The Product: Prime Time

What is a primer? This is probably the question that the majority of women want answered the most when it comes to make up. From my experience, primers are a product you use before applying your foundation or eyeshadow, in order to prep the skin and create a barrier between the skin and your make up. 

Skin Primers:

Primers for your base are a great way to even out your skin tone and create a flawless base for your foundation to sit upon. There are many different types, and while you don't necessarily need a primer, I think they are a good idea to keep your make up lasting all day, especially in hot weather. I use an array of primers (as you can tell) depending on how my skin is feeling at the time. If it is feeling rather tight and in need of hydration, the Nivea Daily Essentials Express Hydration Primer is great for  adding extra moisture and smoothing out the skin before applying foundation. However, this is a bit too heavy for when my skin is mid breakout, or rather oily. The Body Shop Tea Tree Pore Minimiser is the perfect primer for blemished skin, as the tea tree elements soothe and fight any spots or breakouts the occur. Benefit's Porefessional is also great for this, as, like the title suggests, it acts to even out pores and create a silky base. However, this is not the best if your skin is too dry, as I found it tends to flake a little and cling to any dry patches - but its perfect for combination/oily skin types. My favourite ever primer is the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer. Smashbox have an infamous collection of primers for all skin types and dilemmas, but my favourite has, and always will be, the original Photo Finish. It glides on to the skin, creating a silky and soft effect, which acts as the perfect base for any foundation. My only problem is, that at £25 for a full sized bottle, it doesn't come cheap when being worn every day.

Eye Primers: 

Eye primers effectively work in the exact same way as skin primers. They enhance your eyeshadow and keep it lasting all day (and all night). My favourite primer for under my eyeshadow is the Urban Decay Primer Potion, which goes on the lid to create an invisible base on which shadows can sit, crease free, for an entire day. I love this primer, especially teamed with the Urban Decay shadows (I'm a huge fan of their Naked palettes). I also love the offering from Benefit - Stay Don't Stray, which can be used under the eyes to keep your concealer lasting, as well as on the lid to enhance the shadow colour. BareMinerals' Prime Time is another great eye primer, and only the tiniest amount is needed to blend onto the lids and keep any colour in place. I've had my bottle for well over a year now, and it is still going strong! This BellaPierre primer originally came as a base for their accompanying pigments, which I got in a set last year. However after testing it out, I found that it works equally as well under normal powder shadows to create a lasting matte effect - its also waterproof, which is always a bonus!

So there we have it! My take on all things primer-y. What primer do you use? Is there any great primers that I need to add to my collection?

Love
Meg xx