L'Oreal Base Magique - Does It Really Work Like Magic?

I've been on the look out for a good make up primer for the past few weeks. Blame it on the upcoming wedding season and all those photo ops that come with such occasions. After all, why would I want my oily face tagged on Facebook, right? 

Dang you, Mark Zuckerberg. Not only have you redefined social networking, you've also succeeded in being the bane of every girl's wardrobe and make up kit.

Anyway, what got me interested in a primer was the fact that I hate retouching. And with the temperature soaring and me sweating like a pig, my make up is bound to be all gone within 10 minutes of heat. I also tend to sweat up along the eyelids, so you can just imagine how my eyeshadow is going to hold up at 34 degrees Celsius. Since one of the weddings I'm attending is a beach wedding, I decided it's about time a primer found its home in my make up kit.

I visited some cosmetic counters and found primers from MAC and Shisheido but I found them a bit too pricey for a product that I'll be trying for the first time. One jar can easily cost me above USD50, so until the primer firmly establishes itself as a need, I decided to hold off my purchase and looked for a more inexpensive alternative.

And here's what I found:

L'Oreal Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer

Here's how they describe the product:

"Transform your bare skin texture: The first smoothing primer that makes your lines and pores invisible for a visible and touchable smoothness.

A unique blend of silicon oils and soft light powders create a sensational smoothing velvet formula to refine the skin.

• Smooth wrinkles and fine lines
• Perfectly hides pores
• Skin imperfections are corrected

The rosy shade brings out the translucency on the bare skin tone."

Here's how the actual product looks like:

Photo from kikay.exchange.ph

The product is light pink in colour, with a smooth and velvety texture. Imagine baby powder mixed with silicon gel and you'll get the picture. At the L'Oreal counter, I tested the product on the skin on my hand and I was captivated by the dreamy smoothness. I also layered some liquid foundation on the patch of skin and discovered it blends quite well. I got myself a 50ml jar. Usual price is at PHP945 (about USD22), but since it was on sale, it was a steal at PHP709 (about USD16)!

One thing I learnt about handling this product is that a little goes a long way. I made the mistake of plunking small dots on my face, when what I should have actually done was loosen a small portion with my fingertips before applying on skin (What...? I was excited. So sue me.). As a result, the primer kind of caked in some areas of my face, so I had to reduce the amount of product before I could apply my foundation.

After I corrected that, I can tell you that my make up glided on smoothly. There was a noticeable difference especially in the eye area, as I felt the eyeshadow blended better and held on longer. My eye colour held up for the rest of the day, and looked as fresh as when I first applied it. Even my concealer and cheek colour stayed on. The T-zone was another story, however. In the future, I think I will use the product sparingly on that area, as there is a tendency to oil up as the day wears on. Nothing that a bit of powder can't fix, though.

I'm not too sure about the product's ability to "perfectly hide pores" and correct skin imperfections. I felt the concealer is still a must to hide some blemishes. Upon closer inspection, there was no noticeable difference in my pore size, but since they're not really big to begin with, I didn't find too much of an issue with that. However, if you have big pores and intend to hide it using this product, you might be a bit disappointed. As for hiding fine lines, well, I don't really think one product has the power to do that; I still think the best way to camouflage it would be to use a combination of moisturiser, primer, concealer and foundation...without overdoing it, of course.

Overall, I am quite satisfied with the product. Do note, though, that my purpose in trying out this primer is for my make up to hold longer. Hiding fine lines and blemishes was NOT my main motivation.

Would I buy this product again? I think so. It might actually be my go-to product because it is not that expensive, easy to find and does the job quite well. Would I finally invest in a MAC or Shisheido primer? Perhaps.

Has the primer firmly established itself as a make up essential? A resounding YES! :)

The L'Oreal Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclaimer: This product review is based on my personal experience. It is in no way compensated by the company and does not necessarily reflect their own views of the product.