Lancôme La Base Pro Perfecting Makeup Primer

Advantages: Smooth skin, Long lasting makeup, Great makeup finish, Good value 

Disadvantages: May be a bit expensive for some people, even for a product that works well!

I don’t know about you but a few weeks ago I got to the end of my tether because I was sick and tired of spending time applying my makeup, only for it to slide all over and sometimes even off my face hours into the day/evening. Not only was this frustrating and a waste of my time, but it was also a waste of perfectly decent makeup.

I saw this primer on the boots website and it looked like it could be just the product that I needed. It said it was inspired by makeup artistry techniques and promises to reveal the secret to a professional-finish complexion. It also said that it was a translucent makeup base with an ultra soft finish that smooth’s the skins surface and boosts makeup results. I also noted that it had received a 5 out of 5 star rating on its one and only review; I decided that it was worth a punt as I trust Lancôme as a brand.

I was so excited when it arrived that I put it to the test straight away.  The leaflet that comes with the product states that it should be applied to cleaned and moisturised skin, which I had already done in anticipation.

This product box says that it resurfaces and preps the skin using their innovative ‘Elasto-smooth’ technology that visibly resurfaces the skin. This means that all imperfections such as visible pores, fine lines and signs of tiredness appear instantly smoothed away and skin feels silky soft.
I can honestly say that this was true in my case; I wasn’t expecting to see such a (or in fact any) difference without even having put any make up on at this point. It wasn’t so much a miracle transformation into model perfect skin but I could definitely see that my skin looked smoother and more refreshed than it did before I put the primer on.

The product also states that it ‘boosts makeup results and improves its hold and that the oil free texture helps to control shine and glides on seamlessly’. It then states to ‘apply your best suited Lancôme face makeup product for a more evened complexion and enhanced blendability’.
Personally I was a bit worried when I first felt the texture of the serum as it was so silky on my fingers that I thought that it could make my skin too oily, even though it contained no oil within it. I was so very wrong, thankfully. The serum glided on and my skin felt amazing, velvety smooth and not at all greasy in any way.

The instructions say that you should deposit the serum onto your fingertips and then to blend towards the outer contour of your face; It then says to blend your foundation or powder with a brush or your fingertips and then repeat the action down the nose, along the cheekbones and around the chin. I found it just as easy to apply it all over my face before putting on any foundation or powder and don’t think it made a difference in how the product worked on me personally.

The end result was brilliant: Easy to apply foundation, even skin and tone, and smooth fresh looking makeup finish that looked natural but in the best possible way. I was able to add glow in the form of a Bobbi Brown shimmer brick, whilst feeling comfortable that my skin wouldn’t go shiny all over on top of the shimmer (which would be overload) and this is something I’m never usually confident in my skin enough to do. I also applied it around the eye area and on the lids and this really helped in keeping my eye makeup where I had put it, and without creases. I honestly feel that my makeup has never looked this good, or lasted as long as it does when I use this product. My fiancé who doesn’t usually bother looking too close into my makeup said that my makeup looked really classy and smooth – now if that isn’t a (possibly backhanded) compliment then I don’t know what is, haha!

I must also mention that I have tried this primer with a variety of foundations ranging from your everyday No.7, 17 and Rimmel foundations; to more expensive ones including Benefit and Bobbi Brown. I have even used it with cheap mineral make up (Rimmel and L’oreal) and my Laura Mercier mineral powder. Each time I have had a great result, and a long lasting one for that matter too.

When I went to V Festival this was my obvious choice to take in my attempt to travel light and it worked a treat. My make up stayed put all day, I didn’t have to carry any spare in my bag, nor go back to the tent on numerous occasions to reapply. Even on the last evening of V when it rained, my make up stayed where I wanted it to be; this is something I have never experienced when not using this product, not ever!

When it comes to taking makeup off after using this product, you’d expect there may be a bit of a struggle but actually I was really surprised to find that it came off easily using my normal cleanser. I am always a bit reluctant to take the makeup off when I’ve used this if truth be told, as it usually still looks like I’ve just put it on.

I feel like my skin has benefitted immensely from using this product as my sister made a comment that my skin looked better than usual, even when I was wearing no makeup and no primer. I am wondering if this is because the primer stops the direct contact that my makeup has with my skin or whether it has some long term skin benefits to add to the list. Either way, I am not complaining.

I’m trying to think of any real downside of this product that needs to be mentioned (apart from it making me not want to remove my makeup as mentioned above) but I am finding it very difficult to do so; the only niggle I guess would possibly the initial price outlay of £25 for 25ml of product, but to be honest I think it’s quite a fair price for a product that does what it says it will do. You must also remember that you don’t have to use half a bottle of this to get the desired result as this serum goes a long way. In all fairness I would probably be happy paying for one of these every month if I had to, but this isn’t necessary as I do believe this bottle will last much longer than that.

Summary: Primed and ready for action. A worthy purchase, fully recommended.