The Glamourelle : Maybelline Baby Skin Primer VS Benefit The Porefessional

When I first heard that Maybelline were releasing their own pore erasing primer, I was overjoyed at the thought of getting a primer similar to Benefit's Porefessional at a fraction of the price.
I have spent the best part of two months pitting these two primers against each other, and I have finally decided my winner - The Porefessional! Here's why:

Benefit's Porefessional is a skin-coloured balm that has a very silky feel to it. Once blended out it turns transparent. It's matte and glides over the skin smoothly, gently refining the look of pores. It doesn't leave any sort of greasy feeling or residue, which is a must for someone like me with oily skin. I love wearing it with or without make-up over it, but when I do use foundation over it, my skin looks airbrushed! Any foundation I pair it with looks absolutely beautiful, my pores are invisible without my skin feeling heavy or clogged. It also increases the longevity of my foundation by a considerable amount, so you really are killing two birds with the one stone with this product!
I would highly recommend this primer if you're looking for a multifunctional product that will ensure you look flawless all day long!
Unfortunately I have run out of my tube, which is why I had to photograph my mum's mini size for this post. But if you are interested in purchasing it, The Porefessional retails for €34/£24.50 and is available at Debenhams, larger Boots stores and most department stores.

Now on to Maybelline's offering.....

I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser. I was sceptical that it would perform as well as the Benefit version, considering it's about a third of the price. However I was certainly looking forward to giving it a whirl!
When you squeeze it out of its tube, it is a clear gel. It doesn't have the same feel as the Benefit one, it feels slightly greasy in comparison. After applying it to my face, I whipped out my close-up mirror to inspect my ghastly pores. They were still visible! In fact, they looked exactly how they did on my bare face.

Obviously this was disappointing, but I left the primer on and decided to apply foundation over it and see if it improved the situation. I put on some NARS Sheer Matte Foundation, but I still felt myself longing to grab my beloved Porefessional!
I went about my day and when I went to remove my makeup, I did notice that it had lasted much longer than it does when I choose not to use a primer under my foundation. So despite the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser not being the pore refiner I had hoped for, it makes for a fantastic primer!
Initially I felt it was quite greasy to the touch, but once smoothed out on my face and covered with foundation this concern was erased (albeit my pores weren't!)
As a pore eraser, this product gets a thumbs down from me, but as a primer, I love it!
Overall I would recommend this product if you are on the hunt for a new long-lasting primer but not as a dupe for the Benefit Porefessional.
The Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser retails for €11.49/£7.99 and can be found at Boots.