The all-rounders
These bad boys do it all – giving you a smooth base to apply your makeup to and ensure it stays put for longer throughout the day. Lancome’s La Base Pro gives a velvety soft, even finish to the skin that really helps your makeup glide on. It’s a touch heavy on the silicone so avoid if you’ve found that can break you out, but I really love the final finish this gives my makeup. Clinique’s Universal Superprimer is also a great bet for everyday use – it keeps my makeup looking fresh for hours on end. If you prefer an oil-free formula, Diego Dalla Palma’s Face Perfecting Primer is the one to choose - you’ll get a lovely smooth finish with a semi-matte effect.
The hydrators
Dehydrated skin can make even the best of foundations look dreadful, so I find that switching to a more hydrating primer in winter can really help combat the effects of central heating and the English weather. Dermalogica’s new HydraBlur primer really sinks into the skin, plumping out fine lines and leaving it feeling super soft with a semi-matte finish. You do have to use a little more than you might with other primers, but it’s well worth it! Smashbox’s new Primer Oil is an interesting concept – it’s definitely the first oil primer I’ve tried! Apply a few drops about 5 minutes prior to doing your makeup and it gives dehydrated skin a much needed moisture boost as well as helping your makeup stay put throughout the day.
Slightly ruddy cheeks are the bane of my life, so I’m rarely without a colour correcting primer on standby. My eternal favourite has to be Dermalogica’s Redness Relief Primer as it doesn’t give off that hideous green tinge so many anti-redness primers do, but I’ve been giving Clinique’s Colour Correcting Redness Primer a try and also find it really good. Instead of the usual green tone (which traditionally balances out the red), they’ve used yellow pigments to soften the appearance of redness in the skin. Be careful not to use too much as it can give an unnatural yellow tinge if you slap it on like I did the first time, but used in small amounts it’s a dream. They also have correcting primers for dullness, discolouration and sallowness, so there’s a solution for virtually everything!
The glow-givers
A glowy base is always a winner in my books and I was so impressed with Lancome’s La Base Hydra Pro that I almost didn’t bother with foundation on top. It has a very slight sheen to it, giving your skin a wonderful, ethereal glow to it – just use it with a liquid foundation to ensure you get the best results. Too Faced’s new Hangover primer is great if you’ve overdone it the night before (or just haven’t slept very well!) as it has a brightening effect on the skin. It includes coconut water to help hydrate and revive and is also silicone-free, so definitely one to try if you prefer to avoid silicone-based products.
What are your favourite high end primers?
*contains PR samples
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