Who uses a face primer?

Artytarty

I have recently been given a tube of Clinique primer. Its not actually called that, but thats what its for apparently.
I need to know if its OK to use mousturiser underneath it or will that defeat the purpose?
Do you find any real benefit from using a primer?
Thanks, Arty.

glowgirl_2

You would normally apply moisturiser underneath but it can take a bit of experimenting depending on what type of primer it is, you may well find it moisturises your skin enough on its own, think of it as an undercoat, its purpose is to do the donkey work instead of your foundation, even out skin, help cover belmishes and make your foundation last longer, you should need less foundation than normal too, you can get primers to do different things such as control oil, tone down redness and add moisture or add a glow:)

Jennifer_Jane

Hi Glowgirl, do you have any favourites at all? I'm thinking of getting one, but unsure where to even start.

Artytarty

Thanks Glowgirl.
I used to have Beauty Flash balm but stopped using it when a Clarins Lady told me that moisturiser underneath stopped it from working proprerly and that on bare skin it has a drying effect. I cant afford that! She said it was really only recommended for occasionaal use.
Hoping the linique one works in a different way.

glowgirl_2

Jennifer_Jane wrote: »

Hi Glowgirl, do you have any favourites at all? I'm thinking of getting one, but unsure where to even start.

I do, depending on what sort of look I'm going for, if I want matte skin you cant beat Milk of Magnesia applied in a thin layer, its whats in all the oil control primers anyway just with added ingredients that you don't need and of course its cheap, if you cant face putting milk of magnesia on your face try No7 oil control in a white tube, its very good and quite good value, its also the only No 7 product I would recommend, both the MoM and No7 are widely used by make up artists, especially the MoM, if you want an inner glow look my fav is Estee Lauder Spotlight, it looks very odd when you put it on, kind of lilac but once its under your foundation it brightens, makes foundation last longer and on a night out you will look better than everyone else at the end of the evening;)unfortunatly EL products give me under the skin spots so I cant use this a lot, a very good alternative and slightly cheaper is MAC strobe cream (EL and MAC are owned by the company) its slightly less glowy but still excellent, I used to use the body shop primer a long time ago just as a base before foundation, this had good coverage but I haven't tried it in a long time so it might of changed and my friend adores Laura Geller primer but I haven't tried this myself, I've also heard excellent reports about Smashbox but again its not one I've tried, I don't have redness problems but a friend of mine does and she uses Laura Geller, it comes in a compact of different coloured primers/concealers so you can mix and match accordingly to your needs - hth:)

glowgirl_2

Artytarty wrote: »

Thanks Glowgirl.
I used to have Beauty Flash balm but stopped using it when a Clarins Lady told me that moisturiser underneath stopped it from working proprerly and that on bare skin it has a drying effect. I cant afford that! She said it was really only recommended for occasionaal use.
Hoping the linique one works in a different way.

Beauty Flash Balm is a tighening product not really a make up primer, its for the days when you have had a late night and you need to look fresh the next day, its not a moisturiser and would dry your skin out with everyday use and also you would get used to the effect and it would appear to not be working anymore and its expensive:( Whats the Clinique one called? and what effect are you hoping for?

geri1965_2

I don't believe in primers. I'm pretty sure they are a made up thing designed to get more money out of people.

glowgirl_2

geri1965 wrote: »

I don't believe in primers. I'm pretty sure they are a made up thing designed to get more money out of people.

I see why you would think that, they are a relatively new product but for people with a problem with their skin they can really help and if you find the right one for you it should mean you use less foundation so you offset the costs (sort of) lots of people with oily skin love MoM as mentioned in the last post which costs less than £2 for a bottle that lasts years (I've had the same one for nearly 3 years and its still in date and working perfectly) my friend with roseacca loves the green Laura Mercier and its made a huge difference to how she feels about herself:)

FabSascha

For me, a primer makes my face make-up last longer as I have incredibly oily skin and it does make a difference. The best one I've tried so far is Mac Prep and Prime which I had a large sample of. Unfortunately I've now run out and as I'm on a 'no buying cosmetics in July' challenge I can't do much about it

I found the L'Oreal one quite good (the one in a tub, not the ones in the tubes) and I found the Smashbox one OK; it's got a reputation for being amazing but I never found it that great. It was good as a base on my eyes though; it stopped the concealer I use under my eyes building up into my fine lines.

stormcloudgathering

I'm a professional make up artist with my own beauty salon and I absolutely swear by Chanel's Blanc de Blanc. It smoothes out any minor imperfections in your complexion allowing the foundation to settle beautifully. It helps the make up to last longer and has microscopic light reflecting particles to give your skin a radiant look. Don't go mad with a foundation over the top of it.

Jennifer_Jane

Wow, thank you all so much. Very, very interesting and thanks for taking the time to give so much info. Amazing.

Thanks