When I was a high school student, I couldn’t care less about makeup, and I especially didn’t give a second thought as to whether or not a product came from the drugstore or a department store. 

Fast-forward to today, where I can’t enter a Walgreens, Target, Sephora, or Ulta without doing a happy dance and spinning through the beauty aisles like a Disney princess. As much as I’ve grown to love the feeling of a really nice high-end foundation or blush, I truly believe that nothing beats a quality product at a drugstore price.

This week I’m comparing two primers that are incredibly different in price, but promise similar (if not identical) results. Let’s get ready to rumble! 

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In This Corner: Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer

Price: Around $4-$7 (.67 oz)

I’ll start off by saying that Maybelline is, without a doubt, my all-time favorite drugstore cosmetics line. I can’t decide if it’s due to their super-cute packaging, or their long-standing and trustworthy reputation, but I’m hooked either way. 

This primer is clear, fragrance-free, and promises to “blur” the appearance of pores, as well as help your makeup last longer and look better throughout the day. I applied it with my fingertips and concentrated on the parts of my face where my pores are the most visible (around my nose, my forehead, and my cheeks).

I instantly fell in love with how smooth this feels as you blend it into your skin. Although it initially has a gel-like texture, it transforms into a soft and silky finish once applied. 

After applying foundation, under-eye concealer, and powder to the areas where I used Baby Skin, I could tell that the primer had a blurring effect on the texture of my skin. I can’t say that it’s a miracle worker, but I’m definitely impressed with the results considering that it came from a drugstore.