40 Days and 40 Nights of Primers

Review by cavewoman
Photo from Sephora

Primer #27 takes us from Cult to Cute.

As an artist, I shop with my eyes. I'm a sucker for beautiful packaging, and pretty things will always attract my eye. The first time I ever saw the Paul & Joe line of cosmetics, I was enchanted with the girly pink compacts embossed with flowers, the elegant frosted bottles with raised chrysanthemum designs, and the sparkly powders in vanity jars that looked like something my Grandma may have had. I bought many things that day, including the Paul & Joe Foundation Primer. I also bought a liquid foundation from the line. Oh, and a few eye shadows. And a compact of pressed powder. A lipstick. Two of them. But as lovely as the containers are, it's product performance that counts.

I've used this primer only with Paul & Joe foundation so far, but for our research here, it was time to test it with the La Prairie foundation. I was curious to see how it would perform in comparison to when I use the Paul & Joe foundation, so I did something I have not yet done. I tested the primer with the La Prairie foundation on one side of my face, and the Paul & Joe foundation on the other.

This primer is a very thin milky-white-pale pink product that does not fill in lines or pores, but leaves a definite lightening, whitening effect on the skin. I had to shake the bottle very vigorously, because it seems to separate in the bottle, and if not shaken, it can be watery and clear. This can result in an uneven application and even some areas of the face can turn matte while other parts seem glossy, even oily. I believe there must be both talc or clay in this formula as well as oil. It is definitely not an oil-free product.

There is a slight luminosity to the primer, and it felt comfortable and moisturizing without feeling heavy or thick. It dried quickly, it has a slight fragrance that actually smells like a pretty perfume, which did not bother me but it might not be for everyone. I applied both foundations over top and checked a while later. The whitening effect was more obvious on the P & J foundation side, but the primer did not change the shade of my La Prairie. And so the side with the P&J foundation appeared just a bit lighter. Other than that, there was little difference between the two sides, both appeared luminous, glowing, but not oily or greasy. I could see a softening of the areas where my pores are larger, and lines were also softened. Nice effect.

I went off to meet Annie. At first she didn't know what I had done, but when I told her, I asked her opinion on which side looked better, and I did not tell her which foundation was on which side. She chose the La Prairie side. Later in the evening, I noticed a bit of wear on the P&J side, but my La Prairie side was looking as soft and pretty as when I had first applied all the products. Both sides of my face seemes slightly oily. At the end of the day, the P&J side showed bare skin, blotchy areas, some caking, and a rather nasty oil slick around my nose area.

I find it interesting that the product applied over the primer has affected the primer wear itself. It makes me wonder if I am now going to have to test every primer with every foundation I have. That could take years! I was reminded of a fine-art photography project that I did as a student, testing different developer chemicals with different printing papers. I discovered then that art and science can't be separated. You need one in order to do the other. The same applies to my primer project. I'm not sure why the primer worked differently for each of the foundations I used, but I am sure it has to do with chemistry. It's the art and science of beauty, I guess. I will test the Paul & Joe primer with other foundations in the future, because I like it under the La Prairie. I may never really finish this entire project!

Product rating, 7. Packaging, a perfect 10!