This Cooling Primer Feels Like Actual Ice On Your Face

As my emotions begin their turbulent approach into yet another New York City winter, it becomes more and more difficult for me to imagine ever enjoying anything cold. I can barely walk by a Dairy Queen without being consumed by dread, terrified of all the chilly mixtures that lie within. The refrigerator aisle at the grocery store becomes an apocalyptic hellscape. When my friends ask for ice water at brunch, I momentarily question why I ever made the decision to trust them.

However, my December to April aversion to all things chilly somehow does not extend to the Origins Original Skin Pore Perfecting Cooling Primer — in fact, I plan to use this brand new frigid formula all winter long.

The product was conceived as a skin-optimizing solution to an age-old beauty secret: Rubbing ice on your ski. For years, skin care experts (including scientists, dermatologists, and my own grandma) claimed that the practice minimized pores, soothed inflammation, and increased circulation. The Original Skin Pore Perfecting Cooling Primer is ice cold upon contact with your skin and provides a soothing, skin-calming base layer for your makeup. The formula is so cold, in fact, that the first application feels a bit jarring. Once I saw how effectively it minimized the appearance of my pores, the shock instantly wore off. In fact, the entire process of application is ultimately so soothing, it's actually a bit addictive — I found myself wanting the chill to last forever, just because it felt so damn good.

Original Skin™ Pore Perfecting Cooling Primer, $32, Sephora

With that kind of ice cold efficacy, I was curious to know what, exactly, is in the formula. According to the brand, the product has several potent ingredients that work together to create #UltimatePrimerGoals, including Canadian Willowherb, pink rock rose, and cold water algae complex. Those things, combined with what the brand refer's to as "Origins cooling technology," create a frosty little bottle of pink mousse that balances the skin, lightly tints, and yes, feels like an ice cube getting spread all over your face. You can wear the primer alone or under makeup — I've tried it both ways, and was impressed with the results each time.

The Original Skin Pore Perfecting Cooling Primer is the newest product in the Origins Original Skin™ collection, which also includes Original Skin Matte Moisturizer (another holy grail product for me), Original Skin Renewal Serum, Original Skin Retexturing Mask with Rose Clay, and Original Skin Essence Lotion With Dual Ferment Complex. The commonality that all of these products share is the Canadian Willowherb — according to research from the brand, this plant is highly resilient and "the first plant to bloom after forest fires." Due to its resiliency, the complex boosts resilience in the skin. Further studies of the plant also show that it can act as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.

The Original Skin Pore Perfecting Cooling Primer is available starting on December 12, at both Sephora and Origins. The product hasn't totally changed my views on this whole winter situation — I still plan to avoid Dairy Queen at all costs and glare and my suspect AF friends who eat cold salads and drink ice water in February. However, the results that this product provides have opened my mind to the prospect of a chilly mug — just on my face, though. You can keep the ice cold beer until May.