My $42 primer has been smoothing out my pores for years — I found a $9 dupe that's better

A BEAUTY guru is stunned after finding a budget-friendly alternative to Tarte's Timeless Smoothing Primer.

She applied the $9 makeup product to one side of her face and the luxury brand she had been using for years to the other side for comparison.

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Jennie (@greeneggsandglam) has amassed more than 212,000 followers on TikTok, where she shares beauty finds.

The former Sephora executive took to the social media platform with Tarte's Timeless Smoothing Primer as she explained why she might replace it in her makeup bag.

“A bit of a niche video, but this has been my holy grail pore filler for about six years,” she said.

“This is the Tarte Timeless Smoothing Primer, if you've been following me for a while you know I talk about this all the time.

“But recently I came across this L'Oréal Paris Magic Perfecting Base Face Primer at Target.

“Don't they look so similar?” she said as she held up both products.

“I'll show you how they work side by side.”

Tarte's Timeless Smoothing Primer has a 4-star rating on Sephora, where it retails for $42.

Meanwhile, L'Oréal Paris Magic Perfecting Base Face Primer has a 4.2-star rating Amazon and currently costs just $9.

Jennie zoomed in with her camera as she used her fingers to apply the Tarte primer to one side of her face.

“Then let's do this side with the L'Oréal,” she said as she applied the affordable primer to the other side of her face.

“It's instantly a little smoother and creamier.

“I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think I like the L'Oréal side more.”

The beauty enthusiast finished applying her makeup before sharing her final thoughts on how the two primers compare.

She said Tarte Timeless Smoothing Primer has always been a regular part of her routine.

“This has been my holy grail for six years, so the fact that this one from L'Oreal helps my makeup stay as smooth and porous, I'm absolutely blown away,” she said.

“Definitely a dupe, if not even a little bit better as it's smoother, creamier and a little easier to work into.

“Buy the L'Oréal.”

“Spoiler alert: my six-year-old holy grail has been dethroned [shocked]” she added.

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The video received more than 5,500 likes and hundreds of comments from people who were convinced by the review to buy the cheaper primer.

“Oh, I don't do a primer, but I'm going to buy the L'Oreal one!!” wrote one person.

“I love it. L'Oréal primer is perfect for my mature skin,” said another.

“Okay, that's fantastic! I ordered it – always looking for a super pore primer! a third agreed.

“That's L'Oréal blurring your skin like Photoshop!” another added.

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