Today’s review is the first non-eyeshadow palette review in a while. Luckily my Shop My Stash doesn’t have to go up until Tuesday next week, so I have a few slots where I can review some of the newer products that are in my current August shop my stash. One of those products? The Catrice Hydro Primer. This is the updated version of the Prime and Fine Fresh It Up Hydro primer the brand used to do. But this discontinued that and now they do this one. Is this one as good?
Review: Catrice Hydro Primer Love, Skin & Respect Earth
So the original Hydro primer was discontinued to make way for this more environmentally friendly, more sustainable version. I like how Catrice is trying to make an effort to go all vegan and do better, but I also suspect it is essentially lots of green washing. I mean if they really cared so much about the environment wouldn’t the best step be to create a more continuous line of products and not change it up every 6 months? Oh well, in any case, this primer is an affordable one at €4.99 and if it gets the job done I am usually not too fussy with primer. However, this one has to meet a higher standard as I loved the Fresh It Up primer and it will be a hard pill to swallow if this is nothing like it.
What does this primer have to offer?
So apart from this being vegan and produced in an eco-friendly way, the primer should be hydrating while making your makeup last longer. What I loved about the Fresh It Up was how hydrating it was: it felt like a drink of water for your skin. This sadly does not. We will get to the texture in a moment, but it’s just a thick, silicone feeling mess that does nothing for my skin. Does it make my makeup last longer? Yes, but in order to do so I need to use so much product that after a month of consistent use I am already running out. It also has the worst scent. It smells a bit sickly sweet. It reminds me a lot of cheap plastic toys and it just smells terribly, not fresh and hydrating at all. Pretty much all this has going for it is the packaging as that is easy to use as it is simply in a squeezy tube.
What does the product swatch like?
Here you can see what I mean by the thick texture. Because of this texture I feel I need to use 2 – 3 times as much as I normally would when using a primer. I simply struggle to cover my face in this stuff because of the thick texture. Where the old Fresh It Up felt very smooth and hydrating, this just feels like a layer on your skin at first. It does sink in eventually and it helps my makeup last, so there’s there, but I just don’t like how this glides onto the skin when it is first applied. It has that slick super silicone feel that I remember from primers back in the day when they first became a thing and we actually thought we could use Nivea aftershave balm as a primer as well. Primers have come such a long way since then.
How does it apply to the face?
With some primers you can clearly see a difference between the before and after as your skin looks more glowy, more hydrated, or just something. With this? Nothing. If anything my skin is now a little bit more red from where I have rubbed my face. I already mentioned how the scent of this is unpleasant, but I try to not go too much towards my nose with this as the scent lingers a little bit and I just don’t want to get it anywhere too close to my nose. Yes, the smell is that awful. So yeah this primer was a bit of a let down as it really didn’t do what I had expected and as a replacement for the Catrice Fresh It Up I find it really doesn’t meet the standard.
My final thoughts
The Catrice Hydro primer was renewed, but sadly not for the better. I sometimes wish Catrice would just stick with products for longer as they are now becoming that brand that keeps discontinuing products I love but that they then go and replace with a worse version. This is definitely the case here. I really do not like this, I do not recommend you try it and I think even Catrice is doing other, better primers in their line at the moment. So even at this price point I feel you can find a more hydrating, more pleasant to use primer than this. Stay away!
Would I recommend the Catrice Hydro Primer?
If all you can find is this version, I only have one advice: please do not buy. I am usually not that adamant about these things as I usually think a product can be right for different people. But with this one? Oh boy I really do not think you should try it. The texture feels wrong, the scent smells wrong and it does not hydrate the skin. I would only ever repurchase this if I were in a pinch and I somehow lost all of my other primers and this is the only thing I can still get. In short, no, I do not recommend and I feel bummed Catrice discontinued the first version that was one of the best hydrating primers on the market.
2 responses to “Catrice Hydro primer review”
Yep not a recommendation this one. Definately not an upgrade this new “hydro” primer. Thick silicone like texture and I didn’t liked the scent either. Got decluttered within a week.
Yeah it’s a mess. I didn’t like it at all. Luckily I’m almost done with it as it is nearly empty.