Joe Fresh Illuminating Primers in Pure Glow & Champagne (Review + Swatches)

Joe Fresh Illuminating Primers

With the news that Joe Fresh cosmetics are now being carried at Shoppers Drug Mart locations, I’m seeing a lot of new products popping up! I don’t know if I’ve just been out of the loop regarding Joe Fresh Beauty, but I’m seeing some fairly new and interesting things from them!

Like these Illuminating Primers that retail for $16 apiece. They come encased in beautiful translucent containers with a white top and…

With pump!
With pump!

A FREAKING PUMP! Cream/liquid products without a pump are the absolute bane of my makeup existence, so it’s really, REALLY nice to see a brand release one with a pump without a second thought. The packaging is solid, well built and feels more expensive than the $16 price point would indicate.

The Illuminating Primer is a light, reflecting primer that can be used all over your body (mix it into body lotion for extra glow!). Joe Fresh claims that these illuminating primers create a radiant canvas, hide imperfections and provide longer-lasting makeup.

Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Pure Glow
Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Pure Glow

The white shade is called Pure Glow and it has a small hint of pinky-blue duochrome to it. Don’t be frightened though, it’s very, very subtle and you won’t look like a disco ball.

Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Champagne
Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Champagne

The more golden toned shade is Champagne. It’s a gold-caramel shade that seems to reflect a tiny bit of silver (odd to say, but I do see that in there). I was a little apprehensive that this shade would make me look like C-3PO, but thankfully that was not the case!

Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer swatches - Pure Glow & Champagne
Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer swatches – Pure Glow & Champagne

Both primers pack a colour punch when you apply them as a heavy swatch, but when you blend them in they create a dewy cast to the skin. It can look a bit TOO dewy, so I would not recommend wearing them alone – instead, stick to wearing it under your foundation or with a moisturizer as it was intended. For reference, since it’s the winter right now, I’m on the dry side of things skin-wise.

Wearing Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Champagne
Wearing Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Champagne

In the shot above I’m wearing Champagne – I find it adds a subtle hint of radiance without going totally overboard.

Final Thoughts

When used as a face primer under foundation, this is a very subtle highlight. As I mentioned above, I wouldn’t recommend wearing this alone on your face as I found it may look a touch greasy but it really does look excellent under foundation. It helps even out the texture of my skin and adds some luminosity to any matte foundations I own (which is especially nice during the winter). I wasn’t truly expecting this to increase the longevity of my makeup because I never really notice that with a face primer… but I’m quite happy to report that on the days that I wore these primers, I did notice my makeup looking particularly fresh by the time I got home from work.

You don’t normally find these kind of products at the drugstore, so I’m really happy that Joe Fresh is delivering something fresh and exciting and a much better price point than high end brands. Let me know if these illuminating primers are something you’re interested in!

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.

19 thoughts on “Joe Fresh Illuminating Primers in Pure Glow & Champagne (Review + Swatches)

    1. I’m combo in the summer, and dry in the winter. I’m not sure how this would pan out for oily skin. Thanks for pointing that out – I’ll mention my skin type in the review.

    1. I’ve not tried the Becca one so I can’t really compare – how much does it illuminate behind your foundation? These are reallly subtle though. The champagne one is lovely!

      1. It’s pretty subtle too – I wear pretty heavy foundation though so that doesn’t help… so if I could get the same result for a third of the price that would be fantastic.

    1. That’s a really good point – our skin can look pretty flat during the winter, so I think this does help perk it up a bit. I like that the pricepoint is reasonable too – makes you feel better about buying such a big bottle.

    1. The packaging is above and beyond what I would’ve expected at this price point. I’ve always liked the clear acrylic look of many of the Joe Fresh items, and these take it up a notch even more!

    1. I was having serious concerns about Champagne when I pumped it out on my hand! I was like oh my goddddd this is not for my skin tone! But under makeup, it really is flawless!

    1. I think they’re quite new as I don’t ever remember seeing them at a Joe Fresh store prior to getting these. I’ve not used the Becca one, but I think it’d be similar to the more white one?

  1. This looks beautiful! I love the Joe Fresh clothing line, but haven’t tried the makeup. I would love if you did a whole Joe Fresh series of reviews! I think I’ll definitely pick the champagne one up soon!

    1. I’ve got a few more items from their current line up for products that I plan to review in the near future (within the next four weeks or so)! I also like their clothing (and workout gear!). 🙂

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