Makeup 101: What are Primers? (Eye and Face)

What is an Eye Primer and how does it work?

An eye primer works as a barrier between your eyelids and your eye shadow.  A lot of times your eyelids become oily and cause your eye shadow to breakdown and crease.  Creasing occurs when you can see a thin line of skin between your eye shadow on your lid from natural folds in your eye when you open and close them. Having a thin layer of primer over your eyes before applying your eye shadow can keep your makeup from creasing. An eye primer also keeps your eye shadow colors looking vibrant and fresh throughout your day.  

The price of eye shadow primers can range anywhere from $1.00 - $20.00 depending on where you purchase.  Keep in mind that what works for me may not work for you because the level of oiliness produced by your eyelids are unique to you :P Listed below are eye shadow primers that I have/had and know work for me: 

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance ($18.00 Sephora.com)

- Urban Decay Primer Potion ($19.00 Sephora.com)

- Mac Paint Pots ($16.50 maccosmetics.com)

- E.L.F. Mineral Eye shadow Primer ($3.00 eyeslipsface.com)

- NYX HD Eye shadow base ($7.00 nyxcosmetics.com)

Another eye primer that you can find without ordering online that I have not tried is the Palladio Herbal Eye Primer sold at Sally Beauty Supply stores for $8.00. 

While the cost of an eye primer sounds pretty expensive, purchasing one is worth the investment. They last for a good amount of time (at least three months) and prolong your eye makeup so that you don't have to worry about reapplying throughout the day or doing touch-ups to keep the eyes looking fresh. I apply my makeup in the morning, and I don't touch it again until I am getting ready to go to bed. 

Hard Candy Sheer Envy Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15

This product claims to go on sheer to enhance your natural complexion, while giving you a natural satin finish plus protective SPF15.  This is written right on the back of the tube.  While it does actually perform extremely well as a tinted moisturizer providing a great amount of coverage, this product did not work for me.  

Unfortunately, the ingredients in the tube began separating about a month after I purchased.  As the pictures show below, you can see where the product has become liquidy, watery, clumpy, and crumbly. This is my second tube of this tinted moisturizer because the first one separated just as this one did, but I wanted to give the moisturizer one last chance. 

I'm actually pretty bummed because I did like the feel, wear, and coverage of this tinted moisturizer.  I'm not sure if light exposure, heat, or maybe oxygen in itself getting into the makeup product is what causes the separation...If I try to shake the bottle up, the ingredients seem to mix again, but the application still doesn't go on as smoothly and flawlessly as it did when I first purchased.

Has the separation of ingredients happened to any of you? 

Whitney's Wedding 6/4/2011

I've come such a long way from just watching youtube videos in my free time and practicing my makeup skills on my sweet, forgiving roommates.  Since then, I've been able to do makeup for sorority girls going to socials, models for a local magazine, models for Fashion and Design Student Association's fashion show, and finally...Whitney's Wedding.

I've been good friends with Whitney since freshman year (college) of 2007.  It was an honor for me to get to do her makeup on her big day.  I wanted to share some of the products as well as the work that I did on her already beautiful face :)

Her request was to look very natural--making sure to look polished and radiant!

Don't let anyone ever tell you that high-end makeup is the best makeup.  By high-end, I mean MAC, Urban Decay, Lancome, whatever.  There are hits and misses to every brand...you just need to experiment in order to find what works well for you.  There are plenty of makeup products in the drugstore that are just as good, if not better, than their high end counterparts.

Here is a list of products I used on Whitney's face (both drugstore and higher end):
Face:
- Hard Candy Sheer Envy Face Primer
- Revlon Colorstay Foundation
- Revlon Age Defying Concealer
- MAC's Paint Pot in Coral Crepe (cheeks)
- MAC's Mineralize Sheersheen Powder in Lucent (highlight)
- Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Light

Eyes:
- Wet n Wild brow pencil in Taupe
- Too Faced Shadow Insurance
- Urban Decay Naked Palette
- Maybelline Volume Express Colossal Mascara
- Milani Liquif'eye Eyeliner

Lips:
- Jordana Lipliners in Baby Berry and Sugar Bronze
- Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Life's a Peach