What Is Makeup Primer and What Does It Do?
Short answer: A makeup primer is the prep product you apply after moisturizer and before foundation. It smooths the skin, minimizes the look of fine lines and pores, helps foundation spread evenly, and keeps your makeup in place longer throughout the day. If your skin is dry, go for a hydrating makeup primer; if it's oily, choose a mattifying one.
Makeup primer is a cosmetic product used as the very first step when you prep your skin for makeup. Any look built on a good base is going to make you happy with the result. The makeup world is full of products like foundation, blush, eyeshadow palettes, lip gloss, and contour palettes. Primer may not be as popular as those, but its impact is huge, which is why we like to call it "the silent hero behind the best makeup looks."
Without a primer, you're leaving out an important part of your routine. Applying foundation to dry, cracked skin won't give you a smooth finish. A primer, on the other hand, smooths your skin and helps the rest of your makeup last longer. That's exactly where the benefits of makeup primer come in.
The Benefits of Using a Makeup Primer
- Long-Lasting Makeup: A primer helps products grip the skin better, so your makeup stays intact all day long.
- Soft, Hydrated Skin: It keeps dry skin from cracking and improves the skin's elasticity.
- A Smooth Skin Feel: By filling in fine lines and pores, it helps foundation spread evenly.
- Evens Out Skin Tone: It helps blur acne marks, redness, and dark spots; paired with foundation, it creates a flawless look.
How to Use a Makeup Primer (Step by Step)
If you want to take your makeup to the next level, this section is a must! Learning how to use a primer the right way will help you get the look you're after and keep your makeup from breaking down for hours. So let's walk through how to use a makeup primer, step by step:
Cleanse and Moisturize Your Skin
There's nothing clean skin can't handle. Not just for primer, but before any makeup application, starting with clean skin is what gives your makeup a smooth finish.
Think about it: who would paint over a canvas that already has a painting on it? Everyone would rather start fresh on a clean canvas. In the same way, for a fresher, healthier look, you should keep your skin clean and always moisturize it.
Apply Your Primer! So How Much Primer Should You Use?
You don't need a lot of product, but if you use too little, it won't be enough. So take a moderate amount on your fingertips, just enough to cover your face. Applying it in small dots helps you distribute it evenly across your whole face. The areas to dot it on are your forehead, chin, nose, and cheeks. You can then blend the primer out with your fingertips, or gently spread it with a makeup sponge. Just keep in mind that a makeup sponge is absorbent, so it's best to blend the primer with a pressing, dabbing motion.
Take a Short Break! Wait a Few Minutes
Moving on to the next products right after applying primer will cause it to lose its effect. For long-lasting makeup, your makeup primer needs to be fully absorbed by the skin, so you'll need to wait a little. This only takes a few minutes. Once the primer has melted into your skin, you can apply whatever products you like.
Time to Apply Foundation
Break's over, your primer has melted into your skin, and it's time for the next step... Following your primer with foundation will take your makeup to a whole new level. Thanks to the smooth feel the primer gives, your foundation will practically glide over your skin. It will also help your foundation stay put, so you can enjoy a flawless look that lasts for hours without breaking down.
When Should You Apply Makeup Primer?
You should apply your primer after your skincare. Everyone's skincare routine is different; some people simply cleanse and moisturize, while others layer several different products one after another. Ultimately, whatever skincare routine you follow... once your skin is clean and hydrated, it's time to apply your primer.
How a Makeup Primer Benefits Your Makeup
Makeup gurus know just how important the base of your makeup is... And since a makeup primer is one of the key products in that base, it brings a lot to your overall look.
- Long-Lasting Makeup: A primer helps products grip the skin better. Since foundation in particular goes on your entire face and gives your skin a smooth look, helping it stay in place keeps your makeup looking the same all day long.
- Soft Skin: Another benefit of primers is that they help balance the skin's moisture. By hydrating the skin, they improve its elasticity. If you have dry skin, you should definitely use one. That way your skin stays hydrated all day and doesn't crack. When you apply your makeup, you won't see any peeling, and you'll keep your skin from flaking.
- A Smooth Skin Feel: A primer helps fill in imperfections. By filling in fine lines and pores, it creates a smooth base, so your foundation and other products spread evenly across your skin.
- Evens Out Skin Tone: Skin imperfections can cause some discoloration. These include acne marks, redness, and dark spots. A primer helps you blur these imperfections. For an even more effective result, apply foundation once the primer has melted into your skin to even out your skin tone and make sure your whole face is the same shade. This will make your makeup look smoother and more flawless. If you don't know your skin tone, check out our post on how to find your skin undertone.
How to Choose the Right Makeup Primer
When you choose the right primer, your makeup will stay looking the way it did the moment you applied it, all day long. So what should you do to choose the right makeup primer?
Know Your Skin Type: Knowing your skin type will help you not only when choosing a primer, but also when using other makeup products to keep your skin looking natural, vibrant, and smooth. There are four different skin types.
Sensitive Skin: If you have sensitive skin, it's very prone to irritation and allergic reactions, so when choosing a primer, look for formulas with natural, soothing ingredients.
Combination Skin: Combination skin has an oilier T-zone while the rest of the face is drier. Primers that combine both mattifying and hydrating properties can be on your shortlist.
Oily Skin: If you have oily skin, you're probably not a fan of the shine. To prevent it, choose primers that absorb oil and have a mattifying effect.
Dry Skin: Deeply hydrating primers will keep dry skin from flaking and peeling.
At What Step Should You Apply Makeup Primer?
Primer goes on in the first stages of your makeup, but of course, you also need to prep your skin before the primer. Let's take a closer look at these steps.
- Clean Skin: Your skin should always be clean before you apply any makeup. It needs to be free of makeup residue; otherwise, applying makeup over that residue makes a smooth finish impossible. You can cleanse your skin with a gel, foam, or cream makeup cleanser, then follow up with a soothing toner.
- Hydrated Skin: After cleansing, it's time to moisturize. Maintaining your skin's moisture balance is important to relieve dryness and keep your skin from flaking and cracking.
- Apply Your Primer!: Your skin is clean and hydrated. Now it's time to apply your primer. But there's one thing to keep in mind: wait for your moisturizer to be absorbed by your skin. After waiting a few minutes, you can apply your primer.
Should You Apply Primer Before Moisturizer?
Moisturizer goes on before primer. After applying your moisturizer, you need to wait for it to be absorbed by your skin. Once it's fully absorbed, you can apply your primer.
Do You Really Need a Primer Before Makeup?
Using a primer depends on your preferences and needs; it isn't a must. It's just that when you use a primer before makeup, application is easier, because the primer creates a smooth feel on your skin. Your makeup lasts longer and keeps its fresh-applied look for hours.
Can Makeup Primer Damage Your Skin?
If you choose a primer that suits your skin type, it won't harm your skin; but if you pick a product without knowing your skin type, your skin may react and you may run into issues you didn't want. For example, if you have dry skin and use a mattifying primer, your skin will dry out even more, and you'll notice cracking and flaking.
At the end of the day, you need to remove your makeup thoroughly. If makeup residue stays on your skin, you might think it's not just the primer but your other products that don't agree with your skin. In reality, going to bed with clean skin should be the final step after every makeup look.
Stay away from primers whose quality you don't trust, whose ingredients you don't know, and whose brand name you have never heard of.
With its trusted reputation, quality formulas, and happy customers, Alix Avien is always here, with its primers and other cosmetics, to help you look more vibrant and radiant!