Prime Time: Kat Von D Lock It Hydrating Primer

I love a good matte finish but this summer I’ve been really craving a dewy finish. But it’s hard creating that lit from within glow without looking like a grease ball.

Luckily, I’ve come across this KVD primer which claims to deliver hydration and a poreless soft finish for foundation to glide on.

Kat Von D Lock-It Hydrating Primer

Claims:

Lightweight and water based milky texture
Hydrating formula features aloe vera, jojoba, and shea
Skin smoothing poreless soft finish
Free of alcohol and fragrance

Kat Von D Lock-It Hydrating Primer ingredients:

Water, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Jojoba Esters, Isododecane, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Glycerin, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Polyurethane-34, Vp/Eicosene Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Oleate Citrate, Caprylyl Glycol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Tropaeolum Majus Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Aminomethyl Propanol, Disodium Edta, Panthenol, Tocopherol, Pantolactone, Citric Acid, 3-Aminopropanol.

Application

Housed in a convenient pump with a twist lock, one and half pump is enough to spread all over my face. This KVD Lock It Hydrating Primer doesn’t have a lot of slip because it lacks silicones in the formula – but has a watery lotion texture which is easy to blend into skin. There is a slight plastic smell which disappears in a minute. I have oily skin but certain areas can feel dehydrated; around my nose & mouth and jawline. Applying this primer feels really hydrating and soothing. Looking at the ingredients, this reminds me a lot of a moisturizer except this contains more film forming ingredients (polymers) giving it a sticky base for makeup to stick onto.

Result

After applying the primer all over my face, my skin is left with a slight dewy finish – perfect for a glowy makeup look. It leaves a slightly tacky finish for my makeup. I don’t experience any major pilling issues but sometimes if I don’t let my mineral sunscreen completely dry down, things can pill when I apply this on top.

This Lock It Hydrating Primer claims to leave a skin smoothing soft finish but I don’t see it. I didn’t notice any difference in the appearance of my pores or lines. For a skin smoothing effect, you would need a more silicone heavy primer. But this primer does serve its purpose of being hydrating and dewy but not greasy. The watery texture absorbs into the skin and is great for people who don’t like that sometimes heavy silicone feeling that other primers leave behind.

So then I wonder: doesn’t a lightweight moisturizer do the same thing? Not quite, because what makes this primer unique is the lack of silicones (it only has Dimethicone in middle of the ingredient list) and the inclusion of film forming polymers giving it that sticky base for makeup. So this gives it a lightweight feel and dewy tacky finish for makeup. So this KVD formula is pretty unique in the market.

Pros