Armani Fluid Master Primer $55 Review & Swatches

I received this as a sample with a previous Armani Beauty order and I've finally gotten around to trying it out. Yea - took me forever and a day.

"An innovative primer for the face that smoothes skin's surface, refines pores and creates a flawless canvas on which to apply foundation.

•silky, gliding texture imparts a matte, yet transparent glow to skin
•smoothes away fine lines and imperfections
•perfectly even facial canvas for ideal application of foundation
•high comfort and make-up hold

application techniques:
Perform usual skin care routine to ensure a cleansed and moisturized face. Apply a small amount of product to the back of the hand. Using the fingertip, begin application to the center of the face, working outwards to cover the entire facial canvas, in upwards strokes." ~from the Armani Beauty website

Swatches

Here's a drop of the clear primer. The consistency is gel-like but it doesn't feel thick.

The Verdict: B-
I found this to be kinda meh. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it but I'm not wowed either. The primer is easy to spread over the face and is fairly lightweight. It holds foundation in place but I noticed that foundation tended to cake around dry patches. It didn't create that smooth surface I was looking for.

I have to say at least it didn't make my t-zone turn into an oil slick. My nose did start to get a bit shiny around the 2 hour mark and I had to blot with an oil-sheet.

Sample Product Packaging
As alway's Armani's packaging is simple and tre chic. The sample has it's own outter packaging. Now that's jsut too cool. The material of the box feels like heavy black construction paper.

The sample itself is a small squeezy tube. No complaints here. It's easy and tidy to dispense the primer.

Shu Uemura UV Underbase Mousse SPF10 $32 Review

I've always been a believer in primers. They are afterall the foundation to foundations. They create a smooth base for foundation so it's applied smoothly and evenly over the skin. A primer is a must for me to counter acne scarring, enlarged pores and some dry patches. Without it, foundation lodges itself into crevices I didn't even know were on my face and it slips off areas where I expect it to stay put.


I've always wanted to try out Shu Uemura's unconventional UV Underbase Mousse SPF10. The look of the packaging is so unique that I've been drawn to this product for the longest time. Another plus is that this primer has SPF10 in it. It's not much but some SPF is better than none, right?




Here some of the mousse straight outta the can. See how billowy and foamy? Although the mousse blends sheer, it has a beige tint to it. In fact the box says it's official shade is Beige 01.

The Verdict: A
I wasn't sure what to expect this foamy primer but I was pleasantly suprised. Since this has the consistency of mousse, when it's applied it doesn't just glide over the skin. I could feel it being absorbed into my skin just a little bit which also provided some moisturization. It does takes some work to get this blended in and absorbed into the skin. It leaves skin a litte moist and takes a minute to dry completely. Once dried my skin felt soft and supple. My pores were minimized and foundation went on like a dream without budging.

It is non-greasy, very light weight and the best part - it mattifies. I barely broke a shine in the 6th hour. That's right shine free for 6 hours! Another thing I noticed was that this primer actually keeps foundation and blushes right where it's applied. I'm totally in love with this stuff!

The Body Shop Haul

On this shopping trip I went to The Body Shop looking for a flannel washcloth that Lindi from over at http://www.bubzbeauty.com/ recommended.

Luxury Facial Flannel $6.50

I really didn't know what to expect of this thing. When I got to the store the SA helped me find this washcloth and it was packed in a ziplock baggy and was flexile and bendy. It did not look at all like..."cloth". It reminded me of a white shammy and looked silicone-like in texture. I was weirded out even more because the SAs had taken one out of it's packaging and it was dry and hard and looked like a piece of styrofoam. They assured me that once it touched water it would return to it's soft state and work just like new. But hey Lindi said it's fantastic so I bought it anyways. I was not at all disappointed by this thing. Remember I said it looked silicone-like? Well it works just like a rubber spatula for your face but it is also soft to the touch. I tried it with my normal cleanser and saw this guy in action. It wipes away all traces of the cleanser in one swoop! It's really amazing but I'd rather use it to wipe away a mask or something. I like splashing my face with water to rinse off my normal cleanser.

Vitamin C Skin Boost $26

Okay the SA told me that Vitamin C boost (one of their best sellers) would help diminish the appearance of acne scars. I really didn't have any faith in this product's claims but when she put some on my wrist I like the texture of it. It feels almost like a silicone primer. I figured if I could wear this as a primer without getting shiny and it's also doing good for my skin - why not? It also smells just like fresh cut oranges - which I happen to love. If you don't like orange citrus-y smells, it may be a bit overwhelming. Since it has that silicone feel to it, it really does help with evening out skin texture without the feeling of plugged pores.

The Verdict
I don't think this should be labeled a moisturizer. The gel texture of this sits on top of skin and is very slowly absorbed into the skin. Because of the slow absorption I'm loving it as a primer. It's weightless and does feel like it's clogging my pores. It leaves my skin silky smooth and prepped for makeup. Although it's not a cure, I find it does help smooth out dry patches around blemish so that makeup doesn't cake.

I'm not sure if it's working to diminish any dark spots- at least I can't really tell. I'm also still on the lookout for a primer as this one made me a bit shiny. I like to wear it alone when I'm in a rush just to even out the texture of my skin. I really really love the flannel washcloth though! I will definitely go back to get another one to stash away.

Freebies
I was pleasantly surprised when I went to check out and the SA added all these goodies to my bag! I received a Cloth Woven Makeup Bag filled with travel sizes of Strawberry Body Butter, Vitamin E Moisture Cream, Divine Calm Heavenly Shower Gel (not pictured), and Mulberry Hi-Shine Lip Gloss (not pictured). I gave the items not pictured to a friend before I could take these photos.

This smells just like strawberry icing! I need to be careful with this. The whole time I was wearing it I had a craving for cupcakes!


This is very fast-absorbing and non-greasy but nothing too special about it. I've been using it at night before bed.