In a vanity-obsessed culture, everyone and their dog (follow my dog Chase on Instagram: @Chaseeskimo!) has posted a #selfie.  The first one was recorded back in 1839 and since then has unleashed a phenomenon.  From becoming the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year for 2013 to becoming a hit EDM song (But first….), whenever you turn on your computer, you’re faced with numerous selfies by everyone from your mom to your bestie to elephants (this elephant has recently taken the “greatest selfie of all time”).

Now since we all can’t have a Valencia filter for real life, the Body Shop has packaged selfie-ready skin with their new Instablur primer for flawless-looking skin.  Instablur instantly blurs imperfections for social media-worthy skin.  This five-action perfecter has a 12-hour shine control, is pore smoothing, hides blemishes, unifies your complexion, and extends the life of your makeup.

I try out a lot of primers (and take a lot of selfies), so I ditched the DSLR for this review and grabbed my iPhone 5S (gold, of course) and snapped some selfies of my own to see how well this works.  You can either use this primer alone to smooth out imperfections for a mattified look, or use it underneath your makeup for a long-lasting base.  I did the latter, but first moisturized my skin with their new Vitamin E Aqua Boost Sorbet face moisturizer, which gives a burst of refreshing coolness, leaving you with lots of hydration.  Overtop of Instablur, I applied the Body Shop Tea Tree Flawless BB Cream, which let me tell you, I have tried a lot of BB creams, and I would have to say this one rates high.  In addition to all the benefits of a BB cream I look for, I also want good coverage, which this one gives.

Honestly, I didn’t really see a high difference between wearing this and not wearing it.  For C$22, I do think this is a great price for a primer (L’Oreal’s Pore Vanisher retails for more, and let’s not even talk about Benefit’s The POREfessional…). Just like the other two, Instablur essentially just blurs your pores making them appear less large.  It also mattifies your face, controlling shine.  The Body Shop itself has a no retouch policy, which I am all for and plays in nicely with this new product. They don’t alter the size or body shape of their models, they don’t use excessively thin models, and they don’t make adjustments to colour or minor imperfections, ensuring effectiveness of visuals across different sizes and formats.

I took a whole whack of selfies after applying my makeup and I would definitely say Instablur does the trick.  I personally wouldn’t wear it by itself, but I do like it underneath my makeup to make it last longer.

Keep an eye out for Instablur to hit your local Body Shop store.  In the meantime, you can order it online now through their site.  You can join the #nofilter movement by hashtagging your selfie with #NoretouchBS.  Also, make sure to follow me on Instagram: Shayna_apopofcolour :).

How do you get selfie-ready skin?  

Please note, these items were sent to me by PR.  All opinions are my own.

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