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I’ve been watching YouTube makeup artists for years. It’s how I learned most (if not all) of my makeup application techniques and how I keep up with beauty trends and products.
So when Manny MUA suggested his viewers buy the Hello Good Stuff! Glow Serum Primer by Essence I bought it. Pretty much whatever Manny says to buy, I buy.
According to Manny and other beauty influencers, the Essence primer ($6) was a dupe for the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops Serum ($35).
I had to give it a try!
Full disclosure: I haven’t tried the Glow Recipe drops, so I went into trying this primer with a clean slate. I just wanted to see if I liked it and how it worked as a primer.
I’ll say that I immediately liked the way it felt on my skin — it was light and cooling but also very moisturizing. It gives the skin a dewy finish, but not enough to shine through my foundation.
This isn’t a sticky primer (many are to help the foundation adhere to the skin), but it was a fine base to prep my skin for makeup application.
The longer I used this product, the more I liked it. I really think it helped my skin retain moisture, and it felt so smooth. I used this serum 5 days a week until the bottle was empty, and I can easily say I’ll be buying another bottle!
Obviously, I can’t speak to the comparison of the Glow Recipe serum, but that product has hyaluronic acid in it, and the Essence primer does not.
For $6, I think the Essence primer is fantastic, and it’s vegan and paraben-free!
Have you tried the Essence primer yet?
This beauty review is not sponsored — nor are any of the reviews on this blog. I am a beauty and skincare junkie and enjoy sharing the products I love right here! For more reviews and similar posts, please subscribe to the blog by clicking subscribe on the right side of your screen. Cheers!
The Bitter Lemon 