When I told my friend Marcy I was relaunching Shimmerette, she said two things. The first was “Oh good it’s about time you came back, idiot hooker” and the second was “Can you please do a post on primers?”. Well Marcy my sweet little papoose, your wish is my command. Foundation primers are a mysterious and confusing subject to most. There are so many to choose from and they all claim to have all kinds of superpowers. When it comes to my primer, I’m a simple kind of girl. I’m not interested in the bells and whistles (Anti-Aging! Redness Relief! Pore Minimizing!) that so many of them offer. I just want something to “prime” my skin for my shellac of a Lancome Teint Idole. Primers are also a slippery slope, because once you start using one, you can NEVER wear your foundation without one again. (In my opinion, that is.) My foundation feels and looks so much better with one, and lasts so much longer. It is grounds for Warfare if I happen to run out, which I did on a trip back to see my family two summers ago.
“911 what’s your emergency?”
“OH MY GOD I RAN OUT OF MY MAC PRIMER AND I CAN’T GO BUY MORE OH GOD HELP ME WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS SUFFERING WHY GOD WHYYYYYYY” *Amidst sounds of sirens, car alarms, explosions, crying babies and howling wolves*
Primers are seriously THAT important (to me at least). I wanted to highlight a few that I have tried and my opinions on them. Enjoy.
The MAC Prep and Prime is probably the one that I have used the most. I started using it years ago, and everytime I try something new, I always go back to this one once I’m done. It’s a basic primer, slightly on the thick side and not silicone based. I do like it. I like how it comes in a pump, so you can really control how much you want to apply, and I like how you get a good sized amount in each container. It’s nothing exciting, doesn’t have any extra properties and is a basic primer. I thought I loved it. That is, until I tried the next one I’ll talk about. If you prefer not to have a silicone-y primer this is definitely one I’d recommend.
Cover FX Illuminating Primer. To be honest, when I received this primer after doing some product training last year, I wasn’t overly excited. I was used to using my Prep and Prime, and I wasn’t really keen on trying out a different one. But, when I ran out of the tube of Prep and Prime in January, I decided to bust it out. I am SO happy I made that decision. Cover FX is arguably the best primer I have ever used. My makeup looks more or less the same at 11 o’clock at night as it did at 7am when I applied it the same day. It feels so nice on the skin, almost moisturizing. Strobing is something I have been into lately, so I don’t know if it’s the highlighting powder I’ve been using or the “illuminating” effects of the primer but I have noticed my skin have a “dewier” look to it. I’m actually obsessed with this primer and will most likely repurchase when I inevitably run out of it. Highly highly recommended. And it’s not silicone-y either. So so good.
Smashbox Photofinish Primer is probably the most recognizable primer product. It’s super popular and I believe it’s also Smashbox’s highest selling product from their entire line. I used to use this exclusively when I started wearing primers over 10 years ago. I don’t like it. However, that’s because I don’t like silicone based primers. I find them greasy and they almost defeat the purpose of a primer, as the foundation seems to slide off upon application. (For me, anyway). I much prefer the Cover FX or a Prep and Prime, as they are a different texture than this one. The Smashbox Primer line is quite vast and they have different primers for every skin need. (Mattifying, Light, Colour Correcting, etc). I’m not a fan, but they are quite popular with everyone else it seems. To each their own.
Too Faced Hangover Rx Primer. I received a deluxe sample of this little number in a Too Faced limited edition “Try It” set I purchased last year from Sephora. It was a box with five of their most popular products from the line, all in deluxe sample sizes. I thought it was genius, as it’s a great way to try new things without investing in full sized products you may not necessarily like and paying full price for them. (The set was $30 I believe). The Hangover Rx primer was one of those deluxe samples included in the set. I brought it with me when I went to visit my family this past Christmas, as I wanted to minimize the weight of my makeup suitcase (no really….) as much as possible. I liked it, but it didn’t blow me away like Cover FX. It was a simple, very liquid-y and non-silicone based primer that seemed to soak into my skin like a moisturizer. It did the job I guess, as my makeup wasn't melting off my face and was a lot better than the Smashbox one but not nearly as amazing as my beloved Cover FX. Not something I will repurchase again.
I’m already anticipating the sounds of “What? The bitch just said she is obsessed with Cover FX and only wants to use that one now!” when my next statement is revealed. I do have a (short) wishlist of some primers I want to try at some point (soon.) I know, I know. The Cover FX primer is the bomb. But what if there’s something better out there? So the hunt continues. On my travels, I would like to try the Tarte Poreless Perfecting primer as Tarte is rapidly become one of my favourite makeup lines currently. I also would like to pick up the Marc Jacobs Undercover Perfecting Coconut primer. The name just sounds cool. And the VIB Rouge sale is coming soon….
Because you know I can justify anything.
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