Nivea Men Shaving Balm, Or Makeup Primer?

So back in January, when everyone was skint and trying to make their December wages last for the best part of 5-6 weeks, I noticed that a lot of people were ranting and raving about a new super cheap and extra effective make up primer.  My Instagram feed was full of pictures of folk sharing their new beauty product – Nivea Men Shaving Balm.

I was super sceptical for a very long times, “why on earth would you be applying shaving balm to your face before your makeup?”  “Surely that will smell super masculine and clash with my perfume?” “Won’t that make you feel really sticky all day long?”

But of course, as we all know I am a sucker for a bargain, and so when I spotted that you could pick up the product for just £2.50 on a half price promotion -  I decided to bite the bullet and give it a whirl.

When you apply the balm to your face, I have noticed that you don’t really need to use as much as you would, of you were using a normal primer.  The product is really runny yet quite thick, and so I have been using about a 10p size amount every morning before I do my makeup.  I rub this in using a beauty blender that I only use for my primer, it only takes a couple of seconds and it dries really quickly into the skin.  I have noticed that I do need to apply extra moisturiser around my eyes after using it, as it makes my skin here feel really tight.  However, this is probably just due to my eczema, and so is not a big deal.

The balm makes my skin feel a lot smoother, fuller and hydrated than a regular primer does.  It gives me a totally matt finish which I love, and makes my pores a lot less noticeable around my cheeks when I apply my BB Cream.

Literally seconds after I have finished my applying the balm, I’m ready to put on my makeup… as quickly as possible!  I’ve found that some primers can feel quite wet, meaning that you have to wait for them to soak up before you can do anything else.  However, the Nivea Men Shaving Balm is perfect for me, because unless I’m doing something that I want to look particularly nice for, I grudge spending any more than 10 minutes doing my make up in the morning. 

7am - 6pm make up wear, not too shabby!

What’s even better, is that is actually works amazingly as a primer.  My minimal make up will easily last a whole 9 hour shift at work without any touch ups – granted it wont look as great by the end of the day and usually a little oily, however it is not the patchy mess that it can sometimes be. 

So despite my speculation, the Nivea Men Shaving Balm will probably work really, really well for those of you who like a beauty bargain and a pretty decent make up primer. 

Have you given this a try yet?  What was your verdict?

Until the next one,

Lauren x