Tati Westbrook’s Primer: What You Need to Know About the Tightenyl Formula She Loves

You know her. You follow her. You love her. Tati Westbrook is a makeup influencing icon, and for good reason. Tati Westbrook (also known as @glamlifeguru on Instagram and just Tati on YouTube) is a former image consultant turned professional makeup-artist, who, for the past 14 years, has been dishing out unboxings, unfiltered and unbiased product reviews, and gotta-know beauty tips and secrets to the masses. She came up in the golden age of YouTube makeup tutorials (think the Michelle Phan and Manny MUAs of the world…), so needless to say, she knows a thing or two about absolutely essential makeup and skincare.

One of those much-loved products she’s raved about ever since we launched it is none other than our favorite primer—the ReEvolve Radiance Locking Primer, a silicone-free formula made with vegetable squalane and hyaluronic acid to lock in moisture and grip makeup all day long—which Tati now uses for all her makeup looks no matter what, thanks to her in depth primer experiment.

Tati Westbrook’s Primer Experiment: Which Primer Performs Best?

“I wanted to see which primer actually performed best,” Westbrook says in her video, Which Wore Best…3 Day Wear Test!. “All 3 of these primers are hyped up. And I definitely have things to say because the makeup definitely wore differently each day, and I’m excited to tell you guys what I discovered.”

She tested 3 primers: The Beauty Blender BOOST™ Firming & Smoothing Peptide Primer, the RMS Beauty ReEvolve Radiance Locking Primer (or what she calls the hydrating gel gripping primer from RMS Beauty), and the Peter Thomas Roth Instant FirmX No-Filter Line Reducing Filter Primer, which she says she keeps seeing on Instagram and TikTok.

The way she tested each primer was simple: she did the exact same makeup routine, with the exact same skincare routine, every single day for 3 days. The only thing she changed was which makeup primer she used. If this isn’t investigative journalism, we don’t know what is.

On day 3, she tested our RMS primer. “Yesterday, we were a little dry…”, Tati says of the Peter Thomas Roth Primer. “So I’m so curious, now that we’re in this kind of experiment, to see if the primer makes all the difference with how my beloved foundation wears. I just have a good feeling.”

The Winner: The RMS ReEvolve Radiance Locking Primer

Tati was obsessed with our RMS Foundation, the ReEvolve Natural Finish Liquid Foundation, when we launched it, and the first thing she commented on with our clean makeup primer was the pump and dispenser, which is refillable and the same component as our clean foundation.

“I love that this comes in a pump, and I love the dispenser, and I love that you can purchase refills! You don’t need much,” Tati says of our RMS Primer. “It has a kind of sticky, grippy, tacky texture, which is nice, because you know it’s just going to grab the foundation and magnetize it to the face. And I’m a little bit shocked by that, because there are some very hydrating elements to the ingredient list.”
She goes on to say that, “eight and a half hours later it’s been hot, humid, and I’m so surprised that my makeup is not on the floor, because normally I would be much more oily. I’m sure you can guess, but drumroll please, I love this GEM of a product, the RMS makeup primer, which was the underdog.”

She says the primer isn’t luminizing her face with mica, which many brands use to make you think your skin is more hydrated than it is. In fact, it’s hydrating, luminizing, and gripping her makeup for up to 8 hours, thanks to our skin-loving ingredient combo: hyaluronic acid, eggplant fruit extract, Vegetable Squalane, and “their trademark Tightenyl—well, Tightenyl, tighten me right up!”

What is Tightenyl?

The Powerhouse Ingredient

Tightenyl, also known as a combination of Disodium Acetyl Glucosamine Phosphate, Sodium Glucuronate, and Magnesium Sulfate, is a cutting-edge, skin-loving ingredient derived from biotechnology research to scientifically firm, tighten, tone, and smooth the skin.

This patented skin matrix bio-lifter works by creating connections between the hyaluronic acid in your skin and in the product and the elastic fibers and collagen molecules in your skin, weaving the fibrous cellular structure together.

Think of it almost like a net; our patented, trademarked Tightenyl essentially brings together looser strings of the net, tightening it so it has more bounce and firmness. The result is tighter, firmer, more hydrated skin.

Why Do I Need Tightenyl?

There are a ton of benefits to our Tightenyl formula, but we’ve laid the three main ones out for you here.

It’s an Alternative Retinol
Retinol is a form of Vitamin A, and is prescribed by dermatologists or available over the counter in creams, lotions, or gels. It’s clinically proven to help resurface the skin, remove buildup of dead skin cells, firm, and penetrate the middle layer of the dermis to help fight free radicals and reduce the look of fine lines, wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation.

It Smooths
We love retinol because it does all of those things, but oftentimes, it can be harsh or irritating to the skin, especially if you have sensitive skin. Since this is a natural alternative to retinol, it works in a similar way, smoothing the skin, removing dead skin cell build up, and allowing for a prepped, plumped base for makeup and more. You wouldn’t want to use this natural alternative to retinol instead of Retinol for skincare, but it’s great as a skin-loving, skincare-infused makeup base.

It Firms & Tones
That skin-firming matrix we were talking about really takes the cake here. As we age, our skin’s cellular matrix—the connective tissue, collagen, and more—that holds our skin together loses its tension. Tightenyl is a skincare superpower that firms, tones, and tightens, without the harshness of retinol.

Products with Tightenyl in Them

We can’t get enough of the skin-firming stuff, and that’s why we’ve put it in two of our absolute favorite face products—the ReEvolve Radiance Locking Primer and the ReEvolve Natural Finish Liquid Foundation.

ReEvolve Radiance Locking Primer

Our silicone-free formula is made with vegetable squalane and hyaluronic acid to lock in moisture and grip makeup all day long. And thanks to its infusion of Tightenyl, it’s ultra-nourishing and skin-loving, so we love using it as a moisturizer without makeup or under any makeup look to smooth and filter.

You can apply it however you like—whether it’s with our Skin2Skin Beauty Sponge or your fingers.

ReEvolve Natural Finish Liquid Foundation

Our silicone-free, skincare infused daily wear liquid foundation is power-packed, delivering a smooth, long-lasting medium coverage with a satin, natural finish that hydrates, firms, and softens thanks to advanced Tightenyl™, moisture-rich vegetable squalane, soothing organic aloe, and our signature rms adaptogenic herbal blend bottled up in an innovative, refillable package.

A little goes a long way with this, so our founder Rose-Marie suggests applying it by putting a pump on the back of your hand and applying with our Skin2Skin Beauty Sponge.

Ready for a Nourished Look?

Whatever look you’re going for, our Tightenyl™-infused primer is the absolute best. So, if you want a look like Tati Westbrook’s, and you’re ready for a dewy face that’s prepped, primed, and ready for anything, pick up our Tightenyl™-infused primer. We promise, you will not regret it.