Beauty. Fashion. Food. Lifestyle.

Monday, March 19, 2018

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil vs. NYX Hydratouch Oil Primer Review and Swatches

The newest thing in face primers is primer OIL. I first started noticing this trend last year and I expect more makeup companies to come out with their own in the future. I purchased three popular brands of face primer oil. I'll be reviewing them this week for you. Two popular ones, that are often compared are Smashbox's Photo Finish Primer Oil and NYX Hydratouch Oil Primer. With Smashbox having a price tag of $42 many say NYX at $14 is a dupe. I've tested both of them for a couple of weeks now on my dry skin and below are my thoughts. Let me know your thoughts.


Sweet-Bittersweet-NotSweet
supersweet(run & buy it) sweet(really good,buy it) bittersweet(ok, issues)not sweet(not good,don't buy this stuff)

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil - Supersweet
You guys may remember my review of Smashbox's Primerizer Primer in January. I loved it. Well, I love Smashbox's Primer Oil EVEN MORE. It is really good! I've never used a primer that makes foundation apply so beautifully and you use LESS FOUNDATION. The results are amazing. Let me give you a little background. This primer is Vegan, Cruelty Free, Non-Acnegenic, and Dermatologist Tested. It contains 15 lipid-rich plant extracts and essential oils including moisturizing jojoba & calming chamomile. Smashbox states this primer oil reduces the appearance of dry, fine lines (it does). They state it instantly absorbs & adds radiance (it does). They also state it preps the skin for makeup and moisturizes for seamless makeup application (it does).  You only need a couple of drops of this primer oil. Remember oil spreads. Too much and you're going to be a slick mess. So a little goes a long way. Work the primer oil into your skin and let it sit for a few minutes to absorb. This oil doesn't completely dry down, but as it absorbs into the skin your face will feel really soft. Apply your foundation. I use liquid foundation (Too Faced, NARS, Tarte) and I found that the best result was by using a Beautyblender. Using a brush was ok, but using a sponge made my results beautiful. I tried this primer oil with all 3 foundations and all the results looked SO BEAUTIFUL! I can't tell you enough how amazing the results were. As I bounced the foundation into my skin, my foundation looked like my skin. It didn't look like it was atop my skin. I didn't experience transfer. The makeup didn't break up. I didn't look an oily mess. Smashbox gives you 1 fl oz of oil. With using only a couple of drops, this will last a really long time. It's also important to note (and I'm going to start including this in my reviews), that this primer oil is good for 24 mos! Two years! This worked great for my DRY SKIN! But what I concluded, was I don't think this would work well for OILY SKIN TYPES and I was right! On Smashbox's website it states, "This product is NOT IDEAL FOR OILY SKIN". I would even say, not for Combination either. This will work best for DRY & NORMAL SKIN TYPES. I would recommend the Smashbox Primerizer for Oily and Combination Skin Types. I know I'm all over the place, but I love this primer so I can't contain myself. Smashbox says you can use this as a moisturizer, but I wouldn't. It's a primer. It makes foundation look beautiful and that's it. It has a light airy scent. It doesn't smell like oil (so that's good). It does feel like an oil, that's why you don't need much. The dropper is long (the bottle is long), but it doesn't pick up much oil (but again, you don't need much oil). I was very impressed and think you'll love it.



NYX HYDRATOUCH Oil Primer - Bittersweet
A lot of bloggers and YouTubers have been comparing and contrasting the NYX primer oil with the Smashbox primer oil. Some have stated the NYX is a DUPE! I have to disagree. Initially I thought it was a dupe. I applied a couple of drops. It worked into the skin really well and absorbed to a point into the skin. I applied my makeup and everything looked beautiful. When I looked at my skin closely, the oil and my foundation started separating. The NYX primer didn't give me the cohesiveness that the Smashbox primer oil gave me, nor did my makeup look as polished as when I applied the Smashbox primer oil. Just as with the Smashbox, I tested the NYX on all 3 foundations (Too Faced, NARS, Tarte). It was the same problem over and over. Just oiliness seeping through and foundation separating. I just purchased the new Tarte foundation (hydrating & matte). The NYX primer made the Tarte hydrating foundation look an oily mess. I'm bringing this up, because if you use a foundation that promotes hydration, illumination, radiance etc, this NYX primer will present some problems for you. The Smashbox primer oil worked well with the new Tarte Hydrating Foundation. I wasn't impressed with the results I achieved with the NYX Hydratouch primer oil and I wouldn't repurchase. The dropper works much better on the NYX. The NYX oil also has a light airy scent. But again, I didn't like my results. The NYX primer oil also has skin loving ingredients such as jojoba and rice oil. A lot of people love it, but I couldn't get it to work for me. NYX gives you .67 fl oz and the primer oil is good for 12 mos (1 year).


SHARE:

23 comments

  1. I think the smashbox is better than NYX ^^. thanx for sharing dear

    torichux3.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on these. Looks like Smashbox is the winner. However, I have combo/oily skin so I don't think it would work for me personally.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing products!!!
    kiss
    Chiara - http://shesinfashionblog.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with this comparison, while both are oil primers, they don't work the same on my skin. Smashbox definitely got the formula down while NYX is a greasy mess and I have dry-normal skin. The NYX packaging tends to leak like crazy too!

    Shireen⎜Reflection of Sanity

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh Kim I'm so glad to hear you liked the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil so much. I've been looking forward to your review of this product since I was interested on getting it for myself. The wear sounds incredible and since I definitely don't have oily skin, I think it would agree with my skin as well. I've actually been wearing squalane oil under my makeup lately and I love the effect so this is moving up on my must buy list for sure :

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh nice! I just wanted to try the NYX oil! you are always in time for me Kim. I guess that's the superb blogger skill

    Lyosha
    Inside and Outside Blog and Instagram

    ReplyDelete
  7. Such a shame the NYX didn't wow you as much as the Smashbox version. I'd love to try the Smashbox oil xx

    Gemma • Gemma Etc . ❤️

    ReplyDelete
  8. I actually had no idea Smashbox had released a primer oil! I would love to try it.

    Candice | beautycandyloves.co.za

    ReplyDelete
  9. i would definitely love to try the smashbox oil primer

    The Glossychic

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks so much for this comparison, Kim! I've never tried primer oil before but am curious. Great to know about the Smashbox quality and the tip about the Beauty Blender! You rock!
    Hope you're having a lovely Monday:)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have never heard of primer oil before. Although I recently started using plain jojoba oil on my face. It is amazing in how it balances everything for me. Some Sundays I don't leave the house (my favorite kind of day!) and that is a day I simply apply jojoba oil in the morning and my skin looks great throughout the day. It amazes me that this oil does not look oily on the skin!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I’m glad to love the Smashbox one Kim! That’s too bad the nyx one wasn’t as good and isn’t a dupe! I like the idea of a primer oil, since I like using oil on my face! I would probably only be able to use it in the colder months though!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh it's a shame that smashbox primer isn't good for oily or combination skin, it sounds wonderful otherwise!

    I was actually thinking today about getting a primer, but didn't have enough of a break between meetings to go shop for one :(

    Hope you are having a nice start to your week :)

    Away From The Blue Blog

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am hearing about primer oil for the first time but I love the idea! It would be great for dry skin and I am glad Smashbox one does what it claims! Bummer that NYX one didn't fare well. I have oily t-zone & dry cheeks so not sure if I should go for primer oil.
    I hope you’re having a smooth sailing week! :)
    xx
    Ankita
    http://realgirltalks.com/

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have to admit, I have been really intrigued by primer oils. I have a variety of foundations in my arsenal and some go on beautifully, but the finish on some others is a bit dryer than I would like, especially in the winter time. I feel like primer oil might be exactly what I need to use with those dryer foundations. I'm glad to know ahead of time that Nyx isn't a true dupe, because it's probably the one I would have tried first. Thanks for a great review, Kim!
    xox,
    Cee

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love the review and comparison of the 2 products! I've always been a big fan of Smashbox' primers, and their primer oil sounds fantastic! Sadly I don't think it will quite work with my skin, since I've noticed that my SPF usually makes my face a bit oily already 😅

    Jenny | Geeky Posh

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh wow - this sounds so good! I actually didn't know that they had an oil primer but have seen other brands and didn't really consider it as I like the oil-fee primers as they work for me and my skin however, when skin needs a little boost - it might be something to look at so will definitely check it out in store.

    I have a lot of love for Smashbox, they have so many lovely products and all at affordable prices! :)

    Layla x

    http://www.sprinklesofstyle.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have not tried any of these products, but I liked your review of Smashbox because it melts better with the skin and a better finish is achieved, whereas the other one caused your base and the oil to separate leaving an unpleasant effect. Thanks for shared!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I haven't tried any of the two but too bad the NYX one is not great. I have combination to oily skin and using any of the two would scare me a lot! x

    Yiota
    PinkDaisyLoves

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is the first I hear about a primer oil Kim !
    I would love to try this, even more knowing its from Smashbox.

    ReplyDelete
  21. The photo finish primer oil sounds lovely. I don't have much experience with face oils. I have only ever used serums and essences. I will definitely check this one out. 😊💜

    ReplyDelete
  22. This sounds like a case where it's best to go with the original primer. They've had such a good history of making good primers and I'd definitely use their newer primers!

    ReplyDelete

a cupcake for your thoughts!

Blogger Template Created by pipdig