Primer. Hmmm…. generally I don’t wear it. I am currently obsessed with stick or cream or pan foundation so I feel like I don’t need it. Even when I wore liquid or mineral make up I didn’t wear it. I don’t have very large pores, and the surface of my skin is pretty good. The more that I blog, research and investigate products however, the more I am being persuaded that perhaps a primer is a good idea.
I received thirty millilitre sample size in the Liberty’s Ultimate Beauty Gift last year and I have been using the Laura Mercier Foundation Primer. For many this is THE foundation primer of choice so I thought it would be a good place to start. The primer is in a pinky / beige tube and when you squeeze it out, the primer is a similar colour. It has a gel texture which feels cool on the skin. You need a small amount as a little goes a long way. It does not leave a residue on the skin and dries to a matte finish which is not sticky or tacky.
I have been using this primer two ways. Under my NARS powder foundation, and under my cosmetics a la carte custom blend liquid foundation. I have normal combination skin and whilst I get a ‘glow’ by lunchtime I am generally not an oily person. However, I found that when I used the primer under the powder foundation that I got oily quite quickly. I know that I can be heavy handed with product so I varied the amount I used, how I applied it (with a foundation brush vs with my hands) but I have found consistently that I have looked oily earlier then I would without the product.
Under liquid foundation I had a better result. My face did not get my lunchtime glow til mid afternoon and my foundation looked fresh after eight hours. I also tried it with my Bobbi Brown stick foundation and a sample of the Clinique Even Better compact foundation and my foundation seemed to slide off a bit.
So, I am not fully convinced about primers – the market is flooded with them so there are lots more to try. If you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them.