Makeup Basics - Lesson 2

Lesson 2 - Priming the face

"Face Primer" is the second step after the moisturizer.

What is a Face Primer?

Face primer is basically a product which is a base coat to apply beneath foundation. These do number of good things for makeup application like minimizing pores, mattifying , smoothening skin texture, fills in lines and wrinkles , and may also help with staying power of the foundation.

Benefits Attached with Face Primer

Face Primers seems to be a magical product with array of benefits attached to it. Prominently,

Oil control,
Pore Minimizing,
Brightening,
Adding to staying power of foundation,
Color correction,
Moisturizing, etc.

I’ll not get into details as they are pretty self-explanatory. There are many Primers available catering to couple of these benefits. You need to choose primer with benefits you want according to your skin.

How to Apply Primer?

It can be applied from sponge, brush or fingers. Really doesn’t make much of a difference on what technique you apply. I prefer using fingers as it melts primer into the skin well. And leave for product to dry up before starting with next step.

If applying with brush, moisten the brush prior using primer.

Do Primers work and are they absolute necessary?

There is a high buzz about Primers in market, but do they really work and are they necessary? Yes, they work to an extent.

A good primer will control excessive oiliness.
Smoothening skin claims are the best kept claims of products in this category. A primer really evens out the skin texture for a perfect foundation application.
Pore minimizing claims are not outrageous but there are very few primers which actually work upto this claim. Few Primers reduce the appearance of pores but not exactly make them disappear.
Primers do extend the life of foundation on face if you have very oily skin and you use an oil control primer. Otherwise it is completely unnecessary.
Brightening primers are having a peachy tint in them these can cancel out some uneven pigmentation but not completely. Unless you have a very perfect skin and you don’t require a concealer then these primers can be beneficial.
Color Correction Primers, I just have one word for these - Avoid. If you really need color correction go for a color corrector concealer, which will give much better results.

So in short, Primers can work for some people and not work for some. From my point of view primers are only needed when:

You have excessive oily skin and foundation separates after couple of hours.
Your day (time of wearing makeup) is very long to about 8-12 hrs. If less, a good foundation has an average staying power of 5-7 hr so this step is completely unnecessary.
You want to wear mineral makeup. Yes, I totally recommend wearing a primer before you wear mineral powder foundations. Primer will help them cling better on your skin and increase their staying power.
You are a bride. Here we don’t wanna take chances. Primer is a must for bridal makeup.
You have a photo shoot.

Other than the above stated points I don’t feel that primer is an absolute must. A good foundation has a decent staying power and most of us can get away with foundation itself.

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