I’ve reached an age when a bit of a blur is a beautiful thing. Add a little sparkle to the mix and suddenly ‘blurring’ seems positively glamorous! As a long term fan of YSL base products (Touche Éclat foundation is a personal favourite; the highlighting pen not so much), I couldn’t wait to try the new YSL Touche Éclat Blur Primer. As the name suggests, this is designed to blur pores and fine lines, even skin tone and prime skin for makeup, helping it last longer. Here’s how I got on…
THE SPARKLES: These sparkles will put some people off and - I imagine - draw even more in. They appealed to me but I was also a bit nervous about looking like a glitter ball. Like all of the Touche Éclat range, this product is about boosting radiance - and while the sparkles play some part in that, their effect on the skin is much more subtle than I had expected. If I look very closely, I can catch the odd twinkle, but since most people (thankfully) won’t be looking at me via a magnifying mirror, this isn’t an issue. With the addition of foundation, the effect is even more subtle.
PRODUCT PERFORMANCE: Touche Éclat Blur Primer does minimise the appearance of pores on my skin and gives a slightly smoother overall look. Personally I would only use this under foundation, which I find applies more evenly on top - and definitely has better lasting power. I only need half of my usual single pump of product (I’m still using Clarins True Radiance), which I guess helps justify the price of this product. It doesn’t ‘set’ like some primers, but moves slightly when foundation is applied on top. This doesn’t affect its performance and I didn’t experience any balling, with those annoying flaky white bits that some primers can produce, just a lovely silky finish.
SWATCHES
You can see the fine sparkles suspended in the primer - this is a single pump of product, more than enough for my entire face (half a pump is actually enough).
The sun did come out between these two shots; annoying as it changes the light, but on the plus side this highlights how subtle the sparkle looks on my skin. It is there, but I honestly barely notice it under foundation. I think you can also see that there is an overall more radiant finish to my skin in this shot. For me, the performance is what really matters - and I’m very impressed by that.
If you’re thinking of investing in YSL Touche Eclat Blur Primer, now is a good time as it’s included in House of Fraser’s Beauty Confidential offer. This means you can get £10 off 30 top sellers at House of Fraser when you buy any other beauty product until 17 April 2015.
YSL Touche Éclat Blur Primer, £29.50 (or £19 as part of Beauty Confidential). You can see all 30 products included in the offer here.
