Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Serum Primer

A friend from Kentucky was kind enough to pick up a few things for me when she came to KL for her annual family visit. One of the items she brought was Covergirl & Olay’s Simply Ageless Serum Primer. I was so very excited to try this to see if this primer was any good compared to Smashbox Photo Finish Primer and even Monistat Chafing Gel.

On the website, there are several claims which state:-

Hydrates and smoothes skin for an ageless canvas 

• Hydrates and smoothes skin for an ageless canvas
• Helps boost skin’s elasticity
• Creates a finish that looks instantly firmed

This product goes on above your moisturizer however, it says on the packaging tha you can forgo moisturizer and use this alone under make up. As with all products I use, I give it a minute or so to allow for it to be absorbed well. I instantly noted that this product did not feel like silicone but rather like cream on the face.

What I liked:-

Here is what it looks like.

I love the pump packaging which dispenses just enough product hygienically. It looks mousse like and has the consistency of moisturizer. I did not notice any fragrance which is great as I hate a medley of contradicting smells on me. It also did not feel like heavy silicone ‘sitting’ on my face.

As you can see above, the primer looks very white and I was afraid that it would leave a whitish cast on my face. After blending and patting it in, you can see a slight sheen but not a noticable white cast. 

What I did not like:-

Here is the sad truth….this is not for babes with oily or combination skin. I found the primer to be quite oily as early as two hours after application. This is totally the opposite of what I experience with my current primer which in fact works very well to manage, control and diffuse oiliness on the face. In fact, I really felt uncomfortable and I found that I needed to pat my face with a tissue throughout the day. This is totally not the case with my other primers. When my face became oily, I noted too that my make up did not stay fresh and I looked almost washed out. This was caused by two things:- Firstly, the greasiness 'melted' my make up causing the colors to fade and secondly, I kept constantly dabbing my face with a tissue and this also caused make up to come off onto the tissue.

Well readers, I did not give up on the product easily. I tried it again after some time and this time I chose to leave out my moisturizer thinking that this will contribute less to the oil slick I experienced the last time. Sadly the result was the same. My face did feel unusually greasy and I still needed to pat off the oil several times during the day. I tried applying a thin dusting of face powder at lunchtime but that just felt heavy and was not comfortable at all. Needless to say, my day at the office was not so pleasant.

The Verdict:-
Unless you have dry or mature skin this is a product that you can do without. I gave this to my mum and she has not experienced the extreme greasiness that I felt. Not a product that can challenge Smashbox Photo Finish Primer or even the cheaper Monistat Chafing Gel. I would not recommend this at all. It was worth a try just for this review though!