LORAC Illuminator VS L'oreal Illuminator

Not too long ago I took a poll on my Insta (elizabetht.taylor) about what everyone who reads the blog would like to see, and the result was a makeup post, and I've been really curious lately about these illuminating products. There are sooo many to choose from from powders to primers to droplets, it was difficult to choose which kind to test out! But I figured I would use a primer/liquid illuminator most often so that's what I went with, and again, I had my Insta followers choose which illuminators they'd want to see and we came up with these two together! 

These two could NOT be more different. The first thing I noticed was the way each product went about illuminating. LORAC is more of a subtle glow (honestly idk how they do it, the product just looks like lotion really!) and L'oreal's is more of a shimmer. For my every day makeup I'd rather just have the glow as I don't do full glam on average, so I was immediately drawn to LORAC first. Also, you can immediately tell how the product is going to work just by looking at it. Here's a shot of the stark difference between the products:

L'oreal is the pink-ish product and LORAC is the pearly white. Another thing you can tell from the photos is that L'oreal's illuminator was kind of goopy, while LORAC's was more light and runny (? bad word, but it wasn't as goopy). 

Now for application! I tried the "Glotion" (L'oreal) first because I was reeeaaallly hoping it would work a drugstore miracle and be flawless. It wasn't TERRIBLE, but it wasn't great either. I decided to use it as a primer, so I applied it with my hands after washing, toning, and moisturizing my face. It was slightly sticky when it dried and wasn't comfortable until I got my makeup on over it. Also, the first day I used it I only applied it once, and it made no difference with a light foundation over it. In other words, it looked like I wasn't wearing any illuminating primer. So the second time I used it I waited until the first layer dried and then applied a second layer. My skin did look glowy with two layers. I was nervous my face would look sparkly because it looks so intense coming out of the bottle, but no worries, that didn't happen even with the two layers. 😂 So as a primer, I was underwhelmed with L'oreal. But the product's description says you can apply it over your makeup as well, like any other highlighter. The first time I attempted this I completely ruined my makeup haha. I didn't think about the fact that I was putting a semi-liquid product on top of my makeup and just smeared my cheek-bone areas and it was just terrible and I was fuming. But I learned my lesson, and the second time I put little dots of the product on my cheek bones and pat them into my makeup with a makeup sponge. MUCH better. I really liked the product worn this way! It looked great! If you plan on using this product, try that first!

As for the LORAC illuminating primer, it was just fine from the beginning. It's specifically meant to be worn under your makeup like the first way I tried the L'oreal illuminator, and with only one layer of product, and under my normal makeup routine, my skin was glowing! It set really well under my makeup and it wasn't sticky at all. It actually felt like a really refreshing hydrating moisturizer. Last but not least, what I've been VERY excited to report about this product: one Saturday (when I usually don't wear any makeup at all) Matthew and I decided to go to the farmer's market and I decided to throw on just a few dots of the LORAC illuminating primer because I remembered how fresh it made my skin feel the first time and I was just excited to use it again. Not only did my skin feel hydrated the whole time in over 100 degree weather, but a lady at the farmer's market told me my skin looked amazing, and asked for my secret! I was blown away because I've ALWAYS had skin problems and a skin compliment is rare, nonetheless asking for my secret?? Well here it is! LORAC's illuminating primer will trick people into thinking your skin is great 😉 Unfortunately, though, there is one thing that I wasn't too fond of about this primer, and that is that it smells like an organic grocery store like Whole Foods or something. You can only smell it while you're applying it and it goes away pretty immediately, but those few seconds really aren't so pleasant. Over all a great product!

Thank you for reading! If there are other products you'd like to see reviewed please ask! OR if there was something specific you'd like to know about these products that I left out, let me know!

  

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