Shiseido Glow Enhancing Primer Review

I've finally gotten around to using this after receiving it in a BRBB last year!

What a great little product - I have combo skin with an oily T zone and have really been wanting to try a more dewy finish to my foundation without looking too oily.

This pretty much ticks all my boxes. It's oil free, so doesn't contribute to any excess oil on my skin while giving my skin a soft glow and making it look that little bit younger.

I've been mixing it up with a mattifying primer on my oily areas (or nothing at all, whatever works for you) and it really does soften my whole look. Especially if I don't bother setting my foundation with a primer.

It's encased in a lovely little silver tube with a screw cap and you just squeeze out the desire amount - I don't even use a pea sized amount each time.

The price does put me off repurchasing but I think I just may bite the bullet as I'm impressed with the finish this product gives me.

In terms of 'glow enhancing' this primer is underwhelming. I received this in the March BB and was very happy to see a high end deluxe sample primer - you can never have too many. However I can do without this one.

I can't fault the packaging, it's eye an catching silver squeeze tube so you're bound to get almost every inch of product. It has a semi thick consistency but I'd have to say it's thicker than other primers I've used (Benefit, Mecca Cosmetica and Becca).

When rubbing a small amount on the back of my hand I can make out some sheen. I was expecting to see some reflective fine shimmers or something to indicate how this product was going to achieve some glow but I found none.

When I apply it to my face I notice the same thing, some sheen and little else. It smells similar to sunscreen but doesn't linger long. After letting it sit for awhile it felt lightweight as if I was wearing nothing but my face also looked flat and dull - where was the glow?

If I couldn't see the glow on my bare skin there was no way I'd be able to see the glow with foundation on top! I tried this with MAC Studio Fix Plus a number of times and sure enough there was no difference.

This primer really adds nothing to my makeup routine but to avoid being wasteful I mix it with MAC Strobe cream or Becca Backlight Priming Filter.

This comes in a nice silver tube with a twist top black lid. The primer itself is a white silver colour and nearly looks like it would feel gritty but it’s smooth it has a sheen to it looks so nice. It’s spf 15 as well. So face all prepped and ready to go on with a pea sized amount I just gently smear it around and I’m happy as it does do a tiny blend the blemishes in before I’ve even put on foundation or powder. I do get a little bit of skin illuminating with this as I feel my skin is dull so getting a bit of glow on or a little bit of dewy is good. I like the effect I get from using this and most times I just use a powder foundation over top instead of have quite a dull finish I’m a little brighter (my skin) I found my foundation sits very nice over this. It doesn’t hinder anything when I’m removing makeup off everything comes. I do like the finish it gives me so it get the tick of approval from me.

I have always had an appreciation (but not necessarily the budget) for Shiseido as a brand and when the Beauty Review March Beauty Box contained a deluxe sample of this primer I was stoked. Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed.

The primer, dual named Glow Enhancing Primer/ Base Eclat Intensif comes in a gorgeous little silver tube with a black cap. Like all Shiseido Products it's quite elegant and simple in its packaging.

The primer itself is a white cream with a vaguely pearlescent glow in the right light. It is odourless and the colour disappears on the skin.

I applied this under my makeup every day for about 6 weeks and was expecting it to make a difference to the way my skin appeared. It simply doesn't. It offers up a dewy look on first application but for me that seemed to be about all it did. Once my makeup was on I could do one side of my face with and one without and see absolutely no difference. Again, in the right light, you can notice a faint sheen before your makeup goes on, but that's about it.

I have a similar product from another brand that is far superior to this primer and a lot cheaper. I have heard other girls rave about this and kind of wish I'd given my sample to one of them rather than battling on because it doesn't seem as if it was the right one for me personally. At $65 there is no way I'd buy it again.

The pluses? It feels nice, didn't break out my skin, did help my foundation go on more evenly - and it was free.

When I saw this rather generous sample in the BRBB in March I was so excited. I have tried other primers but with no success and having owned and loved other Shiseido products I help hope in my heart that this would be another one to add to the list of makeup I buy. For $65 I had very high expectations for this primer. It fell short of nearly every single hope. Let's start with the packaging: I have always love the ruby red box they come in. The tube itself is metallic metal looking with the Shiseido name across it. It's very edgy and new so all ticks so far.

The primer itself smells of moisturizer and has the consistency of watered down sunscreen. It has a pinky tinge to it and has a slight shimmer throughout. I apply to my face before foundation to give my face the best base possible. It smooths on easily enough but absorbs a bit too fast for my liking. My skin has a subtle glow to it but nothing I couldn't achieve with shimmer cream I own.

Does it create a nice base to apply makeup to? In a word, NO! It just feels like I have moisturized my face. It didn't even out anything or make my makeup appear better. All it really did was make my skin shimmer a tad. For something worth so much money I expected so much more from it. I tried using it as an eyeshadow base only to see if I could notice the difference, but again it just felt like a moisturized face with a little shimmer on my lids. It's definitely not worth purchasing for a primer unless you want a high end shimmer cream.

A silvery sample sized tube sat there glaring at me when the March beauty review beauty box arrived, the first thing I thought when I saw it? "Meh". But how could I be so foolish to judge something so small and so plain when I hadn't even used it?

To begin with my skin on a regular day is normal to combination skin. My T zone can get quite oily and the rest of my face is just normal.

The formula is white and thick, but it absorbs into your skin very easily, a small amount goes a long way, I like to dab extra amount under my eyes and let it soak in for a few minutes before using my ring finger to glide away, it makes a huge difference in filling in those fine lines even though that isn't its main purpose.

The priming power of this is incredible, after priming my skin it feels like a silky smooth canvas, and adding liquid foundation or BB cream just slides over the top, I have been using a stipple brush for foundation and since I have been using the primer beforehand it has made buffing my foundation easier and cut time down.

As for the glow it is there but subtle, I would compare it to wearing a foundation with a dewy finish. And comparing it to wearing foundation with and without this glowing primer you can noticeably see a difference.

The cons with the primer is it does not make my foundation last long and my T zone is very oily by the end of the day.

The pros for this primer is it creates a beautiful silky base for applying my foundation, it gives a radiant glow that isn't overpowering, it fills in my fine lines under my eyes and gives a nice velvet finish after applying my foundation.

When I have the money I will definitely be purchasing a full size of this. Thank you Beauty review for sending this with the March BRBB or I wouldn't even know this existed.