The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly... Primers!
Obvious foundation streaks, noticeable pores, redness around the nose.
You can help eliminate all these little problems with a good face primer! Makeup primers are crucial at keeping oil at bay while filling in fine lines and providing a smooth canvas for your foundation to stick. Here are a few tips to help choose the best one for you:
· Skin tone: Primers come in different hues to address specific skin concerns. Green-colored primers will combat redness from rosacea or acne. Mauve/light purple counteracts sallow undertones while pink helps brighten complexions. If you are lucky enough to have normal skin stick to a clear face primer.
· Skin type: First, figure out whether your skin type is oily, dry or combination. Then choose a primer that is suited for those needs.
Once you've got the right formula, apply the primer after you moisturize. It's basically like waterproofing your skin! If you apply it before your day cream or sunscreen, those water-based products can't penetrate through to reach your skin. If you apply the primer on after, your skin can absorb your moisturizer before the primer forms a slick film on top of it.
Here are a few that I have used. Some I love, some not so much. But keep in mind what doesn't work for me might work for you; anything that I write about are just my opinions.
I LOVE the Laura Mercier Foundation Primer. As you can see I have the sample size but I really love it. It's a water based formula (which is great for normal to dry skin), plus it's loaded with vitamins A, C, and E. It retails for $32.00 for a full size bottle (1.75 oz). Its on the pricier side but I have to say every Laura Mercier product I have tried is amazing. The products are worth the price.
Next we have the Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer. This is a silicone based product. As you can see I have two; a clear and a blue tinted one. The clear is basically for any skin type, the blue is for dry skin. They also carry a green tinted one that minimizes redness; a purple tinted one that acts as a color balance for yellow skintones; and an apricot that conceals under eye circles, veins and sunspots.
They offer three different sizes on the regular primer, the hydrating, and the green color corrector. The small (0.4 oz) retails for $10, the regular size (1 oz). retails for $36, and the color correctors in full size (the green, purple and apricot) are a little more retailing at $38.00. I have only used the regular and the hydrating but I plan on getting the green and purple for my kit.
The Sephora Matifiante Foundation Primer was a sample I got quite a while ago and I am really sad because they no longer make it. This primer was PERFECT when I was working on someone with combination/oily skin. I am on the hunt for a new one! Makeup Forever has one but it's fairly expensive- $47.00. I will keep you informed if I end up picking that little guy up!
Onto the drugstore primers!
First up is the Cover Girl TruMagic Skin Perfector. I actually picked this up while I was home for Christmas and it got lost in the shuffle of unpacking clothes & gifts. I have used it a handful of times on myself and once on a client. It's not my favorite primer. It doesn't really fill in the pores and lines as well as I was hoping it would. This would a good primer for a young women that doesn't have heavy pores or fine lines. For me it just didn't go a great job. It just kind of slid around on my face, and I could still see my pores even once my foundation was on and blended in. It retails on Ulta for $10.99 but Target is selling it for $6.99. Ulta is usually a little more expensive but they offer lots of sales that Target or Walmart do not. For example their Cover Girl items are buy one get one 50% off. Might be worth it if you have a few products you need to get.
Lastly is the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser. I am really loving this product! This is a silicone based product and I would say it's pretty comparable to the Smashbox product at a third of the cost. It blends in easily, covers my pores and softly blurs the fine lines around my eyes. It retails for $6.99. But be cautious when applying, using too much could give you more of a greasy appearance.
You can help eliminate all these little problems with a good face primer! Makeup primers are crucial at keeping oil at bay while filling in fine lines and providing a smooth canvas for your foundation to stick. Here are a few tips to help choose the best one for you:
· Skin tone: Primers come in different hues to address specific skin concerns. Green-colored primers will combat redness from rosacea or acne. Mauve/light purple counteracts sallow undertones while pink helps brighten complexions. If you are lucky enough to have normal skin stick to a clear face primer.
· Skin type: First, figure out whether your skin type is oily, dry or combination. Then choose a primer that is suited for those needs.
Once you've got the right formula, apply the primer after you moisturize. It's basically like waterproofing your skin! If you apply it before your day cream or sunscreen, those water-based products can't penetrate through to reach your skin. If you apply the primer on after, your skin can absorb your moisturizer before the primer forms a slick film on top of it.
Here are a few that I have used. Some I love, some not so much. But keep in mind what doesn't work for me might work for you; anything that I write about are just my opinions.
I LOVE the Laura Mercier Foundation Primer. As you can see I have the sample size but I really love it. It's a water based formula (which is great for normal to dry skin), plus it's loaded with vitamins A, C, and E. It retails for $32.00 for a full size bottle (1.75 oz). Its on the pricier side but I have to say every Laura Mercier product I have tried is amazing. The products are worth the price.
Next we have the Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer. This is a silicone based product. As you can see I have two; a clear and a blue tinted one. The clear is basically for any skin type, the blue is for dry skin. They also carry a green tinted one that minimizes redness; a purple tinted one that acts as a color balance for yellow skintones; and an apricot that conceals under eye circles, veins and sunspots.They offer three different sizes on the regular primer, the hydrating, and the green color corrector. The small (0.4 oz) retails for $10, the regular size (1 oz). retails for $36, and the color correctors in full size (the green, purple and apricot) are a little more retailing at $38.00. I have only used the regular and the hydrating but I plan on getting the green and purple for my kit.
The Sephora Matifiante Foundation Primer was a sample I got quite a while ago and I am really sad because they no longer make it. This primer was PERFECT when I was working on someone with combination/oily skin. I am on the hunt for a new one! Makeup Forever has one but it's fairly expensive- $47.00. I will keep you informed if I end up picking that little guy up!
Onto the drugstore primers!
First up is the Cover Girl TruMagic Skin Perfector. I actually picked this up while I was home for Christmas and it got lost in the shuffle of unpacking clothes & gifts. I have used it a handful of times on myself and once on a client. It's not my favorite primer. It doesn't really fill in the pores and lines as well as I was hoping it would. This would a good primer for a young women that doesn't have heavy pores or fine lines. For me it just didn't go a great job. It just kind of slid around on my face, and I could still see my pores even once my foundation was on and blended in. It retails on Ulta for $10.99 but Target is selling it for $6.99. Ulta is usually a little more expensive but they offer lots of sales that Target or Walmart do not. For example their Cover Girl items are buy one get one 50% off. Might be worth it if you have a few products you need to get.
Lastly is the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser. I am really loving this product! This is a silicone based product and I would say it's pretty comparable to the Smashbox product at a third of the cost. It blends in easily, covers my pores and softly blurs the fine lines around my eyes. It retails for $6.99. But be cautious when applying, using too much could give you more of a greasy appearance.
Do you use a primer? Or do you prefer to wear your foundation alone? Please feel free to share!!!! I love to hear from my readers!
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