Wet n Wild 5 in 1 Essence Primer Liquid Review

Wet n Wild 5-in-1 Essence Primer Liquid is a new and interesting facial primer that smooths and hydrates skin in preparation for makeup. I picked this up at Ulta recently along with their new Ta-Da! Eraser Silicone-Free Waterproof Eye And Lip Makeup Remover (review on it coming soon).

I was instantly drawn to this as I liked the idea of an essence primer. It just seemed a unique and interesting idea and even though I love my current facial primer (NYX Plump Right Back Electrolytes Plumping Primer Serum) I decided to give it a try.

It deserves to be mentioned I’m an avid essence user. Essence is an absolute key and staple in my current skincare regime but I’ve never considered it as a primer for makeup. Wet n Wild 5 in 1 Essence Primer Liquid takes the skincare benefits of an essence and created a facial primer that they say acts to smooth, condition, refine pores, balance, and prolong makeup. One of the primary ingredients in this formula is galactomyces or Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate. This is where things get very interesting.

Galactomyces is a very popular ingredient in the world of Korean and Japanese skincare. It’s a fungus of sorts that acts to brighten skin, minimize pores, and even acts to control oil plus it’ll strengthen your skin’s barrier. You may know this Galactomyces by its other name “Pitera” aka the same ingredient that makes an appearance in the cult favorite SK-II Facial Treatment Essence (Pitera Essence) or perhaps you’re familiar with the cheaper alternative, COSRX Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence. Galactomyces are great for brightening dull, tired-looking skin, minimizing the appearance of pores, and controlling oil but full disclosure I’ve never really understood the hype and I’ve tried a lot of different Galactomyces essences but I never really noticed any major change in my skin when using them. That being said, I really didn’t purchase Wet n Wild 5-in-1 Essence Primer Liquid for the skincare benefits. I was more about using this as a facial primer which is its primary intended purpose.

One thing that’s quite important to mention is the size. An $8 bottle is 2.1 oz in size. I dunno about you but I tend to apply essence very generously. In the case of an essence primer liquid you might be able to get away with applying less but you’ll definitely go through this a lot quicker than a normal cream or gel facial primer.

I decided to test this in the best way I knew how which was on bare skin no makeup obviously and no skincare under it. Essence is one of the first steps in a skincare routine so applying this before anything else seemed like a good idea. I tested in two ways. The first time I applied it on bare skin and proceeded with foundation and other makeup. The second time I applied it first and applied my normal skincare. I’m struggling to find the best application method. The formula is a thin slightly slick essence. It resembles water and has the same runny consistency as such. Upon application, it absorbs quickly and doesn’t leave me feeling tacky or sticky.

Here’s my problem…

If I apply it on bare skin I immediately notice that any and all oil in my skin (which is very little since I’m dry) was quickly sucked up. This left my skin looking smooth but tight. Yeah, not good. I don’t really have visible pores (aside from my nose) but my skin still did look quite a bit smoother after application but also, as I said, drier. Unfortunately, my foundation applied very patchy. I’m using to doing a full moisturizing skin prep plus an application of a moisturizing primer before foundation touches my skin. I was using this and this only and believe me I could see the difference. My foundation looked very dry and was adhering to the drier areas of my face in a very unflattering way.

Now I did apply this a second way which was as an essence with my normal skincare plus SPF on top. This is where things get a little iffy. I feel like if I’m using this, followed by a serum, moisturizing, and SPF that I’m completely defeating the purpose of using it as a primer. Does that make sense?

Finally, I applied it a third way which was by taking a chance and applying it after my skincare. That didn’t work out so well. Applying essence on top of serum, moisturizer, and sunscreen just makes things a little weird and icky feeling.

I think the idea of this is an interesting one. Especially if you suffer from oily skin as it does mattify and smooth quite well but if you run drier I think you’ll have the same experience I did which is this is simply not enough of a primer for good, smooth foundation application. I personally need a lot more moisture before foundation gets anywhere near my face and this simply doesn’t provide that level of moisture. I also feel like will interfere with sunscreen. I can’t speak for how long my makeup lasted when wearing this because I ended up removing and starting over again due to how patchy I was looking. Dry skin simply needs as much moisture as possible when applying foundation and I wasn’t leaving the house looking all cakey and patchy.

Wet n Wild 5 in 1 Essence Primer Liquid is unique and interesting in theory but I struggled actually getting this to work for me. Someone with far less dry skin might benefit from it more than I did.

Wet n Wild 5-in-1 Essence Primer Liquid is available now.

Where to buy

Ulta Target