Don’t you ever wish you could look Facetuned in real life? Get yourself a bottle of Niod Photography Fluid Opacity 12%. It’s like having a makeup artist, digital photographer and Photoshop all rolled into a bottle.
I know, it sounds insane. I picked this baby up on a whim, thinking it’d be just a fun gimmick to try and OMG, I can’t live without it now. I already have good skin, but this brings it to a whole new level. Did I mention it’s INSANE?!
I know, I know, it’s a lot of hype and you’re not used to that here. I’m all about logic and science and busting the hype. But this stuff has blown all other primers out of the park. Here’s what makes it so special:
Key Ingredients In Niod Photography Fluid Opacity 12%: What Makes It Work?
SILICONES TO BLUR OUT IMPERFECTIONS
Hear me out, please. I know silicones have a bad rep, but there’s a reason you’ll find them in every makeup primer. They blur imperfections like nothing else.
It works like this: silicones create a protective barrier on the skin. When the light hits its, they reflect it, giving off a natural glow that blurs out any imperfections in the area. Your large pores, fine lines and any other imperfection is still there. But other people won’t notice them anymore. If not invisible, they’ll look much smaller.
Plus, they do a lot of other cool stuff. The main silicones in NIOD Photography Fluid Opacity 12% are:
Trimethylsiloxysilicate: A silicone resin that creates a non-tacky film over the skin to help makeup last longer.
Hexamethyldisiloxane: A thin and volatile silicone that helps the formula spread easily onto the skin before it evaporates into thin air.
Cyclopentasiloxane: A thin and volatile silicone that makes skin so soft and smooth.
Dimethicone: It fills in fine lines and wrinkles and makes skin silky soft.
But wait, don’t silicones suffocate skin? Nope. Silicones have a particular molecular structure made up of wide molecules with big gaps in between. Your skin can still perspire though these gaps.
Related: The Truth About Silicones: Are They Really Bad For Skin?
MICA AND TITANIUM DIOXIDE TO BRIGHTEN SKIN
Silicones aren’t the only ones that can pull off a trick or two with lights. Niod Photography Fluid Opacity 12% also uses a Nano-Prismatic Blurring Suspension to mask imperfections. That’s a fancy way to call mica and titanium dioxide.
I’m sure you know titanium dioxide. It’s a common UV filter. Mica is a common mineral powder. Here, they do the same job: they reflect light away from dark spots, wrinkles, large pores and co, so it looks like they aren’t there. You can’t see what’s blinded by the light, right?
Related: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Titanium Dioxide In Skincare
Don’t know which skincare products you can mix and match together and which ones deactivate each other? Download your FREE “How To Layer Actives Like A Pro” cheat sheet to get the most out of your skincare products:
The Rest Of The Formula & Ingredients
NOTE: The colours indicate the effectiveness of an ingredient. It is ILLEGAL to put toxic and harmful ingredients in skincare products.
Green: It’s effective, proven to work, and helps the product do the best possible job for your skin.
Yellow: There’s not much proof it works (at least, yet).
Red: What is this doing here?!
Aqua (Water): The main solvent in the product, it helps to dissolve other ingredients. Plus, it provides some hydration, too.
Hylocereus Undatus Fruit Extract: An antioxidant-rich extract derived from white dragon fruit, it helps prevent premature wrinkles.
Cetearyl Isononanoate: An emollient that makes skin softer and smoother.
Propanediol: A type of alcohol that acts as a solvent. It dissolves other ingredients in the formula.
Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil: A lightweight oil that deeply moisturises skin and strengthens the skin’s protective barrier. It’s non-comedogenic.
Ceteareth-20: An emulsifier. It helps the water-based and oil-based ingredients blend together seamlessly.
Cetearyl Alcohol: A fatty alcohol (the good kind!) that moisturises skin and makes it softer and smoother.
Glycerin: A humectant that draws moisture from the air into your skin, keeping it hydrated for longer.
Glyceryl Stearate: An emollient and emulsifier. It makes skin softer and prevents the formula from separating into an oily and a water layers.
Pentylene Glycol: A humectant that attracts and binds water to the skin to keep it hydrated for longer.
Sodium Hyaluronate: A form of Hyaluronic Acid. It attracts and binds up to 1000 times its weight in water for softer and suppler skin.
Fructose: A type of sugar with humectant properties. It attracts and binds water to your skin to increase softness and suppleness.
Glucose: Another type of hydrating sugar.
Maltose: Yep, another sugar with humectant properties to increase skin’s moisture levels.
Trehalose: This is another sugar that attracts and binds water to your skin to make it more hydrated.
Sodium PCA: Another humectant that deeply hydrates skin for a plumper look.
Urea: A humectant that attracts and binds to your skin a truckload of water for instant hydration. It also has mild exfoliating properties. It’s the best thing at treating dry skin and sensitivities.
Sodium Lactate: It boosts hydration and helps regulate the pH of skincare product,
Allantoin: A soothing agent that calms down redness and irritations.
Squalane: A natural oil that strengthens the skin’s protective barrier and moisturises skin without clogging pores.
Polypodium Vulgare Rhizome Extract: A plant extract that, according to the manufacturer, it helps heal skin and delay oxidative stress damage (premature aging). I’m giving it a yellow rating because there’s no other proof it works yet.
Cetraria Islandica Thallus Extract: A lichen that moisturises skin.
Sphagnum Magellanicum Extract: Also called Peat Moss Extract, it moisturises skin.
Solanum Lycopersicum (Tomato) Fruit Extract: A plant extract with antioxidant properties.
Methyl Methacrylate/PEG/PPG-4/3 Methacrylate crosspolymer: It has a soft-focus effect on the skin. It works by diffusing light.
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6: It thickens water-based emulsions.
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose: A film-forming agent.
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer: It helps to enhance the texture of skincare products.
Ceteareth-12: It helps water-based and oil-based ingredients blend together seamlessly, creating a pleasant texture.
Cetyl Palmitate: It enhances the texture of skincare products.
VP/VA Copolymer: It helps to reduce water loss and create a smooth film on your skin.
Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol Crosspolymer: Little, porous spheres that can optically blur fine lines, wrinkles, and pores so they look invisible to the naked eye.
Tin Oxide (CI 77861): It creates a golden hue of the fluid.
Citric Acid: It helps to adjust the pH of the formula.
Sodium Hydroxide: It helps balance the pH of skincare products.
Sodium Chloride: It thickens the texture of skincare products.
Sodium Metabisulfite: It has antioxidant properties.
Benzoic Acid: A preservative that helps extend the shelf life of the product.
Caprylyl Glycol: It hydrates skin and has mild preservative properties.
Phenoxyethanol: A preservative that inhibits the growth of bacteria in your skincare products.
Chlorphenesin: Another preservative that inhibits bacteria contamination and keeps the products safe to use for longer.
Texture
It’s a pale, shimmering gold liquid. Surprisingly, it’s not the easiest to spread on the skin. It works best when your skin has plenty of moisture. Pack on that moisturiser, ladies!
Fragrance
It’s fragrance-free. For me, it’s a plus. Fragrance is the most irritating ingredient found in skincare and makeup products, so it has no place in them. And nope, this doesn’t smell bad.
How To Use It
You can use on its own or mix with your fave primer/foundation. I personally prefer to mix ite, but either way you’ll get a flawless canvas and a glowy finish.
Packaging
The fluid is a little too thick for the dropper bottle and tends to accumulate (and dry out) at the edges. But hey, it’s a small price to pay to look flawless, right?
Performance & Personal Opinion
I tried Niod Photography Fluid Opacity 12% on its own first. Once you’ve got a skincare routine that works for you, you can say goodbye to foundation. On most days, I don’t use it. On it owns, it’s hard to apply. It doesn’t spread easily on the skin and tends to cake a little. If you’ve got any dry patches, this’ll make them look 10x worse.
But OMG, it makes my skin looks amazing. It’s like a highlighter for the face that makes you look radiant. Every time the light hits my face, I positively glow. My pores look invisible. My fines lines, almost. You can’t really notice them that much anymore.
If you’ve got any sallowness or redness, Niod Photography Fluid Opacity 12% will hide those too. But if you’ve got some serious imperfections to hide, like a sprinkle of dark spots on your chin, you need to mix it with your foundation.
Heck, even mixing Niod Photography Fluid Opacity 12% with a tinted moisturizer turns up the coverage a notch or two. Seriously, it’s like wearing a Facetune filter that makes you look flawless from every angle.
Mixing it with foundation or primer makes it much smoother to apply. It glides on easily and doesn’t look cakey here and there anymore. It’s magic in a bottle, I tell you.
P.S. Niod hasn’t forgotten about darker skin tone. The 8% version has a darker hue that’s perfect for you. 🙂
What I Like About Niod Photography Fluid Opacity 12%
It Facetunes your face, you look FLAWLESS.
Fragrance-free.
Can be used alone or mix with foundation/moisturiser.
Gives your skin a lovely glow.
What I DON’T Like About Niod Photography Fluid Opacity 12%
On its own, it’s hard to apply and looks cakey in places.
Fluid tends to dry out at the edges of the bottle.
Who Should Use This?
Anyone who wants to look Facetuned in real life. I’m not even exaggerating. It’s THAT good.
Does Niod Photography Fluid Opacity 12% Live Up To Its Claims?
CLAIM
TRUE?
A novel approach to creating a foundation for skin that reflects even radiance in life and very specifically through the camera lens, this instant treatment is serum-textured but contains a wide array of light refracting prisms, tone and hue correctors and topical photo-finishing technologies to offer even radiance within seconds.
True.
Disappears immediately upon application with a natural golden hue as a foundation to healthy-looking, radiant skin.
Only when mixed with your moisturiser or foundation. Used alone, it can accentuate dry patches.
Price & Availability
£24.00 at Cult Beauty and Niod
The Verdict: Should You Buy It?
Yes! If you want to look Facetuned in real life, this is a must (and I don’t use the word “must” lightly).
Dupes & Alternatives
I don’t know of any dupes for this product.
Aqua (Water), Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Hexamethyldisiloxane, Hylocereus Undatus Fruit Extract, Mica (CI 77019), Cetearyl Isononanoate, Propanediol, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Ceteareth-20, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glyceryl Stearate, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Fructose, Glucose, Maltose, Trehalose, Sodium PCA, Urea, Sodium Lactate, Allantoin, Squalane, Polypodium Vulgare Rhizome Extract, Cetraria Islandica Thallus Extract, Sphagnum Magellanicum Extract, Solanum Lycopersicum (Tomato) Fruit Extract, Methyl Methacrylate/PEG/PPG-4/3 Methacrylate crosspolymer, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Ceteareth-12, Cetyl Palmitate, Dimethicone, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Amodimethicone, VP/VA Copolymer, Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol Crosspolymer, Tin Oxide (CI 77861), Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Metabisulfite, Benzoic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin.
About Gio
Hi, I’m Gio. I’m a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is skin coach and writer on a mission to help you achieve your best skin day ever – every day. I bust skincare myths and debunk marketing jargon to help you figure out what’s worth the splurge and what’s best left on the shelf – using science, not hype. I also offer skincare consultations to help you create the best skincare routine for your unique needs.
