Freck Beauty Rich Bitch Hydrating Gripping Primer ($38) is a newish gripping cream-to-oil primer that promises to lock down makeup. This bad boy has been out of stock at sephora.com for the last two centuries, and I’ve been trying to snag it for a while now as I was too cheap to order it from the brand’s website as they have a minimal $50 shipping threshold. None of my stores had it in stock, so getting to try this seemed bleak. Fast forward to around Christmas, and a local store finally got it in stock, so I did a quickie order online and picked it up.
Truly, this is one of my biggest regrets in a while. I’ve made a few bad choices but this one has me shaking my head. What a waste of $38. Do not buy this.
As you know, I have dry skin and love a good gripping primer. I adore E.L.F. Jelly Pop Dew Primer, think the world of Dermablend Insta-Grip Jelly Primer 3-in-1 Multi-Tasking Primer, and make endless excuses for MILK Hydrogrip’s alcohol content because I love the formula so much!
I readily admit I foolishly fell for the Sephora reviews on this. The raving was intense, and I got suckered into it. What a mistake. I swear I waited for a few months to try this because it was out of stock, and combined with the five-star ratings, I was convinced it was that girl. It’s not.
This has a similar consistency and formula as Make Hydrascape Moisturizing Revere Emulsion, and I LOVE that stuff, but I don’t know how Freck just got it all wrong. Hydrascape starts life as a lightweight cream, but when applied to your skin, it turns into an oil. It’s incredible, luxurious, and so, so hydrating. Freck pretty much has the same thing going on. It’s a lightweight cream lotion with a slightly tacky feel that breaks down into an oil as you massage it into your skin. It contains moisturizing ingredients like glycerin, squalane, and coconut oil. You’d think my skin would love it, but nope, it makes my skin a super slick, shiny mess. Moisturizing foundations goes on well over this, but it feels uncomfortable! However, avoid using matte foundations as it does pill with that finish. My skin feels and looks greasy whenever I’ve attempted to use this. Yes, it is a bit tacky and sticky, but not as tacky as some of the primers I listed above. To add insult to injury, it contains fragrance. It has a fresh floral scent that I don’t like. As for extending the wear of the foundation, that’d be a big no. My foundation literally melts off my face, thanks to this stuff.
I wanted to love Freck Beauty Rich Bitch Hydrating Gripping Primer, but this stuff is horrible. If it’s on your wish list, I’d remove it as soon as possible. As someone with dry skin, I thought I loved it, but oh hell no!
Where to buy
Sephora
Freck Beauty Rich Bitch Hydrating Gripping Primer is $38 and 1 oz in size. This formula was created to “grip” and lock makeup onto skin while providing moisture. It has a thin, runny lotion consistency that changes to an oil once applied to skin. It does have a light, fresh floral scent which I didn’t really like and felt was unnecessary. This formula is best suited to dry skin but even using it on dry skin presented issues. I felt it left me feeling and looking greasy and shiny. It worked well with moisturizing foundations but did pill with more matte or semi-matte finish ones. It did not extend the wear of my foundation at all! If anything I felt like it took away the wear of it by being too moisturizing and allowing my foundation to melt away due to that heavy level of hydration it provided.Aqua (Water, Eau), Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Glycerin, Propanediol, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Squalane, Butylene Glycol, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Methyl Trimethicone, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, 1,2-Hexanediol, Cetyl Phosphate, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil, Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract, Arginine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Extract, Rosemary Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Tocopherol, Cetyl Alcohol, Caprylyl Glycol, Parfum (Fragrance), Sodium Polyacrylate, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Phytate, Benzyl Salicylate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Geraniol.
Interesting consistency that changes from lotion to oil.
Contains fragrance.
Makes skin look super greasy.
Foundation literally slides off your face using it, doesn’t extend wear.
Freck Beauty Rich Bitch Hydrating Gripping Primer might be of interest to super dry skin users be beware, it can be greasy!
