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Could have been a 10!
I purchased this in August when doing a mini-haul; I was super excited to see that ELF expanded their primer line! I am a big fan of a lot of the ELF products and routinely do hauls about every 3 months. My skin is oily in the summer and combo in the winter. Previously, I was using the NYX version which was very good, but I wanted to give this a chance, too, especially since it was a few dollars l...read moreess plus on sale! Let's start with the positives: Like with most ELF Studio products, I LOVE the packaging. Especially the pump! They have a way of making a product look and feel much more expensive than it actually is! The primer did an excellent job of "smoothing" pores by filling them in with the typical dimethicone (silicone) ingredient. My skin was noticeably softer and smoother to the touch and I was impressed. My initial reaction, however, (now for the negatives!), was that the product had a horrendous fragrance. I love fragrance even though it doesn't have much place in a skincare routine (fragrance can cause subtle irritation under the skin which contributes to the breakdown of collagen = premature aging). It reminded me of a cleanser that I would use in my kitchen or bathroom; I couldn't put my finger on it but it was so bad that it made me hesitant to apply it to my face; I thought I may have received a bad batch. I contacted the company via email; I wanted to be able to provide a company response to this. The email confirmation I received said I would receive a response within 72 hours. Unfortunately, I still hadn't heard back after 4 days so I decided to call the customer service line. ELF's customer service is iffy (yet I have also had mediocre service from NARS! Funny, huh?) and the representative wasn't all that attentive and didn't really respond to my inquiries; she however, did tell me that it was the smell of tea tree oil which really surprised me because 1. I LOVE tea tree oil (I no longer use it on my face after realizing that in most situations it is just TOO strong, but I do love it to clean my brushes and tools) and 2. I am VERY familiar with how it smells. I smelled it several times after the fact, and I can sort of smell tea tree oil now, but maybe a putrid version of it? It just smells off. Again, I love ELF, but this is one of the worst smelling beauty products I have ever used; bad enough that I had to deduct 4 stars on a product that could have been a 10. The addition of tea tree oil to this product is not necessary at all; it isn't going to do anything to make someone's skin "poreless" whereas the silicone will provide a temporary "poreless" and smooth surface for makeup. After learning of this, I applied it to my hand and checked back a few times to see about how long the fragrance lasted - it clocked in at just under an hour. As a result, I will not be repurchasing.This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 2 of 6 people said helpful
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Wow!
This is my current primer, after using the more expensive ones for years. I'm glad I found it. It works just fine, my skin looks smooth, my foundation lasts and I don't break out. My top choice is the MAC primer in this category, but not that much better that I think it's worth 5-6x the price. This is my 3rd bottle.This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 6 of 6 people said helpful
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Poor value
It seems a little silly to complain about the value of an elf product. However the size is extremely misleading. The primer itself is okay. Pretty much the same as any dimethicone based primer out there. However, its a very very very tiny amount hidden in a huge bottle. For a few dollars more Hard Candy makes an excellent primer that is many more times the size.This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 0 of 1 people said helpful
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