Question: What is a Foundation Primer? And Do I Need it?
Answer: Just like you prime a wall before you paint it, you can prime your face before you apply foundation. Primers are a relatively new concept in the makeup industry (they became popular in the last couple years) and you'll notice they've popped up everywhere. They actually work much like a moisturizer under your foundation does: they ease the application of foundation and are meant to create a barrier between foundation and skin.
Makeup artists swear primers go one step further than moisturizers: They'll even out skin tone, help your makeup stay on longer and absorb oil with salicylic acid.
Other benefits, according to Laura Mercier:
1. They allow foundation to "stay put" in hot weather.
2. Help prevent skin from absorbing talc and pigment from your foundation as well as preventing talc from drawing oil from the skin.
3. They contain botanicals such as lavender, orange, jasmine, rose, geranium, grape, kiwi and aloe extracts to soothe and refresh the skin.
If you don't want the added step of a primer to your beauty routine, you can slather on moisturizer before makeup application, says Linda Wells, Allure's beauty editor, in her book 'Confessions of a Beauty Editor.'
Great primers include:
Laura Mercier's Foundation Primer ($30)
Paula Dorf Perfect Primer ($30)
CoverGirl Outlast Liquid Makeup ($9) at drugstores
For a larger list of primers of all prices, check out
Makeup artists swear primers go one step further than moisturizers: They'll even out skin tone, help your makeup stay on longer and absorb oil with salicylic acid.
Other benefits, according to Laura Mercier:
1. They allow foundation to "stay put" in hot weather.
2. Help prevent skin from absorbing talc and pigment from your foundation as well as preventing talc from drawing oil from the skin.
3. They contain botanicals such as lavender, orange, jasmine, rose, geranium, grape, kiwi and aloe extracts to soothe and refresh the skin.
If you don't want the added step of a primer to your beauty routine, you can slather on moisturizer before makeup application, says Linda Wells, Allure's beauty editor, in her book 'Confessions of a Beauty Editor.'
Great primers include:
Laura Mercier's Foundation Primer ($30)
Paula Dorf Perfect Primer ($30)
CoverGirl Outlast Liquid Makeup ($9) at drugstores
For a larger list of primers of all prices, check out
