BECCA Backlight Face Primer totally slays, and I love it so much that I always keep a bottle on standby!
But you know…I just don’t understand this new purple version of it, the new BECCA First Light Face Primer ($38).
Like Backlight, it’s a pearly face primer that you apply before foundation to hydrate your skin and help it look more luminous and less lackluster, but where Backlight is a peachy beige pearl, First Light is a sheer, cool-toned violet pearl.
First Light also has a citrus scent, while Backlight is unscented.
I’ve been testing First Light for about a week now, and ya know…it doesn’t do anything for me. My skin looks more or less the same after I apply it. I suspect that the violet pearl is just too subtle for me.
I’ve tried it by itself on bare skin, beneath foundation, and I’ve even added it to tinted moisturizer. Whichever way, I really can’t see a difference.
Maybe that’s purposeful, and I’m just not the target market. Bottom line, this one’s way too quiet for me. I think I’ll be sticking to my tried-and-true Backlight.
First Light does get great reviews, though. It currently has 4 1/2 stars out of 5 on the Sephora website, so there are lots of people out there who love it.
If you’re interested, it’s available now at BECCA counters, Sephora, Ulta and online. It’s $38 for a 1-oz. bottle.
Do you ever use Backlight? How do you feel about it?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. I may or may not have just googled “What to do when baby throws a tantrum.”
I have been curious about this primer for a while but was too afraid to try it because I didn’t know if it would make my golden tan skin look sallow. I may swing by Sephora to sample it later. I so love the backlight and have wondered if this may blur things out a little like the backlight does for me. Baby tantrums, I do not miss those :). My daughter used to throw the most epic tantrums at the most inconvenient times ( sure let’s lay on the ground and scream hysterically next to the booth at Cheesecake Factory while waiting on a MUCH needed mojito). Each one in public so I was always the sweaty at wits end mom in public saying to strangers as they walked by with judgment “nothing to see here people”. I learned when I stayed calm and lowered my voice it always helped. She would have to stop going crazy long enough to hear me since my tone was almost quiet. Hang in there!
Hi Metta,
I love Backlight too and hoped that First Light would blur things a little but I didn’t experience that with it. Let me know if it works out for you!
I finally managed to calm her down. It took several hours and lots of different attempts, but we got there. Being a mom is hard…
I tried Backlight Priming Filter a while back and it was super heavily scented IME. I ended up breaking out from it, so I probably won’t try this.
Hi Karen. I got a sample of First Light from Sephora and the Sephora girl told me how much she liked it. But honestly I don’t think it does much for me either. Maybe adds some hydration but other than that, no difference.
Why was miss Connor Claire throwing a tantrum?
I like the First Light, but then I found the Backlight didn’t do much for me. Purple balances people with too much yellow in their skin, while peach cancels out any greenish undertones. Since the two are from opposite ends of the color wheel, you’ll probably like the effects of one or the other, not both.
Thanks for this explanation, Ash! It’s very insightful. I can see now why the purple doesn’t do much for me.
I think you are too tan for this primer. Violet works wonders on my yellow based skin when I am really pale, it helps me look less sick and more awake in an instant. I guess it wouldnt do a lot on cooler complexions or on deeper skin.
And what do you do? Even with two I haven’t figured it out quite yet…
I think it could work best on fair skin. I used to have a blue primer from Thierry Mugler (remember when they did makeup?) and it only worked for me in the winter when I was at my palest. Then it would really help with the sallowness. But the rest of the year it was either not doing much or looky chalky if I built it.
I remember! They had a full line, didn’t they?
The difference is too subtle to notice.. but, I liked it better than Backlight as it doesn’t make me oily as easily as Backlight.
Girl, Becca First Light has a permanent spot in my makeup collection. I love it and it makes me look like I’m glowing, which is no easy feat at age 47. This primer makes me look instantly more awake too.
I wear it alone, I wear it under foundation, I wear it under tinted moisturizer, but my favorite is to apply a little on top of foundation.
I’m more to the fair side of medium but I have a fair amount of redness to counteract.
I haven’t tried it yet, I think it’s geared more towards dullness right?