Beautynomics – The Economics of Vanity » Blog Archive » Beautynomics Review: The Balm Cosmetics Time Balm Face Primer

I’ve been reading alot of good things about The Balm Cosmetics in the blogosphere, and even on Twitter, that their cosmetics are formulated without parabens, synthetic fragrances, sulfates, synthetic dyes, and triclosan – controversial ingredients that might pose health risks in the name of beauty in the future. Well, in times like these, everything is just so progressive, and even ingredients that have long been used for a product’s performance are well-studied, and are given health-friendly alternatives. The Balm is one of the brands who dares go beyond conventional makeup ingredients and stands up with their healthier ingredient substitutes to cater those who are also aware, and conscious about the ingredients in everything they use.

I myself am appreciative of these efforts done by companies, as I have read in The Hormone Diet book that some ingredients actually affect our hormones, and ultimately the way we act, and our health, so I myself got curious with The Balm Cosmetics. It’s a great thing, then, that we have The Balm Cosmetics as one of the brands The Beauty Bar carries. The first product that I am reviewing, is one of the products that people who have oily skin, fine lines, sunk pores, and depressed scars use. Yes, a face primer. I’m reviewing The Balm’s Time Balm Primer.

Why Do We Need Face Primers?

Time Balm Face Primer is a face primer. Wait, why do we need a face primer in the first place? Well, flawless faces need not read this ( though, you might want to! haha!) Face primers are products applied as a base just after your regular skin care routine ( in which, I hope, ends in applying sunblock ) and prepares your skin for your makeup application.

There are two kinds of primers – one kind is a mild primer that does not have any silicone content, that just might be tinted and give your face a radiant/illuminating boost ( maybe, pink for fair-skinned ladies and yellow for dusky beauties, and some, with illuminating light reflectors ) to even out skin tone ( sometimes, as our face gets dull and sallow from stress ) – an example is Estee Lauder’s Idealist Skintone Illuminator ) , but the more complex one is the silicone-based primer, which prepares your skin and perfects your face as a base.

What is a perfect base for makeup? Think of your skin as a sheet of wood, about to be applied a coat of paint. Perfect skin is analogous to a smoothly polished wood, that the paint goes on smoothly without any problems, while imperfect skin, having those occasional big, sunk pores, depressed scars, or fine lines , or just anything that contributes to an imperfect texture is analogous to an unevenly cut, raw piece of wood – as you give that wood a coating, you can see that the paint also goes down, or sinks down to the uneven texture, and the effect is not so nice.

I know that not everyone has perfect skin ( with me, as the number one example, ), so silicone-based primers such as Time Balm Face Primer ( as it has dimethicone in the ingredients list ) that have such waxy texture fills in those imperfections on the texture of our face to create that even-textured effect, for foundation to glide in evenly, and ultimately get that flawless , long-lasting makeup. Ask me if I need it? Oh, I definitely do. I have been using silicone-based primers for years now, and I do really appreciate on how my depressed scars and large pores are somewhat blurred, as I cheat on my imperfections using silicone-based primers. One problem though, is that not all people react nicely with silicone. Some people react negatively to it, sometimes it does clog the pores ( so please, make sure makeup is thoroughly removed before you sleep every single day ), but there are some who could tolerate it. I’m a little bit lucky that I can tolerate most silicone-based products, so I am able to create that good base prior to my makeup application.

Anyway, going back to Time Balm Face Primer, as Beauty Bar sent me a tube of The Balm’s timeBalm Primer to review, I first checked out what it’s strong points were. The product sure is vitamin-packed, see for yourself it roster of beneficial ingredients :

• Vitamin A to bolster the skin’s elasticity while moisturizing it to protect from environmental stresses. It also helps even out skin tone.
• Vitamin C to repair sun damage.
• Vitamin E to protect the face from skin-degenerating free radicals.
• Allantoin for its soothing effect on the skin.
• Bioflavonoids to help increase microcirculation.

Did I get excited with the ingredients? Not really. I mean, I smiled a bit, knowing that there were actually beneficial ingredients in this primer. I don’t really expect much from the vitamin-packed angle – I was just glad that they have good ingredients, but I am more interested with how it evens out my skin texture, and ultimately, the staying power. After all, it is supposed to sit ON my skin, and not seep into my skin. It’s a barrier, it’s a temporary filler. But then, it’s a comforting thought that the ingredients in Time Balm Face Primer are harmless, and even potentially beneficial for my skin.

Sooooo…..how did it fare? Well, let me start with the texture. Texture-wise, it was light, lighter than the really reliable face primers that I’d use when I wear full makeup. But then, those really reliable face primers are thicker ( like All Matt by Make Up For Ever ) have a trade-off – they potentially clog pores, so they must be used only during special occasions. Time Balm’s texture is light and waxy, and applying it on the skin feels very light, that I almost feel like I didn’t apply anything at all. For the texture-evening out part, it was moderate. It effectively filled in my pores, and my fine lines, and it did a moderate job in filling in my depressed scars. It’s alright, actually, because my depressed scars are deep to begin with and it just really needed special love in that area. For the staying power, I believe that it fared nicely on me. I used this during work-days when I am not usually in the mood to apply full makeup, and just apply a very light dusting of powder on me, and timeBalm actually helped my makeup last longer, amidst the oiliness of my skin. My skin still oiled up – a simple, but sad fact of life that I dare not control – if you try to use cosmetics that control oil, in my experience they tend to clog the pores, so I just hope for the best in all my products, and blot occasionally.

So to sum up, what I like about Time Balm Face Primer :

* it has a light texture in which it is great for everyday use
* it has alot of beneficial ingredients, and it is formulated without those health-hazardous ingredients mentioned above ( saving our hormones haha!)
* it helps makeup stay on my skin
* it doesn’t clog my pores

Some things that I do not like about timeBalm Face Primer :

* it might be too light for full-makeup look, for overly particular, or overly demanding skin like mine ( REALLY oily, REALLY big pores ) – so it means for normal skin and slightly oily skin this is quite a good one

* a little bit expensive at P 1,350.00 ( heck, I am even not sure if I should post this as a con, as Goodskin Labs’ 360 Smoothing Serum which acts as my heavy duty primer is over P2,000 ), but it actually is inexpensive for a silicone-based primer.

I would recommend The Balm Time Balm Face Primer to :

* those who have normal skin with even skintone/skin texture, to apply during special occasions so that their makeup would have greater staying power
* those who have oily skin, to somehow control oil ( to some degree, some can achieve full oil control and some won’t ) and have better staying power on their makeup
* those who have mature skin, to smoothen and blur out their fine lines and wrinkles so they won’t be too pronounced/visible when they apply makeup ( important thing to know – piling up much makeup can really accentuate wrinkles, so this really helps! )
* those who have large pores and uneven texture , so makeup can glide in better and you can fake that flawless texture.
* well, I just remembered this – to ANYONE! Why? because you do not want your makeup to oxidize! Yes, primers prevent makeup from oxidizing. You need a good waxy base for liquid makeup to adhere on. If you don’t have any base, once your makeup oxidizes, it might cause your foundation to darken – and that’s only one side-effect that I thought of ( of course, there are more! ). So for acidic skin, this is a great foundation-shade-preserver!

Overall, I love The Balm Time Balm Face Primer. This is definitely a must-reach when I’m about to apply makeup for work, or for those lazy strolls at the mall. It sure feels good to look good anywhere, even if you’re not piling on makeup! Believe me when I say that face primers help make a difference on your skin! It does to me, so I never apply my makeup without these products! Just look on how lengthy I’ve written about this post – it’s just that primers are really important! It’s the first step to great, flawless-looking, long-wearing makeup!

* The Balm Cosmetics are available at select Beauty Bar branches – (Trinoma, Greenbelt 5, Rockwell, Shangri-la Plaza, Eastwood, Galleria, Gateway, Alabang Town Center, Midtown and Cebu) and they can also be availed online on their e-commerce site, so happy shopping!