Product Review: Dior Pore Minimizer Skin Refining Matte Primer

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This week I tried out Dior’s Pore Minimizer Skin Refining Matte Primer. It came as a free sample with my order from Sephora (I got a replacement Urban Decay Naked Palette to replace my former one, which met a sad and violent end at the hands… er… paws and mouths of a friend’s large dogs. R.I.P. Naked Palette.) I definitely have my tried and true favorites, but I love testing out new things too, so I thought I’d give it a go.

I usd the Dior primer under my usual MAC Select MoistureCover concealer and MAC Mineralize Skinfinish powder, and though I had high hopes (Dior! Fancy, yes?) I was thoroughly underwhelmed.

It felt wonderful and velvety while I was first applying it and really looked like it was smoothing out those pores and fine lines (hello, silicone!), but it dried to a powdery consistency and was whitish and flaky looking under my concealer. Womp womp. Do I want my skin to look matte? Yes. But dry and flaky? Nope. Not the look I was going for. I thought perhaps it was a fluke. Maybe my skin really was extra dry that day. Maybe I didn’t put enough moisturizer on. So I tried it three more times, until the sample ran out. Regrettably, the outcome was the same. My face looked ashen and flaky all the ding dong day. I’m happy that it was just a sample, and I didn’t actually spend money on it; I would have felt much better with no primer at all.

So, that’s a no-go on the Dior. What do I suggest? My old favorite (which I am back to using now), Too Faced Primed and Poreless. Aside from staying a smooth velvety texture, it also has some nice additives like vitamins A & C, is considerably cheaper ($30/oz for Too Faced vs. $42/oz for Dior) and it’s not tested on animals (according to the Beautypedia, Dior is. Sorry.) Now, Too Faced’s primer isn’t necessarily matte, if you’re feeling extra oily, I’d recommend dabbing a little Sephora Collection Anti-Shine Primer. I usually use a bit on my nose, forehead and cheeks before smoothing on the Too Faced primer.

Check out some of my other go-to makeup and skincare faves. What’s your favorite primer? Have you tried either of these? Let me know in the comments!