My Hourglass Veil Primer Review. Right here.
Let’s get going, because I really REALLY wanted to write this Hourglass Veil Primer review. I was so excited. You know how it is when you’ve ‘found’ something, a new product. You’ve read all the reviews online, you’ve done your research, you clap your hands together in glee after pressing the ‘Buy’ button online.
You wait for the postman to arrive, knowing the knock at the door will bring that moment closer to you. You know the one, the moment you find that holy grail product you’ve been waiting for your whole life, that will change your skin for-e-v-e-r.
Then you rip open the parcel and eye it up, look at the packaging, hold it in your hands and hope beyond hope that yes, this is the one! The product which means I won’t have to ever worry about my skin again because it will take away the shineness and a host of other problems. But………. And then there’s a big BUT…….
Well this is exactly the experience I’ve had recently.
I am talking about Hourglass Veil Primer. I had read hundreds of reviews online. I had even recommended it on my Facebook page (which you can find here) in response to a question for a new primer to try from a follower.
I was certain, yes 100% certain this was the product for me.
And yet……….
It wasn’t. And I was sooo disappointed as I was really so sure this was THE ONE.
Ingredients
So to review this little 20ml of milky stuff, it’s a primer, mostly made of silicones. You can tell by the endings of ‘oxane’, ‘decane’ that it’s made of silicones. See below for full list of ingredients (sorry for poor quality photo, I’m going to update that very soon when the sun comes up and I have some natural lighting for another chance with the camera!)
There’s an SPF of 15 in it, which is the titanium dixoide in it. This gives the finish of the primer a slight white matt effect over your whole skin tone.
It’s worth mentioning this as some people will be happy with a slight lightening effect. I was not.
I was pleased to see the titanium dioxide doing its job – ie, literally reflecting the sunlight straight back off your face (and thereby protecting it).
But I was not happy with the almost ‘greying’ affect it gave to my skin. Even after adding foundation, I felt their was a slightly pastey look to my skin which I didn’t like.
On the other hand it appears to be free of lots of nasties and looks pretty pure with just those silicones of one variety or another. See below.
Testing The Product
I always test primer in two ways. First I test it by wearing it on its own.
I like to see how it covers the face, with nothing else on it. Some primers smooth on and cover quite a lot. They fill in pores and thereby create a more even finish overall.
Others are much more translucent and whilst filling and providing a smooth base, they don’t seem to ‘hide’ anything. This one gave quite a good coverage – probably due to the titanium dioxide.
Back to the test-run, I noticed after three hours of wearing it by itself that I was getting break-through oiliness on my nose. This was not what I was expecting. I’d read so many amazing reviews saying how it was the only primer this and that person would buy now. But for me it didn’t work.
I then tested it again with foundation, which is my second test for primer.
Again, same thing, it lasted slightly longer but maximum four hours. I applied it at 6pm for a dinner I was going out for. It was not particularly hot that night in the restaurant. Granted I was under quite a lot of pressure as I was meeting my new boss so perhaps the nerves caused extra oiliness to appear? But I don’t think so.
Anyway, by 10.20pm when I got home, there was definitely noticeable oiliness. Touching my skin made the oiliness break-through even more. Therefore I recommend not touching your face at all once you have primer on.
So, this product didn’t work for me. I was super disappointed. This product costs £20 – around $30 US. So it wasn’t cheap and as a smaller lesser known brand, I couldn’t find a place where I could get a sample first so I just spent the money upfront.
Here are a couple more photos of what it looks like when you get inside. It’s got a nice little pump action that stops things getting messy but watch out as the first time I used it, I didn’t realise how powerful the pump would be and a small splat of primer flew across the room, landed on the floor!
The Oiliness Test
What I can say is that you need to check on my chart above how oily your skin is. Everyone, even people with the most amazing skin can claim to get ‘oily’ at times. However, I safely say, that there are degrees of oiliness.
My oiliness is well past what most people’s is, I have realised.
So if after a shower you’re noticing oiliness on your nose say two hours afterwards, this is going to be you too.
After three hours, not so much. Some people can go six hours, why some even a whole day – no oiliness at all!
For people only getting oily after five or six hours, I would say Hourglass could be your perfect primer. However for people getting oily after a shower/bath just two to three hours or less, I would say avoid it.
It’s such a shame, as I was hoping this was going to be the ONE. But it’s not.
The good news, is that I was straight back on the case, as I do believe that there’s something out there for us all that will work, we just have to keep trying.
And I think I have found it. It’s not perfect, but it’s waaaaaaay more perfect than Hourglass Veil Primer.
Let me finish by saying Hourglass Viel Primer is not all bad. Here are some plus points:
1) It’s super silky smooth
2) There’s a lovely pump action that makes it super easy to get the stuff out and not waste any
3) There is no smell at all which I really like (I hate extra perfume in anything, pthalates are just wrong in my view)
4) The SPF would have been effective. I could literally see it sitting on my skin.
5) The packaging was beautiful
6) The name is divine and totally seduced me without me even realising!
Finally, if you have dry skin, I wouldn’t recommend this product. Too many reviews have suggested that it can dry out the skin too much. I guess you could try using a heavy duty moisturizer and this may work in combination, but I am reluctant to say go for it!
Thanks so much if you made it this far. Please feel free to leave a comment below as the best discussions happen with your feedback and experiences.
Until next time, wishing you a great day or night, wherever you may be and let’s all keep going to achieve the skin we want. It’s not a dream, it IS possible!