Review: L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base

Note: I have discovered that this product might just be a dupe of a VERY expensive skincare product so keep reading for the big reveal...

Let me start out by telling you that I got one heck of a deal on this product. L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base retails for $12.95 at Rite Aid. When I purchased it a few weeks ago, L'Oreal products were on sale at Rite Aid for 40% off. This brought my cost down to $7.77. But I also had a $2 off coupon from Red Plum, which brought my total cost down to just $5.77. So if you want to try this product, I highly suggest waiting for a good sale, and check your Red Plum insert, Sunday paper inserts, etc. for a coupon. You'll really save a bundle.

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base (retail: around $12.95, 0.5 oz)

I think most of us are always on the hunt for an affordable primer that actually extends the life of our foundation. Especially those of us with oily skin--there's nothing worse than having our makeup disappear or feel like it's sliding off midway through the workday. So when I purchased this product, I had really high hopes that it would keep my makeup in place longer and, at the very least, eliminate the need for a lunchtime touch-up.

But then, I read this:

HELLO! Nowhere on this package does L'Oreal actually say that this will keep your makeup from fading, eliminate the need for touch-ups, or extend the life of your foundation! According to the application instructions above, this product is only going to "help makeup go on smoother."

Wow. I feel dumb! I mean, whenever I hear the word "base", I think of primer, which makes me think that the product is going to help keep my foundation in place longer. Am I the only one who thought this was actually going to be a foundation primer?

So with this new knowledge, I can't deduct any points from the performance of this product if it does NOT extend the life of my foundation. I can only judge this on how smoothly it makes my makeup application.

Let's take a look at the ingredients:

Here's something interesting! A while ago I did a compare/contrast of Hard Candy Sheer Envy Foundation Primer (retail: $8, 1.6 oz) and Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer (click here if you missed that). Let me show you the ingredients lists of those two primers:

Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer:

Smashbox Studio Finish Foundation Primer:

Interesting, right? All three products have, as their first ingredient, a multi-syllabic word beginning with "cyclo" and ending with "xane" (which leads me to believe they're similar ingredients). And all three products list dimethicone and dimethicone crosspolymer as their second and third ingredients. And lastly, all three products contain silica as their fourth or fifth ingredient.

I'm not trying to claim that all three products are essentially the same, but I just want to point out they share a lot of common ingredients. So in other words, it doesn't seem that L'Oreal is reinventing the wheel with Magic Perfecting Base.

Let's take a look at the actual product:

As you can see, this product comes in a little jar (about the same size as most standard eye creams--in other words, it's small) and the texture of the product has sort of a whipped quality to it. You really don't need much to cover your entire face, but if you're a germaphobe, I don't think you'll like the fact that you have to dip your finger in it to use it (of course you could use a little spatula, spoon, etc. to get the product out of the jar if you wanted to).

I opted for the finger method and I have to say that, due to the small size of the jar, it bugged me that I kept getting product underneath my nail. If you have nails that extend even just a tiny bit from your nail bed, be warned. It's almost impossible to prevent product from getting under your nail when you scoop this out. My solution? Scoop in an upward motion, instead of in a downward motion. In other words, if you scoop up, the product will be on your actual fingernail, as opposed to being on your fingertip.

When applying this product to my clean and moisturized face, I found that it applied pretty smoothly and I didn't experience any balling up (something I have heard several people complain about). I think less is more with this product and you definitely don't want to overdo it.

How did my face look and feel after application? Freaking amazing! Wow! My monster pores (near my nose and cheeks) seemed a little more airbrushed, and everything just looked more smooth and supple. In fact, when I first used this, I was INSTANTLY reminded of one particular product: Estee Lauder Idealist (retail: $46.00, 1 oz). Several years ago, when Idealist first came out, a co-worker and I went freaking NUTS over it. It was truly revolutionary for its time. I mean, my face had just never felt so smooth and supple before and I was absolutely addicted to it for many years (until, of course, the price went sky-high and I simply couldn't afford it anymore). So after using this product for a few weeks now, I'm going to go out on a limb and call Magic Perfecting Base an EL Idealist dupe. And here's why:

In my experience, Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base gives my skin essentially the same smooth, supple, airbrushed quality that Estee Lauder Idealist gives it. It just makes every inch of my skin look and feel dreamy. Yes, there are big differences (Idealist is classified as a serum and is applied before your moisturizer. It also claims to have skin-resurfacing benefits, while Magic Perfecting Base is not a serum and should be applied after your moisturizer). But in my limited experience, I have to say that the instant (not long-term) results are quite similar: my face feels instantly smoother, more supple and more polished.

So if you're looking for a more economical way to get the feeling of Estee Lauder Idealist on your skin, I say give Magic Perfecting Base a shot!

But if you're looking for a product that can help you keep your foundation in place longer, neither Magic Perfecting Base nor Idealist will probably be the product for you. It's just not the purpose of either product (but congrats to those of you who did experience this result though--I know some of you have!). I can't say I was disappointed that Magic Perfecting Base didn't keep my makeup from melting off during the most recent hot day here in San Diego. Why? Because I didn't expect it to. And it's not supposed to. For the record, on most days, my makeup stayed in place for about the exact same amount of time as it would had I not used Magic Perfecting Base at all.

The good news? Magic Perfecting Base did exactly what it said it was going to do: it truly helped my "makeup go on smoother" as promised. But you know what? That's what the Hard Candy primer does too, and Hard Candy Sheer Envy primer retails for $8 and you get triple the amount. So if you're looking for a primer that makes your makeup go on smoother AND helps extend the life of your foundation a bit, I say give Hard Candy a shot.

So exactly who might benefit from Magic Perfecting Base? I would say that it's ideal for those of you who don't wear foundation at all. You are really going to benefit from a product like this, because it really instantly improved both the look and texture of my bare skin. But if you do wear foundation and you are in desperate need of a product that's going to smooth things out before you apply your foundation, this might be a great match for you as well. If you're like me, and you want not only to smooth your skin before foundation application, but also extend the life of your foundation, I'd say Hard Candy Sheer Envy might be a better option.

I hope you're not thoroughly confused by this review. I tried my best to give you the pros and cons and, heck, I even threw in a dupe for good measure. Either way, I just want you to be informed before you make a purchase, and I hope this helps a bit.

As always, I'd love to hear from you--whether you'd tried Magic Perfecting Base or not!