The Find: The $11.95 primer that works just as well as the exxy ones.

Image: Supplied.

While we all have out favourite expensive beauty items that make our credit cards weep, we’re also just as keen on a beauty product which leaves you with change (LOTS of change) in your purse, and still does a damn good job.

Enter Face of Australia’s Face Base Primer.

They say it's an "oil free, Vitamin E and camomile-enriched primer which improves your complexion and makes your makeup last longer" and by golly, they weren't lying (makeup companies don't do that, right?).

Now I've tried everything when it comes to primers. I've sampled high-end stuff that cost more than my  brain wants to remember, I've tried mid-range products which did a good enough job and I've tried some pretty lousy cheapies. But this, this is a game changer. (Post continues after gallery.)

Upon application it goes on like silk and made my foundation smooth, even in winter when I'm battling the dreaded dry skin. I tend to apply it with my fingers but that's just a personal preference.

I've also used a foundation brush and a beauty blender to apply face base and both have had great results. The best thing about this primer? Its lasting power. I really notice a difference when I use it. On days I forget, I'm pretty much guaranteed a touch up around midday but with Face Base underneath, it's not unusual for my face to still be in place when I get home at night.

It all comes down to the ingredients. If you're prepared to do some sleuth work (relax, I've done it for you) you'd see that the ingredients in Face of Australia's Face Base Primer are about identical, yep identical, to those used in the big name primers commanding the big bucks. (Post continues after gallery.)

Like with a lot of cheaper products, it's possible that the active ingredients, which cost the most, are less concentrated in the more budget-friendly versions.

But from all accounts, this one seems to be pretty damn good. I've trialed a few of them side by side and found that, not only did they perform the same and keep my makeup in place, but they felt very similar when I applied them.

I don't know about you but if a product works just as well for the fraction of the price I'm buying it. That way, I can put my money towards other things like car rego or food. Or shoes. Shoes are better.

How do you make your makeup go the distance?