The Primer Edit

Friday, March 8, 2019


I'm shocked by the fact that I've had my blog for over four years and I've never done a post about primers???? Clearly I'm a fraud because I use one every day. Depending on the foundation that's going over it, it can change from day to day. I cringe at the thought of putting foundation on without primer.

With primers still being a familiar concept to some, I'm here to share that they change the game y'all. They can make any foundation you're dying to try WORK without breaking up, sliding off, etc.

Here's the fun part, figuring out which one you need to put in your next Sephora order. Oh, and thank me later.

Two of the first primers I ever tried were the Becca Backlight and Too Faced Hangover. We're talking when they first came out in 2015 I'm pretty sure. Becca brought the glow before the "glo" was the most sought after thing. I don't use it anymore but Becca have made one of my favorite primers of all time, coming up in this post. I'll go into more detail with Hangover too but just know it's been in my rotation since it's birth almost four years ago.


First up are the mattifying primers. I can be a shiny kind of gal and not in the JLO-glow kind of way. Some mattifying primers are hard to work with if you're slapping a mattifying foundation over top. With all that drying technology going on, your foundation might start balling up and rolling away. Not fun. I usually use a mattifying primer when I know I'm wearing a natural finish or hydrating foundation (like Marc Jacobs Shameless or Too Faced Born This Way). I personally own Too Faced's Cooling Matte primer that slicks everything down for a comfort matte finish sans dryness. I usually apply this one to my nose, like most mattifying primers, because some days you could skate across the shine on my nose. Cover FX always do it right with their Mattifying one (and it helps clear acne too).

To me, smoothing and mattifying could almost be interchangeable for what certain ones can do. By that I'd point you to Hourglass's Mineral Veil because it mattifies, smooths, and gives the skin that feel where I just know everything's going to work out. I definitely recommend using around one pump with this one because you can def go OTT with it. Another I continue to eye because I've tried it enough to spend my coins on is Fenty's Pro Filt'r. Y'all...y'all I love this so much. It's smoothing and pore minimizing without drying and it makes your skin look fresh and healthy because of its pink tint!! I feel like this could become my dream primer because I feel like it could work for anyone looking for smooth marble-like skin and to keep their foundations on their faces (and not on the collars of their shirts or god knows where). I think the mini's a better deal because Fenty's bottles are just so darn tall and it's hard to get every last bit out.


Although I'm prone to oiliness, I do own a few drying, mattifying foundations (Fenty's the most drying of them all). So I need a little hydration to prep for my foundations sometimes. Too Faced's Hangover has been one my ride or dies for years and the romance continued when they released a primer/setting spray version of the iconic coconut primer. It's the little shot of hydration I think we all need and it's just fab. The next level in hydration came from one of the best primers Smashbox has ever released: Primerizer. I vaguely remember getting this and wondering how much I was really going to use it. Y'all, I think I've been through one and I'm working on my second one? It's amazing, especially under my Fenty foundation and my Too Faced Peach Perfect because they're the most mattifying and hefty coverage foundations I own.


All of the others aside, we're ready to glow. The glow is out there and everywhere, it's possible people! My go to is a primer that's not a primer. It's glow in a bottle. A usual suspect on my blog and Instagram, Charlotte Tilbury's Flawless Filter  (I have shade 3) is the love of my life that I recommend to everyone. It makes your skin radiate light to make all the hoes jealous. It can also be mixed with foundation or worn on top too, bonus! Becca's First Light has been a favorite and must have for me since it's birth for that soft, sunrise-like glow under foundation. Its purple tone cancels dullness and leaves the skin with a soft glow that makes you look well rested. Sold.

Hopefully you feel better now about understanding and you've added four or five to your cart as you read this. The best part too is that all of these come in minis! Just go on Sephora dot com and it'll give you the size option and viola, you're primed and ready for whatever foundation you wish to cover yourself in. All of my primers have been well loved and tested over the years and any that aren't mentioned in here I either didn't like or just don't feel like deserved a mention. Happy priming!

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