Nivea Men post shave balm as primer
The power of social media has me lemming after beauty products I otherwise would never have heard of. One of the ones I kept seeing on Instagram and YouTube is using the Nivea post shave balm as primer. Naturally, I also bought this online; I got mine from @kissandtell_ph on Instagram.
There are different varieties, but the particular one I have is the Cooling Post Shave Balm for Sensitive Skin.
It just looks like a moisturizer, white with a quite watery consistency. It absorbs immediately into the skin and gives the slightest cooling sensation. I used this on top of my daily sunblock and it was not at all sticky or heavy.
I noticed immediately that my foundation applied more smoothly with this. To test this balm, I specifically picked one that tends to get streaky upon application if my skin is not well moisturized. With the balm, it applied super smoothly. My skin looked "naturally" smooth and flawless, like I wasn't wearing foundation at all.
This is not really a product for oil control, but more to help your makeup glide on more smoothly and last longer.
I do have two concerns with this product, though. First is that the mouth of the jar is wide, so you have to be careful when tipping out just a small amount. I think a smaller hole would make it a lot easier to manage. Second, the fragrance! The smell is so manly and lasts so long, I could still smell it on my skin four hours after application. I'm not sensitive to fragrances in beauty products, but this one definitely stood out to me in the wrong way, so I would recommend looking for an unscented variety if it is available.
Despite those two cons, I am still happy I got my hands on this, and will definitely use it regularly. You only need maybe a 25-centavo size amount of product (I know that sounds awkward, but you know what I mean) so this 100ml bottle will last a while! I think it's only $6 or $7 in US drugstores.