Face primers are an important part of the makeup routine. They prepare your face for foundation and not only make the overall makeup look more polished, but they serve as a barrier between your face and other products. A good primer can make most average foundations look amazing. After a recommendation from a friend, I have decided to test the Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer.
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What Does It Offer?
The Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer is supposed to make a flawless canvas of your face. It will combat flaky dryness, as well as excess oil, pores, and any fine lines you might have, and give your face a youthful look.
The primer should be adequate for any skin type, and, as we’ve seen, it has several purposes. With it, the makeup will spread evenly, giving you a satin finish.
What Is the Product Like?
The product comes in a pretty bland, transparent, and white plastic bottle with a pump. The black lettering is in classic ELF style, and the lid is metal-looking. While it isn’t too attractive, this is typical of ELF and the price range, which is around $6.
Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer doesn’t have any fragrances. However, I did notice it smells a bit like petrol. While this isn’t concerning – many products would smell like this without fragrances – it is far from pleasant. Still, the smell goes away rather fast. You won’t feel it when it’s on your face, or even during the application – unless you really try to smell it.
While I expected the product itself to be white, it is, in fact, transparent. This makes it as invisible as possible. Also, this prevents it from leaving that white cast white products tend to have. The same goes for the flashbacks, which are non-existent. Without foundation over it, the product can’t be noticed, at all. In fact, it makes your pores a bit less visible as it is. While it doesn’t remove them, my face looked less textured already, which surprised me.
The product feels a bit sticky when applied. While this worried me initially, my concern disappeared as soon as the product dried up. After less than a minute, my face was smooth and soft to the touch. I can feel it on my skin, but it isn’t unpleasant quite the contrary. As I prefer wearing heavy, medium-coverage foundations, this is quite helpful. The primer serves as a barrier between my face and additional products, which makes my overall experience much more pleasant.
After applying foundation, I can confirm that the Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer really helps with the blending. My regular foundation spread easier than ever, and the rest of my makeup looked flawless. However, it didn’t help with my T-zone, which is a bit oiler than the rest of my face. My face is rather dry, but it can get shiny on my forehead and nose, and this primer didn’t improve that. While my skin isn’t troublesome, I guess that anyone with oily skin would have issues with this primer. It doesn’t do a thing for oily skin. Luckily, though, I didn’t see it worsening the shine, at all. However, this also means my foundation didn’t last much longer than it regularly does. I could wear everything for around 8 hours before the foundation started wearing out, compared to the regular 6 hours or so. I believe that, if you have oily skin, this won’t help with the longevity of the makeup, at all.
One thing I noticed, however, is that the product can be hard to get out of the pump quite fast. I don’t know if this means the tube isn’t filled all the way to the top, or if the pump itself isn’t of high-quality. However, after just a few applications, I had to struggle to get enough product out.
While the packaging isn’t too big (14 gm), a little goes a long way. A pea-sized drop is enough for your entire face, so a single packaging will probably last for months. For the price, it would be fine if it lasted half that time.
I almost forgot to mention – the product never irritated my sensitive skin. It didn’t tingle or cause any redness, which is something many primers tend to do. I also never experienced any breakouts or pore-clogging, but this isn’t a common issue for my face.
Ingredients
While the product doesn’t have anything particularly harmful for the skin, it also isn’t the best thing for your skin. It doesn’t have anything beneficial, so don’t expect it to do wonders for your face. However, it is paraben-free, coconut-free, common preservative-free, irritant-free, fragrance-free, and oil-free, among other features.
Is It Vegan And Cruelty-Free?
Elf is a drugstore brand that is known for its cruelty-free status. In fact, the brand is certified by PETA. This means that it is proven that Elf doesn’t test its products, ingredients, or formulations on animals. It also doesn’t sell any of its products in countries where animal testing is mandatory, such as China.
At the same time, Elf is a 100% vegan brand. This also means that it doesn’t contain any animal by-products or animal-derived ingredients. If you are a vegan, you will be happy to know that you can freely use this product and support the brand.
Before And After
The product is entirely transparent, which was a pleasant surprise as I expected it to be white.
If you use this product combined with Elf’s Shadow Lock Eyelid Primer, you will have a perfectly primed face for a flawlessly-looking finish.
Conclusion
Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer is a decent primer that does what it says – it primes your face for makeup, making it appear smoother and poreless. However, it is definitely leaning more towards us dry skin folks, as I am certain it won’t do a good job on oily skin. Still, for the price range, I don’t think anyone has the right to complain just because of this. If you have dry, sensitive skin prone to irritations and you’re looking for an affordable primer, I would wholeheartedly recommend this product.