Leading K-beauty brand AmorePacific launched the Primera Skin Care brand through an exclusive partnership with Sephora in June of 2019. In Korea, the Primera brand offers an extensive array of products, including skin care, hair care, and even baby products. However, the US launch will only include skin care products, with a total of 24 products in the line.
The name Primera combines the words ‘prime’ and era’ to mean the era of prime. The brand is dedicated to achieving healthy beauty by delivering the ‘prime energy’ the moment a seed sprouts and is at peak vitality. According to AmorePacific, Primera’s germinated ingredients have been developed and completed through studying the germination of about 500 different types of seeds across the world and Primera’s germination technology, which is the essence of its research. Primera focuses on the moment of germination when the vitality and nutrients of a seed peak during its entire lifetime, holding the nutrients of the healthy soil within. It attempts to deliver the energy of nature’s germination through its products.
Key products
Below we’ll discuss four of the key products in the Primera Skin Care line and how they may benefit your skin.
Primera Alpine Berry Water Cream is a dewy face cream designed for those with dryness, dullness, and uneven texture. It absorbs quickly without feeling the least bit greasy, and can be used daily (both in the morning and in the evening).
Primera Miracle Seed Essence is a concentrated essence that is said to help visibly smooth texture, improve tone, increase hydration, and protect from environmental stressors at the same time. It is for all skin types and is recommended to be used before serums and creams to prep the skin for better absorption of ingredients.
Primera Clean Berry Lip Mask is a leave-on lip mask that is said to help cushion, soothe, and protect with a natural mix of conditioning butters and extracts. It can be applied overnight or any time the lips feel dry.
Primera Mild Facial Peeling Gel is a pH-balancing gel formula that gently removes makeup and impurities. It is formulated to improve texture by gently exfoliating dry, dull surface cells and polishing skin, leaving it feeling soft, silky, and hydrated. This product can be used two to three times per week.
Key formulation
All of Primera’s skin care products are formulated with some type of plant or fruit seeds, as you can probably tell from each product’s name. Let’s dive into the formulation details for the key products mentioned above.
Primera Alpine Berry Water Cream is formulated with an Alpine Berry Complex, a potent blend of wild strawberry sprouts with natural moisturizing factors known to survive in the harsh Alpine region, and antioxidant-rich blackberries to deliver intense hydration and radiance, while helping protect skin against environmental factors. This cream also includes Artemisia Princeps (mugwort) leaf water, which is valued in Korea as a healing herb for its antibacterial, anti-fungal, and skin-protective properties. One thing to note is that the Alpine Berry Water Cream contains cocoa seed butter, which is very moisturizing but it is known to be comedogenic. This means that it can clog pores and cause acne breakouts.
Primera Miracle Seed Essence contains a high concentration of Nelumbo nucifera (lotus) germ extract, which helps increase hydration and defend against environmental factors. This essence also contains a high concentration of niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3 that plays a vital role in cellular metabolism. Niacinamide also has the ability to repair the skin barrier and improve skin moisture, as well as reduce inflammation, blotchiness, hyperpigmentation, acne, and wrinkling
Although Primera products are marketed as natural and are said to deliver the ‘prime energy’ the moment a seed sprouts, we’d like to point out that many of their products contain numerous synthetic ingredients. This is especially true for the Primera Clean Berry Lip Mask. Some of the main ingredients in this mask include synthetic wax, polybutene, hydrogenated polyisobutene, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, and bis-diglyceryl polyacyladipate-2. There are definitely some naturally-derived ingredients in the Primera Clean Berry Lip Mask, such as candelilla wax, shea butter, and carnauba wax, but they are used in lower concentrations than the synthetic ingredients. While synthetic does not necessarily mean these ingredients are toxic or harmful, we just wanted to point this out since Primera is conveyed as a “natural” skin care brand.
Primera Mild Facial Peeling Gel contains several types of surfactants, both natural and synthetic. A surfactant molecule contains one end that is hydrophilic (attracted to water) and one end that is lipophilic (attracted to oil). This allows surfactants to attract and suspends oils, dirt, and other impurities that have accumulated on the skin and wash them away, leaving the skin clean. We expected to see alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) or fruit enzymes in this formula since it is said to exfoliate the skin, however, neither of these types of ingredients are present. Primera Mild Facial Peeling Gel really lacks ingredients that will truly exfoliate the skin. Of note, this formula contains a high concentration of synthetic fragrance. Fragrance/Parfum is typically near the end of the ingredient list, however, it is the 6th ingredient in Primera Mild Facial Peeling Gel. In fact, there is more fragrance used in this product than the “key” ingredients broccoli extract and neem extract. Fragrance is well known to cause sensitization and skin irritation.
References: APGroup.com “Primera”, Allure.com “AmorePacific’s Primera Skin-Care Brand Is Launching at Sephora This Summer” May 2019
