Philosophy the Present Clear Makeup: A Foundation Primer that Does More

A Primer? a "Clear Foundation"? a Moisturizer? or All Three???

philosophy (yes, that's lower-cased) is a cosmetics company with a growing cult following that, admittedly, includes me. I'm hooked on philosophy's delicious-smelling bath and body products, their outstanding mineral powder foundation, and several items from their skin care line. Committed to improving the look and feel of my sensitive, breakout-prone skin, I decided to toss my traditional liquid foundations and to try aiming for the "makeup-optional skin" that philosophy promises. Not being blessed with brilliant skin tone or microscopic pores, naturally I needed a little help. Enter The Present, a so-called "skin perfector" that in many ways is similar to other foundation primers on the market, but with some interesting qualities that make it unique.

The Present is a thick, white, tacky lotion that seems to expand ever so slightly when you squirt it onto your fingers from the tube. A pea-sized amount is all that's necessary to cover the entire face, though I found I needed to blend carefully to ensure full, even coverage. After letting it dry and set for a few minutes, my skin was subtlely, but noticeably, transformed. The smoother texture facilitated application of both liquid and powder foundation, and the end result was a slightly more perfect complexion than I would have achieved from makeup alone. A word of warning is in order here, though: without allowing the product to fully dry, applying foundation will be a considerably trickier and messier task, so be patient!

Although philosophy markets The Present to people with oily and breakout-prone skin types, I was less impressed with The Present's oil control properties. Unlike foundation primers that are primarily meant to mattify, The Present actually claims to work as an oil-free moisturizer and to "seal in" the skin's moisture. When used over moisturizer, the initial finish is smooth and satiny, but over the course of the day I usually find myself reaching for blotting tissues. Used as a moisturizer alone, on the other hand, I found The Present to be somewhat inadequate, although on very warm, humid days it works reasonably well for that purpose.