A good affordable primer is hard to come by and so whenever I find one that sounds interesting I always want to give them a try. For their new fall/ winter 2018 make up line, Essence released three different ones and I decided to pick up one. Meet the Essence Prime + Studio Glow Boosting Primer.
Essence Prime + Studio Glow Boosting & Pore Minimizing Primer
I picked the Glow Boosting primer over the mattifying and redness correcting versions as I felt it would mostly suit my skin needs. And affordable it is: €3.59 is what this retails for and that is a great price point if this product also works. Apart from giving a bit of healthy glow, this also promises to be pore minimizing and of course to make your makeup last longer.
The Packaging
The packaging of this is actually quite practical. While some primers come with a pump, this comes in a squeezy tube. That makes it very easy to dispense just the right amount of product. Other than that the packaging of this primer isn’t anything special. It is simple, it won’t break or open easy in a bag and it is just functional for the product it holds.
The Swatch
When I first swatched this product it seemed very promising. The glowy quality of the primer is certainly there at first glance, but once blended into the skin there isn’t much of a difference between a before and after. The color of the product is what struck me as unusual first. I had never seen a mostly orange primer before and I was afraid it would be too dark. Luckily it wasn’t and the look of the product ended up being quite neutral in the end. It blends out easily and it certainly makes my makeup last a long enough time.
The Application
So while at first I was quite enthusiastic about this product as it seemed to get the job done just fine, I am not that crazy about it anymore. Applied to the face there really isn’t a big difference between the before and after. This primer promises to be glowy and pore minimizing and I see neither effect on my skin.
The second and main problem I have with this product though? The smell. This has the strongest sickly sweet floral smell. I noticed it straight away when I first applied this and at first I thought I could get over it. But I can’t. Not only is the scent strong and it makes my stomach churn, it also lingers for a very long time. It takes a good hour or two before you no longer smell this, even when you apply other products on top of it.
The Conclusion
The Essence Prime + Studio Glow Boosting primer was such a promising product. It does exactly what I need a primer to do which is to make my makeup last all day. And that is what this does. What it doesn’t do is add glow to my skin. Additionally it has a sickly sweet smell that just lingers for too long. That is why this isn’t my favorite primer, but if you can get over the scent this has, it may be right for you.
What is your favorite budget primer?