Prime Time.

The buzz on the beauty scene right now are primers. Gel primers, all in one primers (B.B creams) etc etc.

First up to be reviewed is Rimmel's Fix & Perfect Pro primer.

What is a primer?: A primer is 'undercoat' for your face. In the same way as undercoat on walls covers colour inconsistencies and blemishes on the wall that not only allow you to use less paint but also provide a smoother base for you to apply paint to. In this way, primers do the same for your skin in that they will smooth out any blemishes, blur any fine lines around your eyes or mouth and give you a smooth base for your foundation. Not only will you need to use less foundation but a primer will help your foundation to last longer and give it something to 'stick' to rather than 'sliding' off your face with wear. In general, a good primer will make your foundation go further and last longer once on your face.

Cost:  Rimmel are traditionally seen as a 'pocket money' range/mid-price range so this primer retails for a very reasonable RRP of £6.99 for a 30ml tube.

Shades: This comes in one shade, a very natural and nice neutral that is invisible once on your face and will suit everyone from the palest tone to the darker skin tones.

Appearance: On squeezing the tube a white gel-cream appears. First impressions are that it isn't greasy or too much of a 'cream' consistency but more a light gel. It's quite an odd texture to describe but it isn't an unpleasant texture or greasy at all. There is also no strong fragrance which for me is a big plus as my skin can sometimes react to fragrances in face products.

Application: This primer glides on very easily and you really don't need a lot of it. During my trial of this I wore it daily for a week and applied it ten minutes after cleansing and moisturising my face. I personally found it best to apply with a latex cosmetics sponge as I find this enables me to get an even coverage of primer over my entire face and then to dab any hard to reach areas with my fingertips.

Performance: It isn't realistic to expect a primer to keep your foundation absolutely perfectly in place for the whole day, particularly if you have oily/combination skin. On the whole I was very pleased with the performance of this primer considering the cost comparison of other slightly higher end brands. I found I needed to use much less foundation and that the primer helped to brighten my skin and made any imperfections much easier to conceal along with mattifying my T-zone area and helping to conceal some pores. I also noticed that my foundation and base makeup still looked fresh after three or four hourse wear. I tested this primer in a variety of conditions, wet weather, hot weather and everything in between and found that it helped to hold my foundation in place very well indeed.

Negative Points: I can't really say that this product has any. It doesn't promise the world but for a budget range, you can't expect miracles. It does exactly what it says it will do in a no-nonsense way and is fuss-free to apply. I would recommend this to anyone on a budget who wanted a general all-round primer that performs as it says it will. 

Positive Points: Very well priced and a generous size tube that should last you a month - six weeks if applying a thin layer daily. Easy and very fuss-free to apply as the transparent colour means you don't have to worry about tidemarks or blending. It doesn't leave a greasy residue on your skin nor feel 'mask-like' as some primers can and actually holds your base in place. I also find I need to use much less foundation and concealer when using this primer as a base. Another positive point is that you could wear this alone on top of your moisturiser if you are not a fan of foundation as it does balance out your skin and leaves you with a better version of your natural look. This primer doesn't cake or leave any sort of 'film' over your skin either.
As it comes in a neutral shade that is invisible once on your skin, it will suit any skin tone from very fair skin right up to black skin without leaving the dreaded 'ashy' look on black skins.

Would I Recommend This Product?: Yes. I'd recommend this primer 100%. Plain and no frills packaging that is hiding a superstar of a primer inside.