40 Days and 40 Nights of Primer Reviews

Primer #39

Past reviews of multi-purpose products that can serve as primers have shown that, as primers, they don't usually work so well on my skin. Many of them felt too thick, grabbed foundation and wouldn't allow a smooth application, or caused foundation to pill and roll. But today's primer is just such a product, and since I've always heard raves about it, I was eager to test. I snagged a sample of one of the many available shades of Yves Saint Laurent Teint Parfait, mine in the lavender corrector shade, and brought it home to try. Teint Parfait is available in this lavender shade, a pearly pink (that can also be used as a hightlighter, according to my SA,) an apricot brightener, and several natural skin shades. I chose the lavender to test because I'm feeling rather sallow in the face these days, and also because I had not yet tested any lavender color-correcting primers.

Teint Parfait can be used under foundation or on its own as a very sheer foundation, but I would not call it a tinted moisturizer at all. I applied the Teint on my freshly-cleansed face, and found it easy to see where I had applied product and where I hadn't. It is very whitish-blue on the skin and then just melts in, leaving little evidence of the tint, but just a brightening effect. Blotchy areas and discolorations that I have were definitely softened and lessened. The product felt a bit tightening, and it is scented, just so you know. I liked the way it looked and felt, but I did not see much lessening of lines and diminishing of pore size at first. I allowed the product to dry, and then I definitely saw that my pores were almost invisible, and my skin looked quite matte. I applied my La Prairie Concealer Foundation over the Teint Parfait, and it took so much less foundation to cover my face, that I had actually dispensed too much La Prairie from my bottle. I loved the way my foundation went on so smoothly, evenly, and easily. In no time I had achieved a great application. A close look in the mirror had me very satisfied, pores definitely minimized, lines softened, crepey texture of my cheeks un-creped. The tightening effect of the Teint Parfait helped in all of these areas. My La Prairie seemed less dewy than it usually does, but so far I liked everything I saw. My face looked just a bit more brightened than with foundation alone, but there was no show-through of the Teint and it was not a garish whitening, just a little brighter.

Later in the day, I checked my face. The mattifying effect of the Teint had definitely increased, but what I found interesting is that even though my cheek areas looked matte, they did not look old or crinkly or dry, as they do with matte-type products. And the Teint had definitely held back the oil on my T-zone area, my nose was still matte and there still were no large pores showing. The Teint Parfait worked beautifully to soak up the oil and still not crack or wear unevenly. There were no flakes or rough patches. The matte effect was very nice because it did not look dry at all, just soft and slightly luminous. Toward the end of the day, there was a bit of oil breakthrough on my nose, but I have to applaud this product for holding back the oil as long as it did. It is a great product for mattifying without the matte look. I do not know how YSL did this, but it works! I will join the many people who swear by Teint Parfait, and I will join them by purchasing full-size tubes of Teint Parfait in this lavender shade, maybe the pink pearl, maybe even a skin tint that matches my skin tone. I would love to test it by itself. But for now, here toward the end of Project Primer, I'm pleased to find another worthy product that performs so well. Teint Parfait is a winner.

Product Rating: 8

Photo Credit: Getty
Review by Cavewoman
Disclosure: This product was purchased by the reviewer, Cavewoman.