Urban Decay Pore Perfecting Complexion Primer Potion Review & Swatches

Urban Decay Complexion Primer Potion - Pore Perfecting ($30)
Smooth on a little Complexion Primer Potion - Pore Perfecting before foundation (or alone!) to minimize the look of pores and fine lines. The velvety formula simmers down to a soft-matte finish—without the greasy, heavy feel sometimes associated with foundation primers. The result is flawless skin with an airbrushed look and feel. Foundation will go on smoothly, evenly, and won't fade away. Ideal for oilier skin, but dry complexions who want pore perfection will love it, too! The convenient squeeze tube includes a twist-up dispenser (like school glue!) for easy portion control.

I'm loving the whole 'Lab Sample' thing Sephora's been doing as of late ~ it's always fun to have the opportunity to test out new products before they officially launch, and it prevents me from spending money on a product I don't like and then having to return it. My latest lab sample was Urban Decay's recently released Pore Perfecting Complexion Primer Potion which I was expecting to be holy grail material. So was it?

A pea-sized dollop of the Pore Perfecting Primer ~ enough for your whole face.

In short, no. I don't hate it, but I don't entirely love it either. My main issue with the Pore Perfecting Primer is its texture. I find it rather ironic that the people at Urban Decay chose to use the words 'school glue' in their product description, as to me that's kind of what the product feels like. Squeeze out a dollop of this product and you've got a really thick white substance in your hand that isn't really the most spreadable.

A little goes a long way so I usually squeeze out a small, pea-sized amount, rub it between my hands to thin it out and warm it up a little and then proceed to apply all over my face, focusing on the areas that have enlarged pores. The sensation of the product against my skin isn't entirely unpleasant, but it is a little heavy and I can definitely tell that it's there ~ it's got the same siliconey feel as Smashbox's PhotoFinish but a little heavier, and minus the weird greasy slipperiness.

Partially blended ~ see how thick it is?

Every morning I look in the mirror after applying this primer, and then my foundation on top, and think "Wow my skin looks amazing," and it really does for the first three hours or so. My skin looks smooth, even, nearly poreless and as close to flawless as it's probably ever going to get.

After a little more blending...

However after those first few hours my face is a mess. Most of the foundation simply disappears, and what's left behind is this really greasy feeling that I can't shake for the rest of the day. The Complexion Primer Potion does make my foundation fade more evenly, but it also makes it fade more quickly than it normally would without primer. It also seems to mix in weird ways with the oils that my skin produces, so that my skin looks less oily but it feels 100x oilier than normal.

And fully blended in!

I could forgive the thickness and heaviness of this primer if it were longer-wearing, and if my face looked as good during the middle of the day as it did at the beginning, I could even deal with the greasy feeling it leaves on my skin. I'm surprised and more than a little disappointed that I didn't love this, as I know that others have been raving over it and professing that they've found their end-all-be-all primer.

List of Ingredients

Please keep in mind that this is just my opinion, and I'm only one little person with very oily skin and excessively large pores! There are a ton of people out there who absolutely adore this product so if you're curious, do try it out for yourself, it might just be perfect for you. I think that this could have been great if my complexion were just a little less oily.

RATING: 3/5

I'll be ordering Urban Decay's Brightening Complexion Primer Potion soon - let's hope I have better luck with this one!