Photo Finish Oil & Shine Control Primer

1 Review

1. 

   morbidOwl3

   Reply

   I grabbed a sample of this new Smashbox primer from Sephora a day after it came out. I have combo skin but get oily on my t-zone and have large pores from benzoyl peroxide. I need blurring and some mattifying/oil control, and saw this with positive reviews on the web. I do have reactive skin, mostly to scented products and comedogenic ingredients.

   I decided to test this first on clean skin, no makeup over. I really wanted to see the shine/oil control claims.

   The sample consistency is very waxy and firm, I dotted dabs on my face, and when you first start to blend it, it feels very firm and thick like its not going to go far, but immediately warms up and vanishes into this light, powdery, smooth consistency. Not greasy at all, not runny like their original primer. Its very nice. Off the bat, I saw some blurring of pores and matttifying right after application, which normally happens with most primers (unless they are specifically dewy).

   As i was applying my eye shadow, I swore I felt like my skin had a burning/tingling feeling after the primer had been on for awhile. It eventually went away, but I forgot to check after feeling it, if it contained what I thought was causing it. Looking at the ingredients, I’m 100% sure I wasnt imagining the burning— this does contain salicylic acid. Its at the bottom of the ingredients list, but I knew it. I wear benzoyl peroxide gel, and I have learned the hard way, the two acne ingredients sometimes do not play nice, which explains the burning I was feeling. So something to be aware of, in case you also already wear/use a topical acne treatment. I’m usually ok if the SA is in the form of a toner or wipe, but having both in lotion form on the skin at the same time obviously triggered something for my skin. The sensation did pass.

   However, the shine and oil control, not so much. Within 2 hours, I was blotting. Nothing super excessive, like it doesn’t makes you MORE shiny (bc some primers can), but this didnt do squat for my shine. It did make my skin look nicer as the shine came through, being it had primer and was blurring vs. nothing at all and just being oily. But this did nothing special for me and was just like any old primer.

   After 4 hours, I decided to wash my face, and did notice some inflammation/redness appearing on my right nose bridge area (ETA- this turned into a large under the skin cyst for me so avoid this if you have had issues with coconut and coconut derivatives!!!) — which is the absolute first trigger spot I get reactions if a product is going to break me out or bother my skin. Besides the SA, this contains coconut acid — so if you are at all acne-genic or sensitive to comedogenic ingredients (like coconut derivatives) be aware. I’m pretty sure thats what triggered my inflammation, as I cannot use any sort of coconut products or derivatives. Within 24 hrs, I’ll get tons of whiteheads and redness all on and around my nose.

   If it wasn’t for these ingredients, I’d consider testing more, but don’t think its worth the skin irritation. There are primers out there that do not have these minor added irritating ingredients. 1 lippie for not controlling shine/oil at all, and the adding of irritating ingredients that aren’t needed.

   Ingredients: Water\Aqua\Eau, Dimethicone, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Methyl Trimethicone, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Butylene Glycol, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Calcium Carbonate, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Tremella Fuciformis Sporocarp Extract, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Betaine, Acetyl Glucosamine, Isononyl Isononanoate, Butyl Avocadate, Polyglyceryl-3 Disiloxane Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-3 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Zinc PCA, Isohexadecane, Silica, Nylon-12, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Hydroxyapatite, Lauryl Methacrylate/Glycol Dimethacrylate Crosspolymer, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Acrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Sodium Chloride, Polysorbate 80, Salicylic Acid, Coconut Acid, BHT, Phenoxyethanol, Benzoic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Zinc Oxide (CI 77947)