Product Review: Awake Invention Hydro Manage Make-Up Base

Today's review is brought to you by Meg's Makeup. Go here to read a condensed version of the review, or to see what other gals thought of the product!


Whew! It feels like forever since I've been here... The Boy's come home from Scotland after a looooooong 4 months, and I've had endless piles of marking to do. So... much... marking. Note to university undergrad punks: Do not plagiarise. I know what you are up to, and I will hunt you down and rip you apart. Twice.

Fortunately, thanks to Awake's Invention Hydro Manage Make-Up Base, I can rest assured that I can have pretty, glowing skin, even while kicking cheaters' butts during my Awesome Rampage of Academic Justice (TM).




So, y'all know that I lurrrve the foundation from this line. When I saw that Meg had also sent a primer, I... well, I squealed a little bit, because the prospect of trying a new and fantastic primer excites me like that. But upon examining it, I got a bit worried. Sparkles! What's with all the sparkles in your products, Awake? Are sparkles the secret to making one look bright-tailed and bushy-eyed this holiday season? Hmmmm?

But hey. I can sparkle with the best of 'em. Bring it on, Primer.

This grey substance looks kind of like actual paint primer coming out of the tube. The similarities end there though -- it feels like a nice, light moisturizer going on. Not quite creamy, but close. It takes a couple seconds to sink in, but doesn't feel at all heavy or weird.

You step back and look in the mirror, and ... oh wow. Yikes. Gasp. Because your face is now SHINY. Like... I don't know, I imagine the Rockettes are maybe this shiny. Which is at least festive and all, I guess.

Alright G, don't panic. Let's see what happens when you put foundation on over this. I reached for my trusty Almay Smart Shade, and apply as usual, finishing off with a light dusting of loose powder.

The result? A perfect, flawless finish! The shininess got subdued to a soft glow, which made me look all healthy and well-rested and like I hadn't stayed up all night drinking Tab and forgetting to take my vitamins. Plus it was very forgiving to minor imperfections. My skin felt soft and hydrated, and my foundation stayed fresh throughout the day. I did have to blot once midday (it lets a bit more oil through than the Sephora Primer), but it truly did a great job of keeping my makeup going strong. I even got asked out once and hit on twice that day, which I swear never happens. I'm pretty sure that was all the primer's doing. They should advertise this stuff on Lavalife or something.

Using this under the Awake foundation was still pretty, but I didn't like it quite as much. A wee bit too sparkly for me. Maybe for one of those special candle-lit dinners, it would be just the thing, but for everyday, it was a titch too much.

But totally a thumbs-up on this primer -- it is especially wonderful for perking up dull, dry, winter skin. I think I like it even better than the Smashbox primer for giving a flawless look (although this won't smooth the skin as well as the Smashbox will). Hurray for Awake!

So I guess the moral of the story is that cheaters never win, and Awake's primer just may get you some action. Or at least make you look pretty, which is always good. Unless you are a cheater, of course, because all the glowy skin in the world ain't gonna help you when you're facing a grouchy Dean at your hearing for academic misconduct, capiche?