Everyone is bringing out colour correcting primers – they’re not really something I would use as standard I must admit, but a couple of these are pretty good (and three did nothing).  So, getting straight to the point, the primer designed to minimize signs of fatigue (Pink) didn’t. On the Clarins site, it is suggested that they will all conceal dark spots, spider veins, spots and scars, but you use such a fine veil that for any of those concerns, you’re going to be disappointed. When I put coverage over the top of Pink (it’s a primer after all), it was as though I’d never put any primer there in the first place. The Peach coloured primer is a blur primer and it did some extremely minimal blurring while the Coral primer, designed to minimize dark spots didn’t really cover or conceal any dark spots – my foundation does a better job. It’s bizarre that they all have the same indications for use on the website and yet on the packaging claim different things.

Clarins SOS Primers

The two that did perform really well are the Lavender shade to brighten sallow skin – my tone does go to sallow especially during winter and there was noticable brightening and evening that gave a more uplifted note to my skin even when I’d put foundation on. Ditto the Green shade to diminish redness – I have a couple of red areas on my face and they were definitely less red and more camouflaged after using this. So, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher that two work very well and three are fairly pointless, but more so that they all have the same description on the website. I’d be so confused as a consumer. Oh, and none cover scars – it’s just not possible.

Clarins SOS

The primers, £26 each, look more shiny than they actually are in this picture, but you can see that once you’ve blended in you aren’t going to be left with much colour correcting. I see what the brand is doing – using colour theory to neutralize whatever issue you feel that you have but these are not at concentrates enough to be effective, in my view. If you want to test out colour theory neutralizing, it’s fun to see what’s possible and what isn’t but you’d probably be better off with a cheaper palette (NYX has one for £10.99 HERE) that incorporates all the shades in a thicker and more pigment heavy formula. With the exception of Lavender and Green, this is a rare miss from Clarins.

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