Oh my GOSH!

Ok, not the most original post title in the world, granted. But it's a deserved reaction to the product I'm reviewing today!

Last week I got hold of some GOSH face primer. GOSH are a makeup and cosmetics line from Denmark, however they sell worldwide. For those of you haven't heard of them GOSH make-up is actually sold in Superdrug stores here in the UK. You can't miss them - their counter's the most elaborate out of the whole cosmetics department.

In fact so much so I ran away when I first saw the counter over a year ago. I daren't look in case the prices were too steep! I finally braved it recently and I was pretty impressed. Despite their products not being "drugstore" priced at typical "pocket money" prices, they are still very good value for money. Plus Superdrug are nearly always holding 3 for 2 offers and other bargain discounts so it's well worth the visit!

I'd heard about their face primer - Velvet Touch Foundation Primer, which retails at £13.00 and that it was a rival to a more expensive competitor Smashbox Photofinish Primer. Their claim: "The colorless formula fills in fine lines and deep pores in the skin, creating a uniform, matte and unique, silky soft surface, enabling the easy and smooth application of foundation. The primer can be used after daily moisturiser or on clean skin. You get a unique and even finish when applying your foundation that will never look dry or patchy. Contains Aloe Vera and is preservative-free and fragrance-free."

I suffer from some pretty oily areas on my face (typically in my T-Zone) which causes problems with my makeup not lasting the full mile during the day. Symptoms of this usually are blotchy areas of foundation forming in dots on the skin and generally foundation dissolving away so by the end of the day my foundation is half way down my face and in need of reapplication to revive it!

Face primer essentially acts as the barrier between your skin and makeup, or in oilier skins, the oil and your makeup - providing a 'canvas' so to speak for your makeup to rest on! It fills in imperfections such as fine lines and large, deep pores so that your foundation doesn't sit in them instead.

The primer comes in a clear pump bottle with black text on it. The primer itself is clear, colourless and is almost gel-like in consistency but quite thick, this is attributed to the silicone in the primer which is essentially what smoothes the surface of the skin and makes it so effective. The primer's very smooth to the touch and when it goes on your skin your skin feels very velvety so I can see where they got the name from! :-)

Go spare with it you don't need a lot, a pea-size amount in total will do. However I found applying as you go works better - i.e. don't squirt out the full pea-size amount on your hand and then apply from that using your finger. I found that when I did this, half way through application the pea-size amount that was sat on my hand had dissolved into the skin, so I had to get some more! So if you pump out a tiny amount on your finger as you go and apply to each area of the face as needed then that'll be all you need! In total you'll end up having used only a pea-size amount for the whole of your face.

Once I began to apply my foundation I noticed I needed a lot less than normal! The foundation went on very, very smoothly and blended so much more easily than usual. Even my boyfriend remarked on how the odd tidemark or two I sometimes leave behind when in a hurry (whoops, guilty as charged!) wasn't there! In fact the colour and texture of the foundation appears much better and more natural when using this primer.

As for the large pores I have on my nose - they're not invisible, but they're far less noticeable and the foundation appears a lot smoother. The pores around my nose are barely even there when I use this stuff. The thing I'm most impressed with is its durability - it makes my makeup last so much longer. The normal oily sheen I tend to get by early afternoon isn't nearly half as bad as normal. By the end of the day my foundation's normally dissolved but I only need a tiny fresh reapplication to make it look like new again! Great if you're heading out after work but don't have the time to freshen up at home :-)

The only down-side to this product is it isn't non-comedogenic. I suffer from occasional break-outs and blemishes on my chin and when I use this primer I find that it makes applying foundation to those blemishy areas very difficult. It's as if the foundation doesn't want to sit on the spots. Not only that but I feel that the spots don't heal very quickly since I began using this. So I've taken to using little to no primer on my chin area for now.

I'd also like to add that for any of you searching for an oil-free miracle for your skin, I don't just use this alone after moisturising. I use an oil mattifier before I apply the primer, which soaks up any oil that sits on my skin and keeps oil at bay for up to 8 hours during the day. This helps the primer even more so. Primers don't really soak up the oil from your skin, they just stop it from mixing with your makeup and therefore dissolving it so bear this in mind before you head out and buy!

All in all I would give this product a thumbs up :-) It has certainly made an improvement to the appearance of my makeup so I'll be definitely purchasing this again in the future!