I bought the new Milk Makeup Hydro Grip primer while I was home for spring break. It cost around $30, which is definitely pricier, and I found it at Sephora. This primer promised to provide lasting moisture and be a tacky base for makeup to adhere to. When I opened the package, it had a cool green tint to it, which does not appear on my skin when I apply it. It also dried down in about a minute. The instructions say to allow it to fully dry before applying foundation; I waited several minutes the first time, but if you’re in a rush, this isn’t the best primer.
It smells kind of odd, like an aloe plant and a little bit of a perfume. On my skin, it definitely dried down to a glassy finish like they advertised. It covered my pores and felt pretty solid. When I used a serum foundation over it with a brush, it worked fine. However, when I applied it with a beauty blender, the primer started to come off and pull the foundation into these little streaks across my face. I think it was the fact that the sponge was wet, but primers should be formulated to work with both brushes and sponges.
For wear, I did notice that my foundation lasted longer and looked fresher, and it didn’t settle into my pores throughout the day. But the application problems made it a flop because I don’t want brush streaks over my face when I’m applying foundation. On its own, I think this could be a great makeupless primer for days when you don’t want to wear makeup, but depending on what you wear over it, it might bunch up and look really streaky. And honestly, for the price, I find that it’s comparable in wear to wearing aloe gel underneath makeup – it has the same smoothing effect, and aloe gel is sold in Walmart for $3 instead of $30. I will use the whole bottle, because it doesn’t have silicone and it made my skin look good without foundation, but I’m a little disappointed in how it interacted with my other products.
Maybe this primer was made to work with Milk Makeup foundations alone. Either way, I think it’s a good idea but not the best primer on the market.
CAROLINE KING
Contributing Writer