I've been warming up to more hydrating products in the past couple months. As I mentioned in my highlighter collection post, my skin is oily/combination – but it still needs moisture!
I recently bought the Becca First Light Priming Filter during Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty sale. I wanted to try this product for a while, and it was only $19 on the day the price was marked down. Regularly, it retails for $38, which is way more than I can afford on a normal day. This primer was released last year, and I know it's been a popular product among people who love makeup.
I have many more high-end brands to experiment with, but Becca is quickly becoming one of my favourites.
PACKAGING: The First Light Priming Filter packaging is classy and elegant, but also has a modern air to it. It's a medium frosted glass bottle, which comes with a glossy cap and a pump to dispense the product with. The top of the cap is metal, and has the Becca logo on it. I love how solid the bottle feels. As with all Becca products I own, there is nothing flimsy or cheap about the packaging (which I would expect from a luxury brand).
FORMULA: The primer itself is lilac and has a delicate pearlescent sheen to it (I wish I could find a nail polish in this shade, haha). This colour sounds odd to put on your face, but once the product it blended out, it becomes transparent. There is a light citrus scent that lingers until you start applying makeup over it. I would say the consistency is like a thinned out moisturizer. It feels lightweight on the skin, but it's thick enough that it doesn't run everywhere once dispensed. I like that it feels slightly tacky as it is being blended out, because that means it'll hold foundation in place.
APPLICATION + FINISH: After moisturizing my skin (and waiting at least 5 minutes), I apply one pump all over my face, blending it in with my fingers. It takes a couple minutes to soak in. Although it blends and dries transparent, there is an obvious difference in the appearance of my skin after application. It delivers a fresh and hydrated radiance to the skin. I know that some people like to wear this on its own for that reason; this would work really well for those who have naturally great skin. I personally prefer to wear this with foundation because I have dark circles and acne scarring. In my experience, this primer doesn't help areas of discoloration, acne scarring, etc.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I like this product. It's a pretty decent primer; it preps my skin well for makeup application, and holds onto my foundation for most of the day with minimal separation, even in my problem areas. It smells lovely and is light, but nourishing. I feel like I'm doing something good for my skin when I use this. I do find myself having to blot a little more than with a mattifying primer, but that's to be expected using a hydrating product with a luminous finish. I think dry skin types, and combination skin types would enjoy using this product.
