Essence Hydro Hero Primer ($4.99/1.01 oz) is a new facial primer that contains hyaluronic acid and cucumber extract to smooth and provide “48 hours hydration” while allow prepping for makeup. I’m all about moisture. I’m dry and it’s Winter so bring on the hydration. And hey, at $4.99 this seemed a great little budget pickup!
Jump ahead for the review.

I’ve always preferred hydrating primers over matte or silicone ones but a few years ago when gripping primers became a thing I switched out all of my hydrating primers and ended up with tons of stickier, gel facial primers like Dermablend Insta-Grip Jelly Primer 3-in-1 Multi-Tasking Primer, ELF Power Grip Primer, and Milk Hydro Grip Hydrating Makeup Primer! I can honestly say the only real moisturizing primer that remains in my current stash is Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base (and she’s one I’ll never part with! 25% off today at bobbibrown.com if you need to stock up! No code needed!)!
That being said I’m always curious enough to try something new even though I do prefer gripping primer nowadays which led me to my purchase of the new Essence Hydro Hero Primer. This arrives in a 1.01 oz squeeze tube that’ll set you back $4.99. It also has a needle nose applicator for easy application.
There’s actually nothing to get too excited about here because many of the solid ingredients like Niacinamide and Sodium Hyaluronate are very low on the list meaning you p...