Urban Decay Urban Defense Complexion Primer Review & Swatches

Urban Decay Urban Defense Complexion Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 ($34) is one of a four new facial primers that launched with the Urban Decay Spring 2017 Collection. Urban Decay combines SPF 30 along with the benefits of a facial primer that protects, smooths, and preps skin for makeup without the white cast that SPF is known for leaving behind as this primer is crystal clear.

At a glance and a swatch, I felt like it reminded me a lot of Smashbox Photo Finish Primer which happens to be a nightmare for my skin. It’s one of the few products that upsets my skin. It just makes me feel like a bunch of tiny ants are crawling under my skin when I apply it. It’s itchy and horrible. When I saw the clear gel-like consistency of Urban Decay Urban Defense Complexion Primer I knew almost instantly I was going to hate.

Guess what?

It surprised me.

Urban Decay Urban Defense Complexion Primer was a hate for me during my initial testing phase. I’ve been using it for nearly two weeks and it took me nearly five uses to actually figure out I love it.

One of the first things I hated about it was the texture. It’s a clear silicone-like gel that’s a little less thick than Smashbox Photo Finish Primer. I felt sure that application would result in pilling on my skin because I have drier skin. It didn’t result in pilling but the slick, greasy silicone texture was NOT appealing in the least. It felt a lot like the Urban Decay Self-Adjusting Complexion Primer I recently reviewed and disliked. After application it feels very smooth, very soft, and it didn’t pill nor adhere to patchy areas on my face. That initial slick feel also disappeared and left behind a soft, velvet-y finish that didn’t feel mask-like nor itchy the way Smashbox’s formula typically does. I admit though I was put off for the first few days by the odd slick texture. After a while I started getting more and more used to it.

I loved how my foundation applied over this. My foundation has never been this smooth or this even. It looked amazing to say the least. I don’t have visible pores nor do I have finer lines but this had a knack for softening and smoothing my complexion beautifully. It’s funny as I couldn’t find my beloved Revlon Photo Ready Perfecting Primer recently at the drugstore (hopefully it isn’t going the way of L�Oreal’s Visible Lift Blur Concealer) but I can easily see myself using this daily and happily.

I used this in conjunction with Urban Decay’s new Quick Fix Hydra-Charged Complexion Prep Priming Spray and not only was my face smooth but also, there wasn’t a bit of shine anywhere. Granted, I wouldn’t say this is the end all to oil and shine but if you’re like me and have a little bit of a shiny forehead or perhaps an oily chin with drier cheeks this will reduce shine and also soften skin and prep it well for makeup.

One thing to take note of though is the SPF 30. I love that the primer includes an SPF but the amount I’m using is not nearly enough protection. I use two small pea size amounts that I apply and blend out on each cheek. I can’t use more than that as it makes my skin feel very oily. For adequate sun protection you likely need a hell of a lot more than I’m applying and that’s where this disappoints. I can’t see myself applying a tablespoon or even two tablespoons to my face and that’s likely the amount you’d need to get good sun protection.

SPF aside as I can always apply my own, I really enjoyed Urban Decay Urban Defense Complexion Primer. I suspect it isn’t going to be a hit of a product as many people will likely judge it right off the bat as being too slick, too greasy feeling, but if you give it time, it really grows on you! I’m glad I didn’t write it off right away because I really, really like how my complexion looks when I’m using this under my foundation.

Urban Decay Urban Defense Complexion Primer is available now at urbandecay.com and launches soon at Sephora.com and Ulta.com.
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