Essence Hello Good Stuff Primer Serum review

I always try out the new primers that Essence brings out as I have had quite some success with these in the past. They are nicely hydrating and they usually get the job done. I am not too demanding when it comes to primers as I don’t feel they do too much for your skin. In fact, I by now think I am more attached to the routine of applying primer than that I feel it actually does anything for my skin or wear time of my makeup. However, I like to try these out and see for myself, so let’s go.

Review: Essence Hello Good Stuff Primer Serum Hydrate & Plump with Blueberry & Squalane

The Essence Hello Good Stuff Primer Serum is a product that is very cost effective as it is super affordable. At just €4.59 a pop this is a great affordable product if it makes just the slightest bit of difference. It boasts some hydrating properties as well and that is always a good thing and this seems to be that kind of primer that promises to do the best of both worlds: act like a skincare product, while helping your makeup wear time. So let’s have a closer look.

What does this primer have to offer?

As mentioned this primer promises some hydrating properties. It comes with blueberry extract, squalane and is supposedly made with 95% natural ingredients. The entire Hello, Good Stuff line is aimed like that: natural ingredients, often fully vegan products that are more aimed at skincare than makeup properties. I have been using this product as my primer, so not as a serum. I find it too thin and not hydrating enough for it to be a serum and I feel it does dry down into a slightly tacky base once applied, which means makeup should adhere to it quite easily.

How does this primer work?

The intro already pointed out that I don’t expect much from my primers. However, I do expect a little bit more than this delivers. We’ll discuss the texture and formula in a minute but in the overall performance of the product I really feel you can find other primers at a similar price point from the same or similar brands (such as Catrice) that will give you a more hydrating effect. In terms of priming, I am not really noticing much of a difference and also when it comes to adding an additional layer of moisture for my foundation to sit against, I don’t really feel this offers much more than a standard glycerin base does. This is the most basic of basic products.

How does this product swatch?

So I always like to look at the formula. As you can see here it is very thin, very wet and really not that exciting. It looks blue in the bottle but that hue disappears the minute you blend this in. You won’t look like a smurf when you use this! Other than that, this product just feels nice enough, it has a slight blueberry smell that disappears quickly and then settles down quickly too. You do not get a lot of play time with this one.

How does the primer apply to the face?

If a primer makes any difference at all, you can usually tell in a before and after picture. Can you tell a difference between these pictures? Because I surely can’t. My skin looks just as red, just as glossy and just as dewy and hydrated as it does in the picture on the left. So really while this may add a bit of a layer, it really doesn’t do enough to even really call this a primer, nor a serum really. It’s just not strong enough to really be able to hydrate my dry, dehyrated skin.

My final thoughts

Alas! The Essence Hello Good Stuff Primer Serum didn’t quite work the way I wanted to and that is even with my incredibly low bar for primers. So needles to say this won’t be repurchased any time soon. This product is not really something I would recommend unless you really want something very basic, maybe if you have never used a primer or a serum before and you want to try something on the cheap to get started.

Would I recommen this primer?

Nope I would not. I would definitely spend your money on another more affordable primer by Catrice (the Anti-Redness one they are doing currently is really nice!) or another drugstore brand. There are so many choices out there and primer really doesn’t have to cost much for it to do something. However, this one wasn’t it.

What was the last disappointing primer you tried?