The product: Vincent Longo‘s Water Canvas Primer.
The ingredients:
Water Dimethicone Dipropylene Glycol Peg-8 Dimethicone Copolyol Crosspolymer SD Alchohol 39-C Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer Phenyl Trimethicone Sodium PCA Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate Pyridoxine HCI Polygonum Bistorta Root Extract Butylene Glycol Sodium Citrate Methyl Paraben Methylcellulose Tocopherol
The basics: I like how this dries to a smooth, scent-free finish, though it smells a little chemicaly when you first apply it. The consistency is thinner than many other primers (for instance, Tarte Clean Slate) and its finish mirrors that — with a thick, jello-like (mmm, jello!) primer you often get more of a slippery finish, but with something that’s more of a liquid-gel the final result feels quite different. Your skin soaks it right up, and it’s as if you can feel your pores tighten. Not in a bad way, though — it definitely doesn’t seep moisture from your skin, and though it feels more taught it by no means feels dry.
The wear: Once this dries, the finish is smooth and (fine) lines are blurred. No, it’s not the holy grail of anti-ageing, but any good primer helps blur fine lines. I find that my skin stays oil-free for longer when I wear this, and my colour stays on longer as well. I can’t pick it out from the ingredients, but the product description mentions silica — and the silica’s very prevelant in this! You can feel it in the finish, and I’m willing to bet my favourite eyshadow that it’s the silica that keeps the oilies away.
Random photo of my hand.
Just kidding. Primed skin.
The difference: Like any good primer, this makes colour “stick” to your skin and enhances wear. In the photo below, the blush above the line is on bare skin and below the line, it’s on primed skin.
(Lancome Aplum, if I’m not mistaken.)
The verdict? If you like a slippery, silicone-y finish, this is not for you. However, if you have oilier skin, you like a weightless finish, and you can afford it (this one’s not cheap at $44 a pop) it’s definitely worth checking out. I really like this, especially in my t-zone, but primers are a very personal choice!
Random photo of my hand.
(Lancome Aplum, if I’m not mistaken.)
