Review: Eclos Daily HydraPrimer SPF30

Purchased by Me

I believe it was Dita Von Teese who once said, "You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches." 

That's pretty much how I feel about this new primer from Eclos. I've been quietly loving it and keeping it all to myself for several months now, and I realize that the moment I publish this review, there are probably going to be people who tell me that they have used it and did not care for it. That doesn't diminish my feelings about it, of course, but it does make me sad. Why? Because I honestly love this product so much that  I want nothing more than for YOU to love it too.

That said, I obviously can't guarantee that you're going to love this product. The best I can do is explain to you exactly why this product works for me, and why it has officially become my new holy grail face primer. Yes, it has knocked my beloved Black Radiance Complexion Perfection Primer out of its 4+ year status as my holy grail face primer. I'm shocked too, believe me.

Eclos Daily HydraPrimer SPF30 

(retail: between $15.99 and $12.39 depending on the retailer, 1.0 oz)

This primer is available via the Freeman website, as well as Target (where it seems to have the lowest price at $12.39), Walgreens and Drugstore.com. This product was also available on the Ulta website a while back (it's no longer listed there) but you may still be able to find it in-store. Rite Aid also carries Eclos products but I have not seen this particular product in-store as of the time of this post.

Before I ever even used this product (I purchased it back when Freeman was having one of their 40% off sales on their website several months ago), I loved the concept. You know that I'm all about all-in-one, multi-tasking products (if they work), and the idea of a primer + moisturizer + sunscreen all in one tube? That's almost too good to be true!

Made in the USA

Those of you who shy away from chemical sunscreens will be happy to know that the SPF in this product is composed of mineral  ingredients.

This product comes in a squeeze tube with a very narrow, pointed tip. I love this because it allows you to control exactly how much (or how little) product you want to dispense. You will never end up accidentally dispensing too much product. Trust me on that one.

Looking at my pic above, you can see that this is a tinted primer (more on that later). This is a very thick product that is actually a bit difficult to squeeze from the tube. You do get used to it, but I'm always so scared of "over-squeezing" that it took me a while to get used to the fact that you need some muscle to squeeze this one!

Once you start working this product onto your skin, it does break down and it's not a thick, heavy-feeling product on the face. It has a touch of that "silicone-y" powder-like feel on the skin but it's not nearly as slick as standard silicone-based clear gel face primers. It's thicker and more creamy than those types of primers, for sure.

Once this product is blended onto the skin, you can see above that the tint diminishes significantly. I can barely tell the tint is there after I've let this product set on my face for a few minutes (which I always do with primers before I apply my foundation). I find that it does not compete with or alter the color of my foundation, but my skintone is closer to the tint of this primer than yours may be. Hopefully this won't be an issue for you, regardless of your skintone, but I obviously can't confirm that.

What I love about this primer:

First, I love that this is a true three-in-one product. It functions as moisturizer, primer and sunscreen and  it does all three of those things beautifully for me. I have been skipping my regular facial moisturizer for over three months now, and I just use this, applied to my freshly-washed, bare skin. Granted, I have oily skin and this moisturizes my face beautifully, but I can't confirm that it will give you enough moisture if you have dry skin (you may need to apply a separate moisturizer first if your skin is very dry). As for its function as SPF, I am thrilled that this is SPF30, which is the bare minimum level of sun protection that I use on a daily basis. I do use a separate sunscreen if I"m going to be out in the sun for any length of time, but on normal days when I'm mostly indoors, this totally fits the bill. 

And now the big one: I LOVE how this performs as face primer. This product keeps my makeup looking great all day and into the night, especially when I'm wearing my long-wear foundations (CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 and Rimmel Stay Matte Mousse). I find that I only need to use a blotting sheet once or twice during the day and my makeup is still looking great all the way into the night when I use this primer. If I touch my face (especially my t-zone) toward the end of the day, my skin sometimes does feel a little greasy/tacky, but it doesn't LOOK greasy and that's really all that concerns me! 

I also love that this one-ounce tube has lasted me over three months, and I still have more product left in the tube. It's quite deceiving when you see how small the tube looks in person, but it really should last you a while, even if you use it every day.

What I don't love about this primer:

The texture of this product is quite thick when you first dispense it. And because of this, it doesn't spread very easily onto the skin. I've even experienced some tugging and pulling when applying this to my face, but I have found a way to remedy this situation. Since I'm a morning shower person (vs. a bedtime shower person), I find that this product applies much more smoothly when I apply it immediately after my shower, when my face is still retaining a lot of moisture. Applying this primer to my face is the very first thing I do when I get out of the shower. I find that if I do this first, and then go about my other business (brushing my hair, applying deodorant, lotion, etc.) then by the time I'm done with all of that, this primer has set nicely and my skin is ready for my foundation. Another thing I'm not wild about is the scent. To me, it smells like a softer version of lavender essential oil. It's not as strong or sharp as lavender essential oil, but it's definitely lavender and I'm just not a huge lavender fan. One more thing I don't love about this product is that it doesn't seem to work as well with BB or CC creams. It tends to make my BB and CC creams look a little cakey, which is weird because it actually makes my heavier foundations (the CoverGirl and Rimmel foundations I mentioned above) look fantastic on my skin. But for some reason, it doesn't seem to play as nicely with lighter, more sheer foundations, BB creams and CC creams. 

Additional thoughts: There aren't a whole lot of reviews out there for this product (it just debuted this year so it's still pretty new) but I did read both good and bad reviews on Makeup Alley HERE and there are also some reviews on the Target site HERE. The most common complaint about this product seems to be that it oxidizes. One reviewer mentioned that her face looked great at first, but a few hours later it looked like her skin had darkened by a few shades. For the record, I have never had this experience, but then again I don't seem to have many issues with oxidization when it comes to foundations either. For example, the CoverGirl 3-in-1 foundation oxidizes for some people, but it doesn't for me. So just be aware that it might oxidize for you, and if it does, I am so sorry--I am keeping my fingers crossed that you won't experience this.

As for any improvements to my skin/wrinkles/etc. as promised on the box, I have seen a slight improvement to the overall texture of my skin, but nothing truly noteworthy yet. Also, this product has not caused me any breakouts in the months that I have been using it. 

FINAL VERDICT: The best multi-tasking face product I have encountered in years. This product truly functions as moisturizer, primer and sunscreen all in one, and I just could not ask for anything more convenient when it comes to my daily routine. And for that reason, it is officially my new holy grail face primer. Sure, it is not perfect (see the "What I don't love" section above) but I'm willing to accept those faults when the trade-off is this spectacular. I think that if you have normal-to-oily skin and usually wear long-wear foundations, you might just love this product as much as I do. If you have dry/very dry skin and/or mostly wear light, sheer foundations or BB/CC creams, this might not be a love-match for you, for the reasons stated above. There's only one way to find out though, right? If the idea of an all-in-one moisturizer, primer and SPF sounds appealing to you, I think this product is worth a shot. You never know...it could be your new holy grail product too. 

If I failed to answer any questions you may have about this product, please leave a comment below and I'll do my best to give you as much info as I can. I was so excited when I wrote this review that I may have forgotten to address some obvious questions, so ask away!

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.