Makeup Chronicles • Beauty Basics: It's "Prime" Time!

Beauty Basics: It’s “Prime” Time!

I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about eye makeup and foundation lately and more often than not, my first thought is:

“They must not be using a primer.”

What’s so great about primers?

So funny you should ask :] In my opinion, primers are key to making any look the best it can be. Think about if you needed to paint a room in your house. What’s the first thing your typically do? Lay down a primer. Same principle applies…just with makeup :]

Primers help to do the following:

They give you a good canvas. Primers are going to fill in any fine lines and help make the area your applying makeup to nice and even. Some primers can also help to even out your skin tone a bit.
They give your makeup something to stick to. Now, I don’t mean that primers are super sticky on your face, but they will give the makeup you’re applying something to adhere to, which in turn will help your makeup last MUCH longer than it would on it’s own.
They provide a barrier between your face and your makeup. I’m not saying that primers are going to help clear your skin or anything, but since they fill in any uneven areas on your face, they are going to help keep makeup from really seeping into your pores.
They help to keep your skin moisturized. What I mean by this, is primers help to lock in your skins moisture so that your face won’t dry out over time. This may not be the case for EVERY primer, but those a typically mattifying primers which are meant to remove the excess oil from your skin but can sometimes take out a bit of the moisture as well.

Types of Primers.

There are really two types of primers: face and eye. They have different types of formulas, but their end goal is still the same…making your makeup last.

Choosing the Right Primer.

Picking the perfect primer for you is really going to depend on your skin’s chemistry.So ask yourself the following question:

“Do I have dry, normal, combination, oily, or sensitive skin?”

The answer to that question will help guide your in choosing the right primer for you. I’m going to talk through each skin type and then provide a face and eye primer that will work best for you.

I have dry skin.

Well, if you have dry skin, you’re going to want to help look for something that is going to help hydrate your skin as much as possible. You’ll want to look for something that has a lotion type feel to it for the face. For the eyes, look for something that’s creamy.

Stay away from any primers that claim to be mattifying. The point of those primers is to help to draw excess oil and moisture from your skin. If you have dry skin, a primer that is mattifying can lead to your skin appearing flaky…not what you want.

Face primer(s) for dry skin:

1. Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Foundation Primer

2. Laura Geller Spackle Under Makeup Primer

Eye primer(s) for dry skin:

1. Mally Eye Essentials Perfect Prep Eye Primer

2. Benefit Lemon Aid Color Correcting Eyelid Primer

I have normal skin.

Well aren’t you just lucky :] You can look for a primer that’s more suited for what look you’re really going for. You can try a hydrating formula is you want your skin to stay nice and dewy, or you could go for a mattifying primer if you really want your skin to stay nice and matte.

Face primer(s) for normal skin:

1. Makeup Forever HD Microperfecting Primer

2. Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Primer

3. Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

Eye primer(s) for normal skin:

1. MAC Paint Pots

2. Too Faced Shadow Insurance

3. Urban Decay Primer Potion

I have combination or oily skin.

The key to your skin is going to be helping control any excess oil you might get. Your going to want to look for primers that help to mattify the face. For eye primers, look for ones that will dry to a matte finish.

More often than not, when you have oily or combination skin, you’ll have larger pores. Try and find primers that help to minimize the size of your pores.

Also, look for primers that are oil-free.

Face primer(s) for oily/combination skin:

1. Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light