Quick review: Pixi Flawless & Poreless Primer

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I guess the theme of this weekend is: Shit I Don't Like. This is going to be a pretty quick one, because I don't actually like anything about this product. Or quick by my long-winded standards, anyway. Here's the description from Pixi's website:

Primer creates a seamless, silky canvas with a beautiful no-shine, cashmere finish. The formula's skin-loving ingredients clear and unblock pores to allow for utterly flawless, long-lasting makeup application. It is the perfect skin primer for all complexions and all skin types. Pore minimizing. Shine controlling. Hydrating. Oil free. Hypoallergenic. For all skin types.

Here's what it looks like:

Pixi Flawless & Poreless Primer. Looks pale beige but goes on transparent.

Here's a list of things it doesn't do, which could alternatively be titled "Things You Might Reasonably Expect a Primer to Do":

• minimize/blur pores or other "imperfections" (like fine lines/wrinkles, scars, etc.)
• mattify
• make foundation or other makeup apply more smoothly
• make foundation or other makeup last longer
• control oil/shine

Does that resemble their list of claims at all? Maybe it hydrates, but I'm not looking for a product that both controls oil/shine and moisturizes. If I want moisture, I'll use a moisturizer. This primer made my concealer apply weirdly (hard to explain, but it was blotchy and uneven). It caused my foundation to oxidize (i.e. turn darker and more orange) immediately. I have very pale, neutral skin, so I usually have to use the lightest foundation available. If it darkens and gets warmer, it looks fucking terrible. After a couple of hours, my foundation was starting to slide around my face and cake up in my pores and lines. Not pretty. I don't know if it would work better on drier skin, but since it claims to be suited for "all skin types", I don't really care. I doubt it would do any better at creating a smooth surface on dry skin, anyway, at least no better any moisturizer could do.

This stuff is basically useless to me. Even the name seems like a less clever version of the Too Faced Primed and Poreless primer. And it costs $30? PUH-LEASE. (I just had a travel-size tube to test, luckily.)

Better options are the Monistat Anti-Chafing Gel, or if you prefer something with a different texture (more like lotion, less like heavy silicone), the Sephora Anti-Shine Foundation Primer is nice.