Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer review: Welcome to GRIPPING, a technique for long- lasting makeup

Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer review, price, demo

PRICE: 30USD

FROM: Sephora, Fashion Valley, San Diego, California, USA

OTHER LOCATIONS: Available in authorized distributors; sephora.com

THE VERDICT:

Milk Makeup is one of those indie brands that rose to fame quickly thanks to social media and a brilliant product standpoint; I think it's one of the most notable, contemporary beauty brands of the last 5 years.

Milk Makeup's product philosophy is simple: we're busy and we need makeup that doesn't require a lot of brain power to use, but will still make us look pretty and most of all, can be applied by your fingers. How effin' brilliant is that; Milk Makeup has pinpointed one timeless, common beauty goal  among women: it's that whatever beauty trend or complex product brands shove down our throats, at the end of the day, we just want to look presentable and we want to achieve that look fast.

This is why Milk Makeup has always been in my radar ever since it came out: brilliant product standpoint, fantastic ad materials (it helped a lot that the founders were photography studio owners first, just like Smashbox!), and cool products; it's one of the first brands I searched for when I set foot in the USA. I wanted to get the famous Blur Primer, but Youtube beauty gurus have been raving about the Hydro Grip Primer more so I got it.

After about a month of on and off usage, I've come to the conclusion that Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer proves that long- lasting makeup doesn't have to be matte and OMG-YOU GUYS HAVE TO TRY GRIPPING.

Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer ingredients

Hydro Grip Primer is a hydrating primer with Blue Agave that helps makeup adhere to the skin and last longer, CBD for hydrated, plump skin, Cherry Blossom, Hyaluronic, Aloe, and B Vitamin extracts give skin a healthier, dewier- looking complexion. Silicone- free, oil- free, and made with natural actives. This product promises long- lasting makeup that looks hydrated and skin that feels comfortable.

The product comes in an airless pump to help keep the actives and entire product fresh right before you use it.

I like the overall look of the product: it's cool, trendy, and the trippy green tint of the product adds to the coolness factor of it. The pump functions properly with no problem.

The product is tacky; it's almost gooey, but still spreadable; Blue Agave lends that tacky feel to the product; Agave is one of the ingredients used to make syrups so I can see why it was used here; it is unscented and the green tint is very faint, it's just enough to even out minor redness on the skin.

Hydro Grip Primer is inspired by the gripping makeup technique. Here's a little background about it: Gripping is a makeup technique that makes use of sticky primers or emulsions that help makeup adhere better on the skin. This idea was popularized by NikkieTutorials on Youtube: she believed that a sticky pre-base will help makeup stick better on the skin and look vibrant longer that's why she loved using sticky preparations such as Nivea Shave Balm (which caught fire after the video).

Hydro Grip Primer is not really the first sticky makeup primer that came out in the market (I can name one right now and it's Rimmel Long- Lasting Finish 8-Hr. Primer, which happens to be one of my favorites); it's just that Milk Makeup is arguably the first brand to turn the technique into a product category: GRIPPING PRIMER.

Going back to the product, Milk Makeup advised users to allow one full minute of drying before proceeding with makeup; this is vital information and something that you must do if you want the primer to work properly. I've made the mistake of applying makeup right after a couple of times and the product ended up working mediocrely. 

However, I find that drying time depends on how much product you put on your skin; the thicker the layer, the longer the drying time, of course so just apply a sheer layer because I find that it's enough to create difference on makeup.

The primer feels comfortable because it feels just like moisturizer and most importantly. feels lightweight on the skin.

Here's me with my face of the day with Hydro Grip Primer as base. What I love about the product is so soothing, hydrating, and immediately plumps the skin; the result is makeup that looks healthy, even, and youthful indeed!

Staying power is pretty good for a zero silicone primer: it takes about 3-4 hours before my face oils up and my makeup looks 50% vibrant even after a full 8 hours of wear. Impressive for a primer that doesn't have silicone and mattifying ingredients. I think the secret here is aside from its super hydrating properties (we all know hydration is the secret to long- lasting makeup and oil- free skin), the tacky consistency really helped keep makeup intact; I have tried hydrating primers in the past and I don't remember anything I have used that has the ability to control oil for more than 2 hours, until this.

As I have mentioned, I have using this product for about a month now, though on and off. I have decided to use it for two weeks straight and have noticed that it had a positive effect on the red parts of my face; methinks CBD has something to do with this because it's prized for its anti- redness and anti- inflammatory properties. KEWWWLLL DUUUDDEE. :D I have also noticed lesser breakouts, lesser redness, and better- looking skin overall when I have incorporated this primer in my routine.

Milk Magic Hydro Grip Primer is perfect for dry skin, oily skin, normal skin, and maybe even sensitive skin because it doesn't have a lot of common primer ingredients that can cause pore blockage. A little pricey, but heck, I'd buy this again if I get the chance.

Milk Makeup has just created a game- changing product: something that proves that you don't need lots of mattifiers for long- lasting makeup, long- lasting makeup can actually look healthy and dewy, CBD may be a great product for acne- prone skin, and gripping primers should be part of your next wish list.

Have you tried this product already or anything from Milk Makeup? What are your thoughts?

MILK MAKEUP HYDRO GRIP PRIMER RATING