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Splurge Or Save? // Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Primer vs NYX Hydra Touch Primer

As you're probably aware, I am quite happy to spend a fair amount of money when it comes to makeup, especially anything that's going on my face - I find with most products you get what you pay for and because my skin is quite sensitive, cheaper products tend to irritate it and do more harm than good. That being said, there are quite a few cheaper brands out there that produce some amazing products that easily give higher-end brands a run for their money. I thought it might be fun to do a series on this blog comparing high-end makeup with their drugstore equivalents. Not everyone can afford to go out and splurge a lot of money on makeup, and after a year of living as a student, I've found that drugstore products have very quickly become my new best friend! I'm not sure how regularly I'll be able to do this series, but whenever I try out a new dupe I'll be sure to write a post!
So first up is the Photo Finish Hydrating Primer from Smashbox, vs the NYX Hydra Touch Primer. I have quite dry skin, so I definitely prefer a more hydrating primer, especially when I'm using a matte foundation such as my Fenty Pro Filt'r foundation - I find using a really hydrating primer underneath gives my skin an extra boost of moisture, while stopping the foundation from clinging onto any dry patches I might have. It also helps to give my skin a bit more of a glow, even under something as matte as that particular foundation.

Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Primer

I am a huge fan of Smashbox primers - I used the original Photo Finish for about a year before moving on to this one, and it's lasted me for absolutely ages. It retails at £26 for 30ml and to be honest it has been really worth the money for me. It lasts for ages as I only needed a small amount to cover my entire face and it does a brilliant job of keeping my make up in place without drying my skin out.

NYX Hydra Touch Primer

Another brand that I really really love - NYX deliver some brilliant products (their Soft Matte Lip Creams are one of my favourite liquid lipsticks) and their prices are really reasonable. I had a quick search of some good drugstore dupes for the Smashbox primer when I ran out and this one was one of the most high-rated ones I could find. It retails for £13 for 30ml, so not the cheapest on the market but honestly I've been so impressed with this! I haven't been using it recently as my skin can get quite oily in the summer, but I would 100% recommend this product to anyone who has dry skin!

Splurge or Save?

To be honest, the only real difference between these two primers is the price! For me, I would probably go for the NYX primer, only because that leaves me with another £13 to spend on more makeup 😉

I hope you guys found this post helpful, please feel free to leave a comment down below with any recommendations you have for this series, or for any posts you would like to see in general 💕

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