If there’s one brand around at the moment that it’s hard to find a bad word said about, it’s Makeup Revolution. This is partly because they’re an extremely good value for money brand that also manages to be genuinely exciting, putting out new products regularly and also coming up with quite innovative products that look much more expensive than their similarly-priced competitors. It is also partly because they’re very good at blogger outreach (insert Kermit drinking his tea here).
However, my recent Makeup Revolution order was paid for with cold hard cash, which means you’re guaranteed a very honest review here. Among the few bits I bought was this Ultra All Day Prime Anti-Shine Balm, which caught my eye because 1) I really needed a new primer, 2) it looked pretty and 3) I am drawn to products with unnecessarily long names.
This claims to be a versatile product that can be used either as a primer to set your makeup and help it last longer, or in place of your usual finishing powder to mattify. It’s also supposed to reduce the appearance of fine lines and leave you with an overall flawless base on which to apply your makeup.
My first impressions were that the packaging is nice, as is most of Makeup Revolution’s stock. The design is sleek and includes a handy mirror in the compact, definitely making it a great handbag product, as it claims to be. I was a little surprised by the consistency of the balm. I expected it to be similar to the Seventeen Flawless Poreless primer (which I just so happen to LOVE, and my review of which you can read here) which is a lightweight balm that’s very smooth and kind of velvety in texture. Instead, this is a bit greasier and actually quite waxy. As such, I found it quite tricky to apply – yes, even with the flimsy lame sponge they provide. Shocking, I know.
Once applied, I can’t say that this left my skin looking or feeling remotely flawless. I just felt a mixture of greasiness and slight anxiety of what this would be doing to my pores (yeah, I’m now at the age where I worry about my pores, DEPRESSING). It also, I’m sad to say, made no noticeable difference to the longevity of my makeup at all. Maybe this is because my foundation is just fairly kick-ass in that department by itself, or maybe it’s because this product just doesn’t work for my skin.
There are a few good reviews of this the Ultra All Day Prime & Anti-Shine Balm out there, so there’s a chance that other people could get on with it better than me. Also, for just £5 you can’t argue that it’s reasonably priced and so worth a go. For me, however, this product was a bit of a dud and it’s back to Seventeen I go.
Have any of you tried this product? What do you think? And what are your favourite primers?
OH. NO what a shame! My skin is like a gorgeous grease fest and I have only tried a few make up rev products, clearly not on their radar man hahahah but I will give this a miss xx
No we’re not either, and definitely won’t be after this review I’m sure haha 😉 But it’s always nice to try something yourself and be able to give a completely unbiased view xx
Crikey, sounds hideous. Quite an unusual sounding product though – I’ve only ever come across something similar once, which is Benefit Dr Feelgood. I used to wear this when I was 16 and literally rub it on my skin with the sponge – I still don’t quite know why.
Usually I like products that sound a bit unusual or offer to do something different, but this one just did nothing for me I’m afraid. Haha, the bizarre sponges live on 🙂 xx
Boo, I’m looking for a new primer so it’s too bad this one isn’t very good! I might give the 17 one a try if you think that’s better?
YES I love the Seventeen one, and have in fact finally re-purchased it 🙂 You may get on with this one better than I did though, as I have heard a lot of good things about it xx