NEW Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Primer vs Veil Mineral Primer

Hourglass launched their new Vanish Airbrush Primer, and I was a little bit confused about this because it seems to be targeted towards the same people who love the Veil Mineral Primer – I am one of those people. It has been a holy grail primer for me for a long time. When I was looking at the description of the Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Primer, I couldn’t figure out how it could possibly be different from the Veil Mineral Primer I already use and love. I decided to grab the Vanish Airbrush Primer to compare the two and am sharing the differences I found!

I have years of experience with the Veil Mineral Primer. I’ve been through bottles and bottles, and I’ve been testing the Vanish Airbrush Primer extensively as well, so that I could compare the two. Before I get through the similarities and differences, let’s talk about the prices and sizes available. Both primers are available in a 30ml size for $56. While this is the only size available in the Vanish Airbrush Primer, the Veil Mineral primer comes in two other sizes: travel, 8.95ml size, for $22, as well as the jumbo 60ml tube for $72. Both of these Hourglass primers are vegan and cruelty-free and they have a lot of the same claims, which is why I think there is some confusion.

They both claim to smooth skin texture and give an airbrush soft-focused effect of the skin while minimizing the look of fine lines, pores, and wrinkles. They also claim to enhance the application and look of your makeup, while extending the wear and remaining lightweight. You only need a pea-size amount of each of these for your entire face. That’s one reason why I feel like these are so weightless. Another reason is you massage these into the skin like a lotion, as opposed to a lot of primers where you press them into the skin. You almost apply these like skincare, so that they mesh with your skin. 

Now for the differences: Even though they are both white, there is some difference in the finish and the texture of these primers. The Veil Primer has a milky, cloud-like, kind of whipped airy texture, while the Vanish is a translucent, gel-like lotion. The milky texture of the Veil Primer is designed to conceal redness, rosacea, and even skin tone, whereas within that translucent texture of the Vanish Primer there are microspherical powders that are designed to absorb excess oil for shine control, but without leaving your skin looking flat. Your skin will still have a multi-dimensional look. This is a stark difference from the Veil Mineral primer which has no claims whatsoever regarding shine control, oil control or mattifying. The Veil Primer is called a mineral primer because it has titanium dioxide and zinc in it to give it SPF 15, which if you follow me, you know how I feel about that – such minimal amount of sunscreen when you’re applying a pea-size amount of primer really makes no difference whatsoever, but it’s in there and it’s just fine for sensitive skin. Both of the primers are without fragrance, alcohol, sulfates, or parabens. 

One thing I find completely unique about this Hourglass Veil Primer (something I’ve never found in another primer) is its ability to repel water. I live in a very hot, humid climate here in New Orleans. You can sweat walking to and from your car the majority of the year. I’ve been in some situations where my makeup would have melted away and looked terrible had I not worn this primer underneath my foundation. It has saved my makeup so many times. 

When applying each of these primers, you can see the difference in the finish. Vanish is completely translucent and looks very lotion-y whereas the Veil is milky and kind of disappears when you massage it in. As the primers dried down, I felt like the Vanish had a normal skin finish to it. You could really just see the multi-dimensional look of my skin whereas the Veil just looked kind of mattified – which is kind of the opposite of what you would think since the Vanish claims to be mattifying and the Veil doesn’t. 

For testing these primers, I chose a medium-coverage, glowy foundation that I don’t normally love on my pores and doesn’t typically last a long time on my T-zone if I don’t have a primer underneath. 

I didn’t notice much difference after I applied my foundation, but midday and in natural light, I felt like the Vanish side looked a tad bit smoother, and as the day goes on, the differences start to appear more for me. I feel like you can definitely see that there is more glow and shine on the side I applied the Veil Mineral Primer. On the Vanish side, I feel as though it maintained a more natural finish.

So, with all of that said, you may still be confused about which primer you should go with. 

(Side note: If you have dry skin, Hourglass has a Number 28 primer that is fantastic. My friend who is an amazing makeup artist swears by this primer for her dry skin clients.) 

There are a ton of people with dry skin who do really well with the Hourglass Veil Mineral primer. I think this is a primer that can crossover into various skin types from oily to dry! For me personally, when I do have dry, flaky areas on my skin, I don’t feel as though this primer exacerbates those areas. 

Both of these primers are going to do all of the wonderful things they have in common. If you have the Veil Mineral primer already, and you love its ability to be water-repellant, help during heat + humidity, even out your redness, and how it doesn’t change the finish of the type of foundation you’re wearing, I would definitely recommend sticking with it. 

If you have oily to combination skin and want all of those great things we talked about earlier, but you’re wanting to control that shine you get, the Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Primer would be best for you. 

As someone who was really confused by the need for the Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Primer, I’m really glad I decided to test it out. Personally, I definitely can incorporate both of these primers depending on my needs each day.

If you’re interested in other products that will help you achieve a flawless look, you’ll love my blog on 10 Makeup Products That Give You a Flawless Look!