Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm Primer

YouTube is responsible for so many beauty trends and a handful of fads too; for every great video teaching us how to blend seamlessly, there is a snippet of less useful content - the 100 layers of product challenges being the current "what-the-expletive-am-I-watching" moment. However if it wasn't for such unconventional beauty videos, I wouldn't have as much as looked at a bottle of Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm - let alone applied it to my face in place of a primer. Feel free to correct me but I believe this was a Nikki Tutorials discovery? If not, to whomever it was that first decided to think outside of the box - thank you.

Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm Primer
Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm Primer

To look at Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm, you'd be forgiven for assuming it is nothing special - the bland packaging doesn't exactly hint that the product will do much more than cool, and if you are lucky maybe soothe the skin too - but my goodness is this an oily skin savior wasted on shave burn (I think... I mean I've never shaved my face so I'm not really equipped to throw around my opinion). Look beyond the large, bulky white bottle and you may just find the answer to long-wearing make-up, and all for less than £5.

The first thing that impressed me about Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm is that there is zero, zilch, nada, alcohol within the light, slightly silken textured formulation; this equates to no burn and in my experience no general irritation (more on this below). As this is aimed at cooling, calming and soothing the skin after shaving, it is rather refreshing to apply and ideal on warm days. I would also go as far as stating that Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm is ever so slightly moisturising which in theory should mean that dry complexions can also benefit from application. 

Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm Primer
Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm Primer

As great as all of the above may be, it is going to take a lot more than a cooling lotion to sway me from my beloved array of facial primers. On one particularly warm - and dare I say greasy - day, I decided to really put Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm to the test; if it could hold my foundation in place and offer some sort of oil control, I would be convinced and never doubt strangers on the internet again (lol jk). 

I must stress that as wonderful as Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm is at firmly locking make-up in place - I liken it to a gel-come-cream version of Urban Decay's All Nighter Spray - this does not blur fine lines or enlarged pores. Yes, Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm will cool, nourish and offer a little oil control but it's real selling point is that anything applied on top, simply does not budge - rain, shine or sweat, this balm has got your back. I also rather like that as it is a skincare product, opposed to a silicone based primer this does not clog my pores, nor cause breakouts even with continued use. My only real grumble is the fragrance, it is very much what you'd expect from a male targeted product and sometimes, despite it being aimed at sensitive complexions it does have a slight sting especially when applied to freshly washed skin. 

Scent woes aside, this is probably the best non-primer-primer I have ever used, and at just £2.63 a bottle (usually £5.29/100ml), you can most likely afford to try this admittedly weird beauty discovery out for yourself.

Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm £2.63/100ml via Superdrug - link.