I’m too lazy to bother with primer, but whenever I wear this one I always get compliments on my skin

While my beauty routine is notoriously low-maintenance, there are a few products that I swear by for making me look more alive most mornings—a brightening vitamin C serum, a multipurpose concealer and a slick of cream blush. Things like full coverage foundation, bronzer and primer are products that I typically reserve for occasions where I want my make-up to last all day—there’s no time for them in my five minute make-up routine At least, that was until I discovered the Vieve Skin Nova Instant Radiance Primer. A multi-tasking hybrid product with skincare ingredients and glow-boosting properties, it has become a daily staple for me thanks to how good it makes my skin look. Only five hours of sleep? Worry not—this illuminating primer will disguise all manner of tiredness and create the illusion of a bright and well-rested complexion. But what’s in it that makes it so effective?

THE FORMULA

Created by make-up artist and content creator Jamie Genevieve, the entire Vieve lineup takes a really innovative approach to formulations by combining skin-friendly ingredients with luxurious textures and the finest pigments to make it easy to create a fresh and glowy look. And the Vieve Skin Nova is no exception to this rule. It contains four star ingredients that give it its light-reflecting, skin-quenching abilities.

First up there’s beta-glucan to soothe skin, ease redness and deeply hydrate along with niacinamide (one of my favourite skincare ingredients as someone with oily skin) to boost brightness and even skin tone. Alongside those power players there’s calming rose water and orchid extract which is renowned for its abilities to soothe the skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines and texture. This unique combination means it genuinely works as well for someone with sensitive or dehydrated skin as it does for someone with combination or spot-prone skin—a true feat when it comes to formulating a product.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

When I first swatched the Vieve Skin Nova on the back of my hand I wouldn’t have predicted that this would be a product that would make its way into my daily make-up routine. The packaging itself is delightful—a squeezy tube with a pump dispenser that makes it really easy to get just the right amount of product—but the formula itself is a soft gold colour with an almost iridescent glow. My first impressions were that it would be way too conspicuous when applied all over my face, and I was expecting to come away looking a bit like a glittery disco ball.

However, there is absolutely no hint of sparkle to this product. Instead, it imparts an almost glossy sheen onto skin—evening texture, dialling down redness, and plumping skin as it goes. The result is a complexion that looks so naturally bright and juicy that you might not even want to continue with the rest of your make-up routine. And you don’t have to either. Unlike other primers that I’ve tried in the past, this has none of the sticky texture or tackiness that some primers have to bolster the longevity of the products you apply on top. Skin Nova feels delightfully quenching and hydrating and leaves skin velvety soft to the touch.

THE RESULTS

It’s safe to say that Vieve Skin Nova has a really transformative effect on my skin whenever I apply it. I can be running on no sleep at all and this luminous primer will have the ability to fake a lit-from-within-glow without me having to layer on multiple make-up products. It looks natural, bright and dewy, without ever looking oily or slick. And I love how customisable it is too. Wear it alone or layer over your favourite concealers or foundations—plus, you can even mix it in with your other products to ramp up their glow-boosting abilities. It has become a permanent addition to my make-up bag, whether I’m doing the school run or meeting friends for drinks in the evening. The only issue? It’s so good that I’m going through it like water. So the XL version might be going on my Christmas list this year.