40 Days and 40 Nights of Primer Reviews

Primer #38

A recent re-visit to the Shiseido counter had me looking for a primer I used to use, but hadn't seen on display for quite some time. What I did find was a brand new counter display, full of their legendary shimmer shadows, and more primer-type products than any one line I've ever seen. I counted at least five products designed to be worn under foundations, and still I did not see the Pureness Pre-Makeup Cream that I used to use. It seems that this product is now re-packaged under Shiseido The Makeup and is no longer offered as a part of the Pureness line. And, Shiseido has added an SPF 15 to the product, taken it out of the pretty white jar with the blue lid, and packaged it in a squeeze-tube in their signature brown-plum color.

Shiseido The Makeup Pre-Makeup Cream SPF15 is the reformulated product that comes closest to being a true foundation primer than the other five primer-type products on the Shiseido display. Here are the others, one of which I have previously reviewed:
Brightening Veil (see review #9)
Smoothing Veil
Smoothing Veil with SPF 15
Sheer Enhancing Base Opalescent
Sheer Enhancing Base Golden Bronze

I was able to obtain a sample of Shiseido The Makeup Pre-Makeup Cream SPF15, but I felt a bit skeptical. I had not liked the other Shiseido product I reviewed, but I was willing to try this one. I smoothed on this pinkish-white cream and was pleased at how easily and smoothly it covered. It felt comfortable, it disappeared almost completely into my skin, and left a soft finish that felt like velvet. It did seem to diminish the look of my pores and lines, and it did not add any shine. It left the faintest paleness, not the least bit obvious, but just a hint of a brightening of my skin tone. I was able to apply my La Prairie foundation almost immediately. My foundation smoothed on with ease, I needed much less foundation than usual to achieve a complete and even coverage, and there was no streaking or grabbing with the Shiseido Pre-Makeup Cream underneath. I liked the diffused-light effect that I saw. My La Prairie looked luminous and satiny.
My sample package lists titanium dioxide as one of the sunscreen ingredients. It also lists silicones, alcohols, talc, fragrance, and mica. I just want you to be aware of what's in this product. Thankfully, Shiseido offers these small sample tubes at their counters. Snag one of these so you can test for sensitivity.

The Pureness Pre-Makeup Cream was more of just a cream-gel moisturizer. The new version definitely has more line-and-pore minimizing qualities, it has the SPF 15, it gave my skin a luminous, brightened look even with the foundation over top of it, it helped my foundation to stay in place all day, and it felt soft and looked silky. At the end of the day, I did notice just a bit of clumping of my foundation around the nose area, nothing that a touch of my finger did not correct. My cheek areas looked smooth and youthful, not cakey or dry. There was no oily breakthrough on my normally oily areas in the T-zone, and there was no uneven wear of my foundation. And there was no tightness or mattifying that often comes with a more heavy-on-the-silicone formula. I was so pleasantly surprised that here, toward the end of Project Primer, I had found another superb product. Thanks, Shiseido, for adding the SPF 15, since that means there is no need to find a foundation with an SPF or to add another layer of product in terms of sunscreen. It's a great idea.

Product Rating: 9

Review by Cavewoman
Disclosure: This product was purchased by the reviewer, Cavewoman.