The Perks of Primer

I don't know about you, but child I do not like to waste my time! And would an artist begin a portrait without a beautiful canvas to stroke, stroke, stroke away on? NO! And neither should you.

Luckily, there's a product available to help save time and perfectly prep your own canvas. That product? Primer. 

Here's why you need it:

Laura Mercier introduced the first makeup primer in 1996 and changed the face of beauty forever (no pun intended). Primers do exactly what their name implies: they prep your skin for foundation, very much the same way you'd prime a wall before you painted it. They not only keep foundation in check, they also increase the longevity of other products like blush and bronzer—ensuring that valuable time you spent getting gorgeous lasts throughout the day. And trust me honey, with the weather warming up, we need the help. We're lucky if we can make it from the house to the car without your face melting off during our Charleston Summers. And note this: some primers come with a silicone base, which helps minimize those damn fine lines that are starting to pop up, hide pesky pores, and add luminosity to your skin.

There are also eye-specific primers. When applied before shadow, they do exactly what a primer does for the face—they keep shadows in place, stop the creasing, and immediately even out skin tone on the lid, allowing for perfect eye shadow application.

My product picks: 

Face primers come in all price ranges and you can get them at the department store and drugstore, so no excuses ladies! My top department store brand is, of course, Laura Mercier Foundation Primer ($30), and at the drugstore I opt for L'Oreal Paris Studio Secrets primer ($5).  

For eye primer, let me give a little shout out to my girl Trish McEvoy ($25), as I feel she has the best eye shadow base on the market. My makeup kit would be heartbroken if it were to ever go away!

How to apply: 

After putting on your moisturizer, take a pea size dab of primer and apply it evenly over your face, then let it set for about a minute before applying your foundation. To save time, I'd suggest get started on your eyes while the primer sets. (But wait—eyes first? Absolutely! Trish McEvoy always taught me the importance of doing your eyes first, since we always end up going back and cleaning up the area after applying shadows.)

If you already use a primer for your face and/or eyes, ladies, you can attest to what I'm talking about here. And if this is something new to you, trust me—adding this extra little step to your makeup regiment will be well worth the money. And at the end of the day, when your makeup looks as fresh as it did when you first applied it, it'll have saved time, too, adding a whole new meaning to the term "saving face!"

Andrew