Max Factor Miracle Smooth Primer Review

Thanks again to BR, I was selected to trial this primer paired with the Max Factor Luminizer Foundation.

As with the foundation, I was relieved to see this primer was in a bottle with a pumper that had a bottom that pushes the product to the top - no wastage! The bottle is solid plastic, with a sturdy pumper & solid plastic secure lid to top it off. I also like that the bottle is clear which lets you know (without looking at the bottom) how much product you've got left. There was practically no scent to this, but it did slightly remind me of the scent of sunscreen which I had no issues with.

This Smooth Miracle Primer claims to smooth skin texture to provide a smooth and even foundation application - which is primarily the reason I apply primer in the first instance - so to me this name suggests it is/or should be a lot better than other primers. One pump of this is all you need to cover your entire face. The product feels a lot like a moisturiser and glides over your skin like a moisturiser would. However it didn't leave my skin feeling greasy at all, my skin felt smooth and soft. At this point I'd like to point out that my skin type is "dry". With this in mind, I applied foundation after one pump of primer and also applied foundation at another time after using two pumps of primer. Whilst this is a beautiful primer, my foundation applied better after using extra primer as my dry skin absorbed the primer too fast after one pump.

Would I repurchase? For the price and amount of product, and bearing in mind I have dry skin, I wouldn't repurchase this primer. I found no difference in using the primer with other foundations and no difference using the foundation with different primers. To me this all comes down to my dry skin for the primer - I was using more primer than I should so perhaps this should be recommended for "normal" skin.

I received this with the Max Factor foundation review and its not bad, it smells abit like PVA glue when you put it on your face but once you rub it in the smell isn't there. I have very deep "11" lines and quite often even primer doesn't help with the foundation sinking in but this one actually helped bit and blurred them out. I've worn it a few times without foundation and it just give my skin a nice glow and blur. Its not the best primer I've tried but does the job for the price.

I've never really been a huge Maxfactor fan if I'm honest but I always like to give every brand another chance.

The first thing I like about their Miracle Smooth Primer is that it comes in a pump bottle, which is a lot more user friendly than having to squeeze it out of a tube. One pump is enough and it goes a long way, you may find you may not need as much, in this case, only pump about half way, this will save you $$$.

I was quite surprised at how white it was, it has the look, consistency and smell of a moisturiser, but thats where the similarities end.

The product claims to smooth your skin, this it does, however is it really a miracle product? Personally I don't think it is as it does the same as other primers I've used in the past, nothing exceptional but it does do the job.

Would I purchase it in the future? For the price of $42.99? No I wouldn't, I think I will stick to my usual E.L.F primer as it is a fraction of the cost for the same effect but I had fun trialling this product, thanks Beauty Review :-)

I dunno what's with Max Factor and their lack of info on their bottles. I don't like it. I like being told all the things a product does on the bottle, rather than having to find the info through their site - and even then it's not much better! So first negative, lack of info.

The bottle is just plain plastic, covered in an unevenly applied sticker. Has the thought crossed my mind to peel it off and fix it? You bet. The bottle is one of those fandangly magic ones, when you pump and the product is pushed up from the bottom - I dunno how they work but it is magical.

The primer is white, and looks a lot like a moisturizer. It smells like one too, but then it also has that underlying noodle smell we talked about in my foundation review. Very, very odd thing to fragrance your products with. I personally would've loved no fragrance.

The pump dispenses a large amount, its maybe a bit smaller than a baked bean. Maybe not. If the bean was a circle, we would be on the money. It's very thick, again like a moisturizer, and I have no doubt the bean amount of primer is enough to cover your whole face. My skin was a lot smoother after use but it also felt like a moisturizer I hadn't rubbed in properly.

When I was trialing this, I only used it on half my face under foundation, so I could see how it played out. The results (won't) shock you! Foundation applied about the same, maybe slightly easier over this primer. The foundation on and around my eyelids was actually quite tolerable, whereas on the side that had none, it was cakey and looked like I hadn't washed the sleep from my eyes. I also feel like the primed side of my face was a lot softer than the other side, but as for wear time, I noticed they were about the same.

I truly wanted to like this but again, I don't think I do. Maybe if it was used under a foundation I do like, we would be okay but otherwise, this primer is really nothing special, and for the price I'd rather get something else.

This primer smelt amazing, just like good skincare! It was great how soft and smooth it left my skin and I was quite impressed with how smooth my skin was after taking my makeup off. I only needed 1-2 pumps for my whole face, it was light and easy to apply. The only drawback was that I felt it didn't help minimize my pores, it felt like my foundation sunk into them and made them more noticeable on my checks. My skin did feel great though and after 4 hours my makeup still looked nice and hadn't moved, except for the cheek area sinking into my pores. My foundation went on easily with a beauty blender, blending was simple and fast. I do feel like this is a bit expensive for the standard 30mls, if it had minimized my pores then I would definitely be repurchasing as the way my skin felt was so nice. The packaging with the gold was simple but nice and loved the pump!

I tested this primer with a few different foundations, and found it didn't perform equally with all of them.

First I tried it with the Max Factor Miracle Touch Foundation. The primer comes in a plastic pump bottle which is hygienic and easy to use. It's a white colour but disappears into the skin and feels very silky. When first applied it does kind of help minimise the appearance of pores, but unfortunately over time I felt my pores became more visible and there wasn't an impressive difference compared to if I hadn't worn primer.

This primer is silicone-based, which is what makes it feel so smooth, but it means it won't work with every foundation type. My daily foundation is MAC Face and Body, and I (stupidly) decided to see how they work together. As F&B is water-based, this was a bad idea! The foundation swam around on top of the primer, looked streaky and wouldn't absorb into the skin.

Overall I wasn't particularly impressed with this primer—it gave smoothing effects right after application, but didn't deliver any longevity to my base makeup.

Oh dear, I feel bad that 2/2 Max Factors products I was lucky enough to be selected to trial just haven't worked on my skin.

I'm a little bit more impressed with this than I was with the foundation, but not enough to actually repurchase.

The pump tube it comes in seems to dispense exactly the right amount in one pump to cover my face an neck, so that's handy! The packaging is still pretty dated but slightly nicer than the foundation. I used my fingers to apply this primer and although I found it easy to spread all over my face and it did absorb well it was a lot heavier than any primer I've used before.

My skin felt considerably smoother after application and it helped the miracle smooth foundation apply better and last longer than when I tried the foundation without primer. Having said that, you'd think I'd give it a higher rating, but I just didn't "feel" this primer. It could be partly because I disliked the foundation so much that I felt the primer played a part in that too.

I didn't use the primer with any other foundation as I typically use double wear and Oasis BB cream, neither of which require a primer. Perhaps I would have felt a bit different about this primer if I had something else suitable at home to trial it with but I didn't.

Overall - not bad but not great enough to say I would repurchase.

Sorry Max Factor. Maybe it's my skin type. I just don't know.

I have never really had luck when it comes to primers. I have been inundated with thick primers that I could scratch off and leave a dent or they are far too thin and more like a overrated moisturiser. Imagine my surprise when I found out I was going to be trialing a primer along with a foundation. Ecstatic is what it was.

The bottle is a white and gold pump variety. I love its simplicity but with class. The gold makes it appear far more high end than it really is. For 30ml at $42.99 I hoped this was a less is more situation because 30ml is tiny when it comes to a full face primer. The bottle has very minimal information which annoys me to no end. It has no directions and only one sentence about what it hopes to offer. Even tho applying a primer shouldn't be rocket science it would be nice to be able to read their take on how it should be used.

The primer itself is white and very thick. I find that it is a bit too thick for my liking. I understand that it needs to smooth and make foundation appear flawless but to feel like I am rubbing cream cheese on my face is very unsavory in my opinion. It is very unpleasant trying to rub it in to my skin to make it disappear and not sit as a film on my skin. The real test is does it give me a smooth base. The first time I used it together with the foundation I didn't wait for it to dry so after a couple of hours had passed my skin was the oiliest it has ever been. I was asked if I had just come from th gym that's how bad it was!!

The next day I waited for the primer to dry and absorb more thoroughly but this put a 5 minute dent in to my very limited morning. This is not a great time management primer to use. After the drying period I applied the foundation and was underwhelmed by how uneven my skin was. I smoothed this primer over my entire face so there is no way it should be uneven. In areas it was patchy and I came to the conclusion that it was where my normal dry patches usually are. I thought it smoothed out skin?! What a crock I thought. I continued to use it teamed with the foundation nonetheless but with the same results. I actually found the foundation sat better without the primer...go figure. In summary I am completely underwhelmed and would never purchase it given the chance. I find that cheaper brands are far more superior in its performance. Don't waste your money.

I was super excited about getting this to trial! It sounded too good to be true.... and it was.

I hate giving bad reviews to things I haven't paid for, but this just didn't work for me at all.

The packaging is actually nicer than the foundation, to be honest! The white, gold and black is somehow a little more modern than the clear glass is. The clear cap annoys me though, as it looks so messy when it gets product on it, and the dispenser seems to leave a small amount each time. The dispenser pump does pump out a good amount of primer each time, which is nice - a single pump is enough.

The primer is a very thick white cream, that looks (and smells) slightly medical - it reminds me of Bepanthen nappy rash cream. It sits on my skin and feels thick and gluggy. While this DOES stop the foundation sinking in quite so much, it actually feels really unnatural, and I found it unpleasant.

I tried the foundation with and without the primer, and tried the primer alone. The primer also oxidises, and I end up feeling oily and breaking out.

I'm so disappointed that this didn't work for me, but I'll find a good home for it - I think my friend was keen to try it out :)

Thanks for the opportunity, anyway!