little white truths

Verdict

I don't love this product but I do think it works so I can see why some people swear by it. Nevertheless it's not perfect and I do have some issues with it, which I'll go into below.

It's a clear, jelly-like product that has an unusual texture. It's super sticky, and what you do is pat it over your face for thirty seconds before massaging it in until you have an even canvas. I don't enjoy the experience of putting it on my face, given the texture, which is why I hadn't used it enough until early April when I introduced it to Project Pan, in an effort to get through it.

Since then I've been using it four or five days a week, and I've used it with different foundations/tinted moisturisers and in different weather conditions as we've headed from the tail of summer and straight into the face of winter, so I've certainly given it a good run and I have a lot to say about it.

Let's start with the sticky aspect. It's so sticky that it feels like you're putting thick honey or glue over your face. Yes it feels a bit cooling when applied so that's nice, but I don't like the feeling of it on my skin. I also don't think it's very hydrating (and I have dry skin so I look for hydrating products), which is why I only tried it once as an overnight mask and never again. Indeed, I had to wash it off when I tried it overnight, because it left my skin feeling choked and definitely not hydrated.

Sure, the sticky aspect helps makeup adhere. Of course it does. But it helps everything else adhere too. As you may know, I have two toddlers so I can't just apply my makeup quickly and in a consecutive fashion. I might get my primer on but then have ten or more minutes (even half an hour) before I have time to apply my foundation, and in that time, EVERYTHING sticks to my face. Dog hair, my hair, fluff, dust, crumbs from my kids' fingers... You name it. Anything that's in the air gets plastered to my skin once I've applied this, and I don't like it.

And sure, I do think this has a firming effect so it makes my skin feel a bit tighter and smoother (let's call that a plus), but it also coats my face and I feel a little choked by the product. Yes that feeling dies down a touch as I add other things over it, but I'm still aware of it for a good few hours after application and I don't like that either.

Also, I need to make sure that my face is really hydrated before I apply this, otherwise it will feel dry and awful all day because this product doesn't hydrate and it also creates a barrier over my face, meaning that my other products can't penetrate it and moisturise my skin underneath. While with other primers I know that my tinted moisturiser will help with hydration (if needed), with this my tinted moisturiser doesn't stand a chance so I need to prep my dry skin before I use it. Not ideal. It's meant to prep my skin for me.

Another thing to note is that this product doesn't play well with all of my bases. I've tried it with four different ones, and one of those (Kevyn Aucoin's The Etherealist) just doesn't like this primer. What it does is cling to different areas of the primer so it won't spread and I therefore can't smooth it across my face properly and get an even coverage. Perhaps the primer is too sticky for it. But the Kevyn Aucoin foundation is my HG and it works with every other primer I own (and I must own ten), so I wouldn't be blaming it for this. Indeed, if you've had issues when pairing this primer with a certain foundation, you may wish to try it with others.

Overall there are things to like about this product - yes it helps makeup adhere and last throughout the day; yes it has a tightening, firming effect on the skin - but there are just as many things to dislike about it. It's too sticky. It's not hydrating. It feels a bit like a solid mask on the skin.

Not for me.