The Obsession Begins...
I already owned and loved the Guerlain Meteorites Perles Powder because they were so unusual and they were so much fun to use. After looking into the rest of the Meteorites collection by Guerlain, I became desperate to own each and every item. As I'm not made of money, I instead dropped more than a few hints to my boyfriend as my birthday was approaching, for the Guerlain Meteorites Perles Light Diffusing Perfecting Primer. I didn't really know what it was or how much it cost and I hadn't read any reviews about the product. I had seen the bottle, and just knew I had to have it.

What does it do?
After having unwrapped my parcel on my birthday to find the amazing bottle inside and nearly bursting with excitement, I thought I should find out what it is supposed to do before I applied the product to my face so that I would know what to expect. The purpose of this primer is to give the skin an illuminating coverage, while hiding imperfections and to leave you with a matt complexion and even skin tone.

How does it work?
Each pearl with the bottle contains the perfect dose of light reflecting particles which brighten the complexion. As the light hits the particles, the light is reflected which gives the face a healthy glow and stops it from appearing dull. Glycerin is also included to draw water into the skin, which keeps the skin firm and plump, while also working towards helping to prevent fine lines and wrinkles.

One of the main ingredients within the product is Cyclopentasiloxane which is a form of silicone and its purpose is to fill in the pores and fine lines to leave you with a smoother complexion on which to apply your make up. Silica is also present for this purpose. Alcohol is included to tighten the pores further to reduce their appearance and to ensure that less oil is produced by the skin.

How do you use the product?
The product is to be applied to skin that has been cleaned, exfoliated and toned. One pump of this bottle is enough to cover the face and when I've been tempted to use more, my face has turned into a greasy and shimmering mess so I never tried that again!

I take one pump of the product on the back of my hand and gently ensure that the gel is completely mixed to ensure an even coverage. Then using my fingers, I smooth this product into the skin on my whole face, but in particular onto my cheeks, forehead and nose. I then apply my normal make up on top or if my skin is in a good condition, I will just apply a tinted moisturiser on top as that seems to be when this product works the best.

Packaging and Price
This product is probably one of the most attractive items of make up I have ever seen. The primer comes enclosed within a heavy glass bottle that is completely transparent. It has some black writing on the front and a metallic shiny lid.

What makes this product so attractive is that the primer itself is stored within tiny pink pearls which you can see loaded together through the glass. The primer is released through a pump mechanism and each time you pump the bottle, one of the pearls is burst to release the product inside. The gel that comes out of the bottle has a slight pink tinge and a pearlescent shimmering finish.

I don't know the exact price that my boyfriend paid for this but I know it wasn't cheap! From looking online, I'm guessing it would have been in the region of £40 for 30ml of the product. It is available from many online websites so the price varies slightly but it remains expensive throughout. As you only burst one pearl with each use, the product should last me a very long time, and I haven't made any significant dent in it yet.

My thoughts
The product has quite a strong floral smell to it which is not entirely offensive but I always find that putting a fragrance into a face product is unnecessary as it can cause irritations and it's too close to the nose. Floral scents are never an aroma that I would go out of my way to choose but many people may like the smell of this primer.

The purpose of a primer to give you a perfect surface on which to apply your make up, covering up pores and fine lines. This product doesn't really hide the imperfections at all. The shimmering part of the gel seems to settle into my pores and fine lines, making them stand out more rather than hiding them. The product does feel light on the skin and isn't suffocating and heavy like some that I have tried.

Of course when you apply a good foundation, the shimmering colour difference is hidden but so is the radiance that the product provides. If you go bare faced, this product will be too shimmering and your pores and fine lines are exaggerated. I think this product only really looks nice when you wear it under a tinted moisturiser but then your skin needs to be in good condition to get away with this, and mine very rarely is.

Alone the product adds a bit too much shimmer to my face and it looks too obvious in the sunshine, even for a massive glitter fan like me. Despite its promise of hiding imperfections and evening out the skin tone, it really doesn't have the coverage to hide blemishes or even the skin tone so it fails there in my opinion.

The consistency of the product is gel like and quite greasy. I was worried that it was going to make my skin even shinier and oilier, and that it would cause more blemishes and blackheads on my far from flawless skin. This wasn't the case however and it doesn't cause any greasiness on the skin when you use the right amount, other than perhaps a sheen. It actually feels really cool and comfortable on my face and gives my skin a dewy glow with a healthy radiance and it also makes my complexion much brighter.

It actually manages to prevent my skin becoming oily for a small period of time but it would be an exaggeration to say that it keeps my skin oil free for the duration that it is on my skin. That said, this product didn't cause any new blemishes or blackheads to form on my skin which I found pleasantly suprising. The product also doesn't make a noticeable difference to the staying power of my make up although it doesn't make it melt off faster either.

All in all, I believe that this product is more of an illuminator than a primer. It doesn't really conceal my pores and fine lines appropriately or give me a perfect surface on which to apply my make up. The product doesn't improve the staying power of my foundation either.

The primer does however brighten my complexion and give me a healthy radiance but in some cases, it can be too shimmery for my liking. The product only gives me radiance when I wear it will a tinted moisturiser, which I don't do often so I don't really get much use from this product. It smells nice and looks great in the bottle, but in my opinion, this product is not actually a primer.