Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer

When I finally understood the use of highlighting primers and bases, and the not so great use of liquid highlighters, I went back for more of the former and skip the latter altogether. Spotting these Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer on Nordstrom.com, I picked them up without a second thought: 50mL/1.7fl. oz. full size tubes of the Blurring and Illuminating variety, and 25mL/0.8fl. oz. half size tube of the Hydrating kind as I was iffy what it might do to my dry-combo skin. 

All pictures taken in natural light without flash. 

 

I was a bit taken aback when these arrived--the full size tubes were huge! Ack. I should have dialed down my excitement and gotten half sizes for all of them.  And trying these didn't make me feel any better :(

 

- Blurring: right away, I can tell you that I much regretted buying this tube--it's a mattefying primer that I don't need. In fact, it makes everything worse. First, it exacerbated the drier parts of my skin, then it pilled up my sunscreen. Boo. Hiss. Yep, here's my second lesson in learning to use primers and bases: avoid anything "blurring" and "mattefying". I ended up passing this tube on to my friend M. who prefers matte finishes, especially with bases. 

- Illuminating: finally, something that works for me! This one dispenses a pearly golden peach-beige and applies with a glowy finish when used alone. Most importantly, it layers well under my sunscreen and I get a subtly glowy matte finish with no pilling, yay! Still, I won't repurchase this. Why? It oxidizes as the day passes. By the afternoon, I can see the beige on my face, like I've spent a long day out in the sun. This is a total deal breaker. Sure, for the winter months when I'm extra pale and ashy, I can put up with the appearance of some "sun" on my face. But in the summer, when I actually will spend a long day out in the sun? No, thank you. I don't need extra "tanning," especially when it's fake.  

- Hydrating: another nope for me :( This one dispenses semi-translucent, applies like a moisturizer, and unfortunately leaves a very shiny finish. Mind you, I said very shiny, not glowy like other shimmery primers and bases. Yes, yes, the K-beauty "glass-skin" and other similar dewy-shiny skin finishes are all the rage these past few years. However, on my dry-combo skin, "glass-skin" translates to dewy dry areas and extra oily and greasy t-zones. No, thank you. I prefer an all-over and evenly subtle, lit-from-within glow. 

 

Still, I have use for this half-size tube--mixing it with other primers and bases to give them an extra hydration boost. We'll have to see how this works out. Will update later. Definitely won't repurchase. My third lesson in learning to use primers and bases: avoid non-pearl and non-shimmer "hydrating" stuff. Sounds counterintuitive, but that's just how my skin works. 

From left to right: Blurring, Illuminating, and Hydrating. Look how Hydrating is way shinier than Illuminating even! Sheesh.