Review: NYC Smooth Skin Perfecting Primer

I'm a longtime fan of NYC, and when I heard they were releasing a face primer a while back, I was so happy to have received a sample for review. Since we're now fully into "face primer season" with temperatures reaching the triple digits in lots of areas of the country, I thought it was the perfect time to really put this one to the test. Read on for my thoughts:

 NYC Smooth Skin Perfecting Primer in Shade 684

(retail: $3.99, 1.0 oz)

As of the time of this post, there is only one shade of this primer available, but I'm thinking that more shades might be in the works, otherwise they wouldn't have labelled this one 684?

Looking at the ingredients, you'll see that cyclopentasiloxane is the second ingredient, ahead of water. What's interesting to note here is that cyclopentalsiloxane is the first ingredient in Smashbox PhotoFinish primer and also Hard Candy Sheer Envy primer. And what's even more interesting is that my beloved Black Radiance primer's first two ingredients are...water and cyclopentasiloxane!

But I'm afraid that this is kind of where the similarities end. Moving down the list, you'll see that NYC Smooth Skin Perfecting Primer contains three forms of parabens (the other primers I mentioned above do not contain any parabens). I'm not a stickler about parabens, but if I can avoid them in skincare products I will, because I don't always feel comfortable applying products with multiple parabens to a larger surface area of my skin (as opposed to an eyeshadow, etc.). But this is just my personal logic and I'm not a chemist so please don't take this as advice--it's just how I personally feel.

But moving ahead:

This product comes in a standard squeeze tube:

It was hard to capture in this photo, but when you squeeze this product out, you'll notice right off the bat that it's got lots of shimmer to it:

The shimmer is still a bit difficult to see in this photo, but hopefully you can see that this is a thin, lotion-like primer. It reminds me of Olay Complete moisturizer, and it even smells like that a little (pleasant but not overpowering:):

With this photo, I think you can clearly seem the shimmer in this primer. It's not glittery, but rather the shimmer is the same type you'd find it many "brightening" skincare products. It creates a sheen on the skin, but it doesn't have that peachy-pink flash to it that many brighteners contain--this one is a straight up white shimmer:

When I test a primer, I like to use the same foundation for many days in a row on top of the primer. I also like to use a foundation that ordinarily doesn't have stellar staying-power on my skin, so that I can tell exactly how well the primer works to keep things in place (if I test a primer with foundation that already lasts 10 hours on my skin, how am I going to know how well the primer works, right?). 

So for this review, I've been testing NYC Smooth Skin Primer underneath Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse foundation, which doesn't tend to last more than five hours on my skin when the weather is very warm.

In this photo, I applied the primer to clean, moisturized skin, and then applied my Maybelline foundation followed by a standard setting powder (not an oil-control powder).

The whiteness of the primer, combined with my yellow-toned foundation, gives my skin a dull, flat, almost sickly look. I think that maybe something happens when the shimmer in this primer is covered with my foundation and it creates this dull finish--I can't really put my finger on it. BUT, I will say that this primer does a fantastic job of making my skin look smoother and my pores are almost nonexistent, which is always a good thing.

Here is what my face looked like seven hours later:

 (NOTE: I accidentally took the "before" picture before I applied my blush, so in this "after" pic, keep in mind that I've been wearing blush for seven hours)

In the seven hours that I wore this primer under my foundation, I did some shopping, went out to dinner, spent a few hours outside sipping bubble tea in the late evening, came home, read a chapter in a book and watched a movie in a warm house. So I was exposed to a few increases and decreases in tempterature, and I also made it a point to NOT use any blotting sheets or apply any powder touch-ups.

As you can see, the natural color of my skin is now showing through, and I've got some breakthrough shine on my cheeks and forehead. I know for a fact that, without any touch-ups or oil-blotting in seven hours, my breakthrough shine would have been A LOT worse had I not been wearing this primer. And I also love the fact that my foundation and concealer didn't settle into the fine lines underneath my eyes, which sometimes happens when the weather is very warm.

Texture and finish: the texture of this product is just like a thin lotion. It feels a lot like Olay Complete moisturizer when you spread it onto the skin, and it smells like Olay as well (but not as strong--it's very mild). The finish that this primer leaves on this skin is very shimmery, but not glittery. It also leaves a subtle white cast on the skin. I'm baffled by the addition of shimmer to this primer, to be honest. I mean, it's really only going to benefit you if you wear the primer without makeup, but I don't know anyone who might enjoy walking around with that much white shimmer/sheen on their face. With the addition of foundation, it's sort of a toss-up as to whether or not the white cast and shimmer will interfer with the shade of your foundation. For me personally, it did, and it was not in a good way. I'd also like to add here that, because this feels like a thin lotion, I found myself having to use more of it to cover my face than other primers. So even though it's one of the least expensive primers I've seen at the drugstore (perhaps THE least expensive), keep in mind that you do need to use more of it for each application.

Staying power: On a very warm afternoon and evening, I can get about seven hours of wear until my breakthrough shine becomes unbearable. After seven hours in warm weather, my makeup is still pretty much intact, but the natural oils in my skin come to the surface and make the unpleasant, dull look of this primer disappear. I like that this product makes my skin appear smoother and I also think it makes my foundation go on smoother as well. And even in hot weather when my concealer and foundation have a tendency to settle into the fine lines under my eyes, this product eliminates that issue for me. I also want to add that my skin did feel a bit sticky and greasy to the touch after seven hours.

FINAL VERDICT: If you're not a stickler for parabens and you're willing to roll the dice on how this white, shimmery face primer might react with the color of your foundation, then you might have good results with this one. It did keep my blush in place, made my skin look smoother, made my makeup apply smoother and kept my concealer from settling into my fine lines. However, the parabens, white cast, high shimmer content and the way this interacts with the color of my foundation all make this product one that I won't be reaching for again in the future. I think it was a good effort, but it just fell short for me personally.

Have you tried NYC Smooth Finish Perfecting Primer? Was your experience similar to mine, or completely different?

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.