Some products you just don’t need to buy at a higher price point. Some of those products for me are: mascara, concealer and also face primer. Sure I have tried some high end products in those categories but then I try a drugstore product and I feel it is still as good as the much more expensive version. Face primers can be very expensive but in the end I feel it doesn’t really make much of a difference. A good hydrating primer can be found at many different price points (one of my favorites is by Catrice!) and so I though I could try one by Make Up Revolution as I hadn’t tried one by them yet.

Review: I Heart Revolution Coconut Dream Hydrating Primer

I bought this primer to go into my Full Face of Make Up Revolution video. This promises to be a hydrating primer with vitamin C and E and I love a hydrating primer any time of day. It retails for €7.00 which makes it affordable but not as cheap as many of the really good face primers I tried by Catrice.

What does this primer have to offer?

I am usually game if a product promises to be hydrating. This primer started out super promising on that part. When you first try this it is a lovely product. It feels very hydrating and creamy. It goes on like a skincare product and this can be a bit deceiving but I will talk about that more in a minute. It has a sweet coconut kind of scent that disappears quickly. The scent is not that strong that it bothers me, but we all know how I feel about scented makeup: I’d rather have it be more neutral. While it smells pleasantly and almost powdery, I still think it has no place in a makeup product.

How does this primer go onto the skin?

Let’s have a look at a swatch first and discuss the texture of this product. As you can see this is a hydrating primer that leaves a nice bit of glow on the skin once you blend it in. However looks can be deceiving. This product may feel like a moisturizer going on, but once it sits on your skin for a while it starts to get a bit sticky. Not tacky, but sticky and I have experienced several times how, instead of my foundation lasting longer with this on, my foundation actually starts to flake off. Now that may be because of how I used the product (I think I may have used too much on those occasions) but with a hydrating primer I tend to use more than with other primers to begin with to get the added benefits of the product.

What does this look like on the face?

So while this goes on well at first I feel this is a product that doesn’t really blend into the skin. It mainly just sits on top and if you use too much it starts to flake off and ruin the makeup you apply on top after a few minutes. It is almost as if this product ‘shrinks’ as it settles down. For a hydrating primer I find that quite troubling. Because in the end I don’t feel this primer does any hydrating at all. It feels very pleasant at first but after about 30 minutes this starts to dry down and can make your skin feel a bit taut. Does my makeup sit well on top if I am careful how much I apply? Sure thing but this primer is just a bit of a faff to use.

My Final Thoughts

Needless to say, this primer is one where I am happy I gave it a good try before reviewing it in full. This product feels very nice at first, but after a few tries I found it finicky to use as the amount has to be exactly right for it to work the way it should. The squeezy tube packaging doesn’t help either as you easily take out too much. The pleasant, creamy texture makes it seem like a moisturizer but it certainly is not. Unlike for instance the Milk Hydro Grip, where I feel you can pile it on and it actually moisturizers the skin, this is an affordable primer that sadly doesn’t live up to its promises for me.

Would I recommend the Make Up Revolution Coconut Dream primer?

This primer is sadly not one I would recommend. It feels nice, it smells nice but as a product I want something that is full proof no matter how I use it. I don’t want my primer to cause my foundation to look like I have a skin disease. I seriously spent a week wondering what was causing my foundation to flake off. Was it my skincare? Was it the foundation I was using? Was it my sponge? No, after a few more days I realized: it is the primer. I don’t want that as I have tried many other primers in my life that do not have this problem and are much easier to use. It’s just not worth my time.

What is the last product you tried that wasn’t as good as you’d hoped?