Review | George Matte Primer

There is no getting away from the fact that I am a massive impulse buyer, which is why I came home from Asda with this George Matte Primer - despite knowing full well that I already have a ridiculous collection of primers I need to work my way through. Anyway, here we are, with one additional primer in our stash - so we may as well review it, right!? It claims to, "reduce shine worn alone or under make-up" and "help to create a shine-free matte complexion", as well as boasting Sweet Almond Oil and Vitamin E amongst its ingredients, which sounds pretty good to me.
Packaged in a simple white plastic tube with screw-cap and the product information printed in mint, it doesn't look anything fancy, but we all know it's what's on the inside that counts! The primer is easy to squeeze out of the tube and is peach in colour with a light, gel-like creamy texture; it's easy to spread over the skin and does give a nice smooth surface for applying make-up over. Although the primer states it can be worn alone or under make-up, I'd never wear it alone as it doesn't offer any kind of coverage or even blurring of imperfections; if you had clear skin and literally just wanted to mattify, I guess it could work. I have noticed a slight scent to the product which reminds me of PVA glue at primary school, but it thankfully doesn't linger on the skin!
I've found that whilst this does mattify my skin initially, and make-up goes on nicely over it, the effects don't really last with my oil-slick face; even using powder to set my foundation, (which I always do anyway!) within a couple of hours I'm super-shiny again, particularly on my forehead and nose. I know my skin is exceptionally oily so if you're more of a combination skin-type, you may have better luck, but for me, there are better products for helping to keep my skin matte for longer. It's probably worth pointing out that the formula does feature several silicones (cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone, cyclohexasiloxane) as well as methylparaben and propylparaben, so if you try to avoid these ingredients in your products then this is one to skip. The silicones should theoretically act to blur out pores and fine lines, but I haven't noticed that to be the case.
George Matte Primer is priced at £3.50 for 30ml, which makes it an affordable option to try out; for me, I'll use this tube up but I wouldn't repurchase it as there are other products which work better for my skin-type. I'm certainly not put off trying other products from the George range as I do think this is a good product for the price, it just happens to not suit me very well; they look to have some lovely blusher shades. Would you buy make-up from a supermarket brand? Have you tried any of George's make-up?

xo