New-gen primers are working hard to convert the skeptics.
Adding another step between even a very simple skincare routine and applying your makeup can seem excessive. The benefits of primer, once you’ve found a good one, will be enough to convince you otherwise, but the journey to that point can be frustrating. Ineffective primers can feel thick and paste-like, cause foundation to ball up and pill, or feel oily and slick.
A good one though, is akin to wearing Spanx beneath a slinky dress. It’ll smooth and flatter, keeping everything where it should be, and making anything worn on top look even better than it would alone. Primers really come into their own in warmer weather, when makeup can vanish with the heat, and added SPF works more comfortably than using sunscreen alone.
Primers used to rely heavily on silicone – a ‘polyfiller’ of sorts – the benefit of which is a blurred, Facetune effect on skin that’s hard to beat, but newly released options offer a wider range of solutions from dousing skin with line-plumping hydration to clever pigments that correct colour imbalances like excessive redness or a dull, lacklustre complexion.
