thing that bugged me was after 4 - 5 hours, it seemed like all my make up disappeared! At the end of the day there was no color on my cheeks and barely any foundation yet! Isn't primer supposed to keep it on? Another con is that it's $23 for only 1 oz of product!

COMMENTS: I'm on the fence with this product because I love how silky it leaves my skin yet I can't understand why my foundation or blush just fell off! I don't know if I can justify paying that much for so little product especially if I don't absolutely love it. I think I would only use this at night because the glitter in it makes it kind of weird to wear during the day. I'm not sure if I would purchase this again. I think I would but only if I couldn't find a better primer that makes my make up stay on all day.

Here's some pictures from test day #3 (I know you probably think all the pictures look the same but it doesn't to me! LOL)


Primed Face! No pink patches here!


primer & foundation


full face


where did all my make up go =[

Just for reference I have combination skin, my t-zone tends to get really oily sometimes.

I got my Silk Naturals haul in today - it was pretty fast! I got a bunch of e/s samples and the foundation samples. I took swatches but I still need to install Adobe Photoshop on my computer! So I'll just post about my little WalMart haul.

I bought the MAC Prep & Prime skin yesterday & clear l/g to put over my lippies because my l/g in a tube is really pissing me off - not enough product comes out and my lipstick ends up coming off on the applicator! Just curious but if you've tried the prep & prime skin does it have glitter in it? Cause I put it under my Bare Minerals foundation and when I was in my car doing a mirror check, there were sparkles all over my face?! I thought for a second I put mineral veil all over my face instead of foundation. But anyway here's my haul


Rimmel foundation primer, NYC lipstick in Cafe, & Rimme blush in Spicy Nude.

Not too much because Cult of Cherry comes out this Friday! But I really wanted to try that primer from Rimmel - I saw it at Ulta the other weekend and it was $8. I was tempted to buy it because I think Rimmel products were buy 2 get one free? But At Walmart the primer was only $4! So I got that and I wanted to try out a blush since it was only $3. Here's a swatch of it


Rimmel Blush in Spicy Nude

A lot of colors don't show up when I swatch them on my complexion =[ plus my camera washes it out and when I don't use flash, it seems like the natural light washes it out anyway! I wanted to try out the NYC lippie because they're only 93 cents! And the packaging kind of looks like MAC lipsticks except the cover is clear.


NYC l/s vs MAC l/s - size


comparison of amount of product

There seems to be as much l/s product in the NYC l/s as MACs.


Rimmel l/s in Cafe

The color is actually nice and it's not drying like most cheap l/s I've tried. It's actually really comparable to NYX lippies, but the only thing I hate about it is the smell. It kind of smells like alcohol, it's not really strong but it's just something I noticed. NYX lippies actually smell kind of good and of course MAC lippies have that sort of vanilla scent! But I will post again tomorrow because I Have work in the morning!