I'm sure most people with an interest in makeup are familiar with the idea of a primer, but for the benefit of anyone who is not too sure what it is, a primer is intended to provide a smooth base for makeup, often helping to even out any fine lines and reducing the appearance of open pores, and it helps makeup last longer throughout the day.

I bought this Laura Mercier primer in January when on a trip to America, as I had been keen to try this brand after hearing good things about it, and I wanted to take advantage of the bargain prices in America.

=== Packaging ===

The primer comes in a simple smooth tube which is an oatmeal grey type colour. Laura Mercier is written on it in large letters in the brand's typical font and foundation primer is written in smaller writing. If you also have other products such as the tinted moisturiser, you need to be careful which one you pick up as they look almost identical! I keep mine in separate sections of my makeup box to avoid any mishaps where I waste product by squeezing the wrong stuff out onto my hand. The tube has a large screw top lid and a thin nozzle inside. It is very easy to dispense the primer by simply squeezing. The instructions tell you to take a pea sized blob, so quite a small amount goes a long way.

=== Use and Effectiveness ===

The primer itself is a creamy off white in colour. The texture is like a light, slightly gel like lotion. I find it interesting that so many primers have completely different textures to each other. This feels nothing like other primers I use, such as Smashbox Photofinish (which feels more like a thicker gel paste) or MAC SPF 50 (which is a white cream). The Laura Mercier feels very light going onto the skin, and it is smooth to apply, without any stickiness. It is difficult to see where you have applied it as the off white colour disappears as soon as you smooth it out onto the skin. However, you can feel where you have applied it and if you always cover your face in more or less the same way, you are unlikely to miss bits. The primer has a light, refreshing slightly lemony scent to it, which I like.

I leave this primer for about 10 minutes before I put my makeup on. I'm not sure if you strictly need to wait so long, but it is definitely advisable to leave some sort of gap to ensure the primer doesn't end up mixing with your foundation if you put it on too early. After 10 minutes I can apply my foundation and the rest of my makeup on top. The primer does leave a smooth surface and the foundation brush really glides over it. I find this means you need less foundation than if you don't use any primer. The Laura Mercier gives a similar effect to other primers, but I do think it is a bit smoother than some. I apply the primer all over the face, including a bit under the eyes and on the eye lids, and it works as an eyeshadow primer too. I am sure a specifically designed eyeshadow primer would probably be a more effective at that, but since I haven't tried one, I find the Laura Mercier face primer works fine there!

My makeup stays put very well on top of this primer. I usually use Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation, which is longwearing anyway, but I have also used tinted moisturisers (Laura Mercier's own and Clinique Moisture Surge tinted) as well as NARS foundation on top of this primer. All of them last very well throughout the day on this base. The colour and finish of the foundations are not at all distorted by the primer, and they look as intended, but just a bit fresher due to being on top of the primer and not sinking into the pores, as can sometimes happen without a primer.

I have had no irritation to my skin from this primer.

One minor negative is that the primer does not have any SPF. However, for me this is not a big deal as my foundations and tinted moisturisers tend to have about SPF 15, which is enough for most of the time. Sometimes I use moisturisers with SPF too. However, If going on holiday somewhere hot I would use a higher SPF primer rather than this Laura Mercier one, for example the MAC Prep + Prime SPF 50.

=== Price and Availability ===

I bought mine in America from Sephora. I actually paid about $65 for a massive box of Laura Mercier, including this primer, tinted moisturiser, undercover pot of undereye concealer, blemish concealer and powder, a couple of brushes and a makeup bag. For that amazing price I was really pleased with all of it!

However, in the UK unfortunately you are going to end up paying more.

Laura Mercier seems to be becoming more popular in the UK lately but I haven't that many of their counters around. Laura Mercier is generally stocked at Space NK stores and some John Lewis stores. I know the John Lewis in Reading has a Laura Mercier counter. I think House of Fraser has some Laura Mercier counters, as the products can be bought on their website, but personally I don't think I have come across a Laura Mercier counter in House of Fraser and my local store does not have it. You can buy online from John Lewis, House of Fraser and Space NK.

The primer costs £28 for 50 ml. This is quite expensive, but 50 ml is a much larger sized tube than most other primers, which usually seem to contain 30 ml. This actually makes it quite reasonable value compared to other higher end makeup brands.

=== Overall ===

I liked this primer a lot. I am just now coming to the end of my tube, which was the smaller 30 ml. I didn't use it every day as I sometimes alternated with other primers, but I would say I got about 3 months of constant use out of it. I have other primers to use up before I rush out and buy a new one, but I would definitely be happy to use this again, especially if I can get it on offer. It is quite expensive at full price but considering the tube is large in size, I do think the price is acceptable considering the quality is excellent.