Philosophy • The Present Clear Makeup • Primer/ Corrector

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angel31 on 11/20/2009 4:15:00 PM more reviews by angel31

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

This product works pretty well if you do not wear makeup with it. It does control oil in my T-zone, and it evens out the skin tone a bit. However, my makeup looks 'cakey' when I wear this underneath - and it seems to get worse as the day goes on. It also have an icky 'thick' feeling. I will not be repurchasing.

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letty114 on 11/4/2009 3:23:00 AM more reviews by letty114

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

An excellent product that does exactly what is says - a clear make up. wonderful for lazy people who just want an even skin tone with not too much fuss.
i apply to cleansed skin and let it set whilst i get dressed, then add some blush, a touch of mascara and some lip color and am ready to go. would recommend

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oldjuly on 9/29/2009 4:53:00 PM more reviews by oldjuly

Age: 19-24   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

I really like this. It's smooth, it smells fine, has wonderful packaging and keeps my makeup on. Though you really need to wait about 4 - 5 minutes before putting on your foundation or else it gets all smeary.

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Contessa01 on 9/13/2009 5:49:00 AM more reviews by Contessa01

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

This didn't work for me unfortunately, I found that I couldn't spread my makeup evenly on top of it, it was really tacky and then my foundation separated. I wouldn't buy it again.

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alinabee on 9/5/2009 12:25:00 AM more reviews by alinabee

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I absolutely ADORE this product!! These days, I hardly wear foundation because this product makes my skin feel so, so, SO nice. It is exactly what its name implies: "clear makeup". The texture feels just like a normal moisturizer, but after it dries, it mattifies the skin and leaves it feeling super smooth. My boyfriend even noticed that lately my face feels softer (little does he know I am wearing this product on it ;)). I wear it alone as a moisturizer, add a bit of mineral blush, and I'm good to go. Wonderful, wonderful product.


EDIT: Okay, something weird has been happening with this product lately. I get little dry patches on my face that are white after I let this product set. It looks like dry skin without moisturizer. Needless to say, it is NOT flattering and I find myself having to apply moisturizer over this to ease the dry spots. It looks gross. I'm taking off two lippies. I have no idea what went wrong. I'm switching to the Supernatural now

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chloraimey on 8/5/2009 3:33:00 PM more reviews by chloraimey

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

I'm shocked to see such a mediocre rating on this product!!! This product SAVED MY FACE, no lie. I have acne-prone skin and after several types of mild treatments, discovered that it's just sensitive and doesn't take well to make-up...but of course, I must wear make-up to make it all look better. I tried Prime Time, non-irritating foundations, mineral makeup... Prime time left me greasy and didn't really "protect" from make-up pore invasion, liquid foundations left me shiny constantly, and minerals often get in my pores despite their lack of chemicals.

So then I bought this, to go with my Supernatural Airbrushed Canvas mineral makeup. And WOW. Two minutes after putting it on your skin feels like porcelean. All redness and pores are minimized completely. If you are having a clear-ish week, you look perfect with just this product on, and if you're having acne, it sure helps to make your makeup go on smooth to cover it. This product keeps EVERYTHING out of my pores it seems: Grease, Dirt, Makeup...I even wear it as a light moisturizer when I workout to keep the sweat out. It keeps my skin from itching with power makeup on, and my pictures of my face have never looked more perfect and airbrushed! It's not just the foundation either, I had it before and it didn't look so nice until after I got this.

I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone with acne related to sensitive skin. It makes your skin think you're not wearing makeup, so it stays unclogged. When you wash your makeup off, your skins stays tight and clear, no makeup residue left behind.

I use this in this routine:
Daily facial cleansing pads that exfoliate and clean ((CVS brand ) -- I just switched to these from regular cleanser and it is helping my skin as well
Bare Escentuals Revver-Upper (always part of my routine, it just gives an added glow but isn't the spectacular product in this routine)
The Present
Supernatural Airbrushed, blush and eye makeup.

That's all it takes it seems! Finally, a simple effective routine!

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*TOP REVIEWER* rydellpink on 7/13/2009 2:11:00 PM more reviews by rydellpink

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Red, Curly, Fine   Eyes: Green    

This is a great primer. Most of the time I don't use foundation. I usually put this on and then wait a few minutes and apply powder. However, it does work well as a primer under foundation. My face looks better for longer when I use this, which is way I will continue to buy this product. It softens the look of my large pores and the wrinkles on my forehead.

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blondie86 on 7/13/2009 12:15:00 PM more reviews by blondie86

Age: 19-24   Skin: Very Oily, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

I like this as a primer, my foundation really stays put throughout the day. I love the smell, and the consistency. The only downside is I've been breaking out a lot lately and I'm pretty sure this primer is the reason.

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abreve on 7/13/2009 12:56:00 AM more reviews by abreve

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

I got The Present as a birthday present, ironically enough, and use it every morning with my DreamMatte Mousse. Before I used it, the mousse had an almost chalky look, but it looked better than powder foundation and I hate the liquid so I continued. With The Present there is a significant difference. It evens out my skintone and texture and combined with my mousse my face looks just perfect. It takes a few minutes to dry, but no biggie because this product delivers! In my opinion it's a really good primer.

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*TOP REVIEWER* laureg on 7/9/2009 5:57:00 PM more reviews by laureg

Age: Unknown   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

Not a great primer, in my opinion. There are much better ones out there. I bought a full sized tube, and am actually debating returning it. It doesn't wear well, doesn't really set makeup all that well... it's basically an extra step in the morning that doesn't do much. I will not repurchase.

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shelbylynnjones on 7/9/2009 10:55:00 AM more reviews by shelbylynnjones

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

I would only recommend using this alone - if you use with make-up you run the risk of it caking, and not applying smoothly if it is oil-free. It is great for weekends where you don't want to get all your make-up on as it does even out your skin as long as you don't need coverage.

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Brittina923 on 7/3/2009 11:14:00 AM more reviews by Brittina923

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Warm   Hair: Brown, Kinky, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

This makes makeup application smooth and flawles. It feels light on the skin and doesn't have a weird smell.

BUT...

After 3 wears it made my face breakout like crazy... and I hardly ever breakout.

Never again...

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withdiamonds on 6/22/2009 3:05:00 PM more reviews by withdiamonds

Age: 30-35   Skin: Oily, Olive   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

Love this stuff!! It makes my skin velvet soft and really evens it out. I collected four samples of it and, low and behold, that equals one BIG one. So i basically got one for free!! I guess the only problem I would have with it is that it takes quite a few minutes to completely dry and have an effect and when I need to apply more makeup on a busy morning, that gets annoying. But I still love it and I still give it five lippies!!

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loarc on 5/31/2009 11:21:00 AM more reviews by loarc

Age: 25-29   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Brown    

Im always on the search for the perfect primer. I have slightly oily clear skin. My main concerns with a primer are that it controls oil and minimizes pores. I found this to a good job at both and therefor consider this to be one of the better primers I've tried. I think I still prefer Cliniques over this though (for pore minimizing). This beats out YSL Top secret (greasy mess), Armani, smashbox, and Clarins (greasy mess). Ive worn this under Chanel TI fluid foundation, Shiseido Sun Protection Foundation, SKII airtouche, and Sisley Oil-free foundation and have never had a problem with balling up like some other reviewers (except once when I applied a quarter size amount to my face haha). I apply a pea size amount and wait 2 minutes before applying. My foundation goes on smoothly, oil is controlled, and pores are smoothed. I wont repurchase this simply because I am looking for something that make my pores disappear haha. I ordered the CdP primer so we'll see how that does. If it sucks like many of the others than back to my bottle of this as Im currently out of the clinique. All and all this is a very good primer, just not HG.
edit 10/25/2009: I prefer CDP smoothing base for pores. Its great at mattifying and minimizing pores almost giving the perfect soft focus look. But I would not reccommend CDP it to those with dry skin-it will be too drying. Im waiting on LP gold illusion primer in the mail so we'll see how that goes...

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*TOP REVIEWER* shelju on 5/20/2009 8:04:00 PM more reviews by shelju

Age: 36-43   Skin: Oily, Dark, Warm   Hair: Black, Kinky   Eyes: Brown    

I got this in a Philosophy Try Me kit from QVC. It is really thick so I was skeptical it would clog the pores of my oily acne-prone skin. Well, I could not believe how wonderful my mineral makeup went on. You have to let it set for the full 2 mins or you won't like what happens. Even more exciting was how well it absorbed the excess oil throughout the day. I looked "almost" matte all day! With my oily skin, I apply my acne treatment but no moisturizer underneath this product especially in the summer months. It also has acne-fighting ingredients too! Will buy again!

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Charnel on 5/3/2009 11:57:00 AM more reviews by Charnel

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Olive, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Coarse   Eyes: Hazel    

I love this product. It allowed me to eliminate the use of foundations all together. Now I can go virtually natural in intensely heated summers with out feeling my makeup melting.

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Cosmetalogical on 5/3/2009 8:14:00 AM more reviews by Cosmetalogical

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Green    

Really don't like this, I guess its ok on its own for oil control but when you go to apply foundation over the top it all goes wrong. It dries up and you can see the makeup on your face, not a good look! Won't be repurchasing this.

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Gothcake on 4/23/2009 7:59:00 PM more reviews by Gothcake

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

I got this product as a sample from the Philosophy counter at Nordstrom's. I have pretty oily skin, so I was fairly skeptical of needing a moisturizer/primer, but I wear mineral makeup, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Omg. I love this stuff! I applied it and it evened out a lot of my redness (I have rosacea ) before I even put makeup on. My Bare Minerals went on sooo smoothly on top of The Present and I didn't have to use as much as I usually do to get full coverage.

I will be buying a full size.

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callmehoneybun on 4/17/2009 1:21:00 AM more reviews by callmehoneybun

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I received a sample of this product from mecca and was really excited to try it as I have been a fan of philosophy bath products. Unfortunately it was a complete disappointment. I left it on for two minutes after applying moisturiser (even though i know you shoulnd't have to) and followed it up with foundation. It completely dried out my skin. I have normal skin but this completely dried out my skin around my nose and on my cheekbones. After putting foundation and powder on it looked so flaky and gross that i had to remove it and start over. Didn't notice any of the smoothness it was supposed to give either. Perhaps it would be good for someone with oily skin as it probably has potent oil control properties but for anyone with normal to dry skin give this a miss.

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roxybritain on 4/8/2009 1:05:00 PM more reviews by roxybritain

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Black, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I bought this because on the package, it said it could be used alone as a moisturizer, or over moisturizer as a primer.

I first tried it on its own (no moisturizer, no makeup) while I was at Sephora, and my skin felt really nice, so I purchased it.

Then for a couple of days I tried it without a moisturizer, but with (powder) makeup on top of it - yuck. I had to put my moisturizer on anyway to make my face look like it wasn't flaking off.

But over my moisturizer (and yes, it feels thick), my skin looked just AWESOME.

So, did it work? Sure. But would I buy it again? I don't know. I've got a sample of Smashbox Photo Finish Light that I'm trying out and (obviously) my skin doesn't feel so heavy.

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