Urban Decay Self-Adjusting Complexion Primer Review & Swatches

Urban Decay Self-Adjusting Complexion Primer ($34) i a new Spring 2017 permanent facial primer that contains encapsulated pigments which adjust to your skin tone which allows them to color correct as they prime your skin for makeup. If you’ve tried products like Pop Beauty CC Cream, Tony Moly Luminous Pure Aura CC Cream, Etude House, Correct & Care CC Cream, and Welcos Killing Me Zombie CC Cream you’ll be very familiar with this formula although Urban Decay doesn’t quite capture the spirit of those formulas.

Here’s why.

A few years ago I had an utter love affair with color adapting CC Creams that took the Korean beauty world by storm. I really loved Tony Moly’s formula in particular as the formula adapted beautifully and I actually wore it as a foundation versus a color correcting product. It brightened, softened, and smoothed my skin beautifully. Many, many other Korea brands released their own variations and even Pop Beauty created a great formula.

When I first received and pumped out Urban Decay Self-Adjusting Complexion Primer I instantly thought of my beloved Tony Moly formula. Urban Decay Self-Adjusting Complexion Primer is a thinner yet creamy formula that’s light gray in color and dotted with tiny pigment capsules that burst during application and are supposed to adapt to your skin tone. Urban Decay’s formula takes things to a different level though as not only does this formula self adjust and act to color adjust but also promises to provide a soft-focus finish that perfects skin. It also mattifies and smooths skin while filling finger lines and giving skin a beautifully velvety texture or so Urban Decay says.

The idea is a good one, the formula not so much. I’ve run into CC Creams that adapt perfectly where as other ones applied too light for my skin tone. Urban Decay’s doesn’t adapt nor change color at all. If anything at all it goes from gray to pasty white on my skin gives my complexion a white cast. I was a surprised as I expected this to at least change to a soft nude or beige shade but it actually just goes from gray to white when swatched and applied. I forgave the color adapting technology that simply wasn’t there but the formula I couldn’t forgive.

I hated the formula. Maybe because I’m not oily and I’m more dry but this stuff felt horrible. It has a slick silicone texture that feel incredibly greasy going on but also had this awful pull and drag on my skin that felt like it was sitting horribly wrong a top of my skin and just clung in white patches to my drier areas. I’d liken the texture to Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer but it didn’t absorb as well and felt like it sat on top of my skin. I hated the way it made my skin look patchy after I applied my foundation. So much so, I ended up removing all my makeup and reapplying. I tested this twice and twice I had the same results. Needless to say I did not attempt a third try.

Keep in mind this contains hyaluronic acid spheres which I was excited about as typically that means moisture and also moisture retention but I can honestly it just felt like rubbing a thin layer of silicone into my skin. This also contains niacinamide aka B3 which can prove irritating to certain skin types. Niacinamide is a tricky ingredient on my skin as sometimes it works out great and other times it doesn’t (it makes me itchy or even burns). In this case, I had no issues with it.

Urban Decay Self-Adjusting Complexion Primer showed promise on first pump but application and wear was a very, very sore spot for me. Maybe oily skin might like this a lot more than me. I’m basing my review off drier skin so, do keep that in mind prior to trying this one out. Between the pastiness and the awful silicone texture it just wasn’t for me.

Sorry UD!

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

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