Eclos Daily HydraPrimer SPF 30

While BB creams are getting hyped all over creation (with no good reason, in most cases), there are some actual interesting developments in face primers. It's about being more skin friendly (as in more than just pure silicone, for example), and most importantly: providing a good SPF. I admit that the first time I've heard about Eclos products was when the box landed on my doorstep. The descriptions of the various items sounded quite ambitious, but I'm here to try stuff, so I started slowly by incorporating the Eclos Daily HydraPrimer SPF 30 into my makeup routine.

Let's start with the ingredients, so if you know you're sensitive to some of this stuff you'll know to skip and go on your merry way:
Active Ingredients: Zinc Oxide (14.0%), Titanium Dioxide (4.0%). Inactive Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Silica, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Nylon-12, Polyglyceryl-3, Polyhydyroxystearic Acid, Isodecyl Oleate, Malus Domestica Fruit Cell Culture Extract, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxethyl Dimethicone, Hydroxypropylcocoate Peg-8 Dimethicone, Aesculus Hippocastanum (Horse Chestnut) Seed Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Curcuma Zedoaria Leaf Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Symphytum Officinale Leaf Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Cymbopogon Martini Oil, Elettaria Cardamomum Seed Oil, Lecithin, Aluminum Hydroxide, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Sodium PCA, Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Soybean Oil, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Water (Aqua), Mica, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol , Xanthan Gum, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Iron Oxides (CI77491, CI77492, CI77499).

Eclos Daily HydraPrimer SPF 30 is a slightly tinted primer that looks opaque when you squeeze it out of the tube, but sheers as you buff it onto the skin. It has an SPF 30, which is reasonably good. This is a physical sun block (see zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in the ingredient list) that provides a full spectrum protection (from both UVA and UVB).  Of course, the true test of an SPF is by using enough of it to really cover your face; a 1/4 teaspoon of a primer is a lot, but I've found that Eclos lends itself to a very generous application, though it requires working the primer into the skin. Not only that, but it's also easy to double up, applying two layers of this primer (waiting a few seconds to make sure the first one is set), which is what I did for testing when knowing I was going to be outside for a while. I do wear a wide brimmed hat in the sun, but I still think that spending an entire morning at a flea market is a good test (I've also been using the Eclos primer regularly on less intense days with an equal amount of success). So as far as sun protection goes, this is an adequate option for me.

As a primer, Eclos Daily HydraPrimer SPF 30 does a very impressive job. You know that a primer works when you start cleansing and all the layers of makeup (foundation, blush, etc.) appear on your cotton pad or washcloth. This is definitely the case here. Eclos provides a good barrier and an anchoring surface for makeup, making it last all day, even in high humidity. Is it moisturizing? Not enough for me, but I'm a hydration fiend. The nicest part for me about this primer is the way it evens out the skin. It gives a minimal coverage that on great skin days can even work on its own, or with just a little help from a foundation or concealer where needed. I've found that I can get away with adding just a touch of a great foundation (lately I can't live without my Serge Lutens compact) on areas that need some coverage, and leave the rest for the primer. It works just as well under cream or powder blushes or bronzers.

The primer has a light and very pleasant botanical scent that most likely comes from the various plant oils and extracts that are used in it (again, make sure you're not allergic to any of them). It's easy to work into the skin with fingers or a round foundation brush. If you're doing a peel or anything that cause flaking, make sure to use a good serum/moisturizer underneath, because the matte finish of the primer will make the texture visible otherwise.

A quick comparison to another primer I've using lately, Laura Mercier Protect Broad Spectrum SPF 30:
Laura Mercier, at $32 for a 1.7oz tube is a better deal money-wise. However, the extremely light texture (a liquid gel kind of thing) makes it very hard to use enough primer to provide full sun protection. Laura Mercier is better at giving a smooth base that allows makeup to glide over it, but doesn't provide any actual coverage. I think that Eclos has a better longevity, but it's hard to tell for sure unless you do a half face test which I haven't. Laura Mercier is more cosmetically elegant and I find that it performs better when my skin is sensitive or showing visible signs of a peel.

Bottom Line: worth the time and skin.

Eclos Daily HydraPrimer SPF 30 ($24.99, 1oz) is available from Ulta and select drugstores, as well as online. The product for this review was sent to me free of charge through Klout influencer program.