Purchase - SMACKDOWN! Fyrinnae Velvet-Gel Silica Primer Vs. Bare Escentuals -Prime Time Foundation Primer Oil Control

Some of you are familiar with my most comment lament, My OILY skin. I swear it’s not fair because as I have gotten older my oily skin has been less oily around my cheeks and eyes which is where my WRINKLES are showing up! OK. I’ll admit it. I’ll never be happy with my skin until I have the porcelain airbrushed look that the unrealistic models in Vogue have. That’ll probably happen when I’m dead. I hear morticians can work magic! Until then, I’ll have to settle for my large pores and oily T-Zone.


I have tried a host of primers.
Dr. Brandt Pores No More – Controlled oil well, Masked most pores. Super expensive, sadly.
Clarins Instant Smooth – Masked large pores, Controlled oil medium well, but eventually became too hard to work with under powder foundation. Also pricey.
Chanel T-mat - Didn't control oil at all. Not ever. :-( Didn't mask my large pores.
Peter Thomas Roth Max Anti-Shine Mattifying Gel - Broke me out w/ cystic type acne and didn't work well under makeup, masked some large pores.
Philosophy The Present Clear Makeup - Broke me out w/ cystic type acne and didn't work well under makeup. Masked some large pores.
Dermalogica Oil Control Lotion - worked for a few months but then stopped working and I was oily once again. Didn't mask larger pores.
Korres Lemon Anti-Shine Gel - Didn't work at all. Didn't control oil one bit. Didn't mask large pores.

While Dr. Brandt and Clarins were both very good products I found that my wallet was severely lacking once I purchased the products! While I believe in spending what you need to for the best product for you, I just had a sneaking feeling that there was something better out there. Call it wanderlust, call it intuition, OK call it an "Addict for all things new", but I found myself looking for something new. Here is what I found:

image from sephora.com

Bare Escentuals -Prime Time Foundation Primer Oil Control

And

image from Fyrinnae.com

Fyrinnae - Velvet-Gel Silica Primer
What is this Fyrinnae you speak of? Fyrinnae is a small on-line etailer...well they explain it better:
Taken directly from Fyrinnae.com

Fyrinnae is not a "mineral" makeup company. We create unique cosmetics, all of which are vegan (this means no silk, carmine, pearl, beeswax, etc). Shipping is free on orders over $20 USD worldwide (very low postage rates for smaller orders, too: never exceeds $3.00 domestic or $3.50 international!), and sample sizes are available on most products. No minimum purchase: order a single sample if you'd like. We're dedicated to serving customers around the world of any gender, and any skintone. If you're looking for overly-pearly, washed out cosmetics, you've come to the wrong place: we're known for our colours.

Nice huh? Not that I'm vegan, nor do I care about using vegan products. Hi! I'm addicted to beef jerky, Veganism is not for me. Plus I hate bugs so I don't care if they use carmine in my makeup. But some of YOU may care, so now you have a place to buy makeup and not hurt those wonderful little red bugs you love so dearly.

OK. Back to the matter at hand...ME.

I tried both products side by side for one week. One half of my face had the BE Prime Time and the other half had the Fyrinnae Velvet-Gel

Both Products worked equally well. I had the same amount of oil production on each side of my face by noon (mind you, I apply my makeup at 5:45 AM so that’s a decent amount of time). Both products managed to smooth my skin out prior to my foundation application and I experienced no break outs from either product. Win – Win right?

So why choose one over another? Let’s compare, shall we?
First, to save me some typing, PT = Bare Escentuals Prime Time and VG = Fyrinnae Velvet-Gel Silica Primer.

• PT and VG = Control Oil for at least 5 hours before needing to blot
• PT and VG = subtly mask fine lines
• PT and VG = Do not contain Silicones (silicon is different than silicones) Read here for more info

But here is where the cream rises to the top, so to speak

• VG masks small pores PT does not
• VG dries quickly on the skin while PT takes longer to absorb and still feels a little slippery even after application.
• VG costs only $5.50 for 0.5oz while PT costs $21 for 1 oz so VG is almost HALF the price of PT per ounce.

There are some small negatives for the Fyrinnae Velvet-Gel Silica Primer

• It comes in a tub versus a handy and more hygienic pump or squeeze tube
• If you apply too much you can get a white cast to your face. This is easily buffed off with a kabuki brush, but still annoying if it’s the first time using it
• You can only get it on line. There are no “Brick and Mortar” stores that sell Fyrinnae

BUT those are minor when you look at the big picture.

Here are some more positives:

• Fyrinnae does ship world wide
• Their website is easy to navigate
• If you order just the primer your shipping time is faster (just because a lot of people order a bunch of samples and that takes longer to process)
• You can buy with ease using Paypal
• You are supporting a small business
• And if you are anything like me and can’t just order one item, there are a kazillion awesome, high quality pigments and mineral shadows (and …blushes and foundations, not to mention eye liners, glitters lip lusters, etc. etc.) to buy in full and sample sizes none the less!

Do you NEED this? If you are oily YES! If you have dry skin Fyrinnae makes a gel primer specifically for dry skin. I have not tested it, but hey, it might work for you! Honestly. This stuff is a bargain, not only because of the inexpensive price tag, but the product actually does what it says it does! That, my dear readers is a rarity in the cosmetic world, as we all sadly know.

Bare Escentuals - Prime Time Foundation Primer Oil Control Ingeredients:
Water (Aqua), Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Modified Corn Starch, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Zinc PCA, Sodium Levulinate, Sodium Anisate, Silica, Calcium Silicate, Sclerotium Gum, Citric Acid.

Fyrinnae Velvet-Gel Silica Primer Ingredients:
Silica (silicon dioxide), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Purified Water, Acrylates/C-10 AlkylAcrylates(this makes it into a gel), Polyaminopropyl Biguanide, Potassium Sorbate