Are face Primers really necessary? Or is it just another way of Makeup companies trying get more money from us?
Well that's a long title!!
but I think its a question that needs to be addressed. I remember over 20 years ago when I first started in this industry.. primers were not really used by everyday women. if at all they were used for TV and theater because of the extreme lighting and heat generated from them. But as we the consumer have been asking for high performance products, cosmetic companies have had to step up their game.
So what is a face primer?
Face primer is a clear gel, liquid or cream put on the face prior to applying foundation and/or powder. It fills pores, smooths the skin and helps foundation adhere better and last longer.
www.answers.com/Q/what_is_a_face_primer
Well for those of us who used to wear makeup before primers were mainstream its a dream come true! I remember when I started working for Bobbi Brown cosmetic in 2001 in London, the only way to prep and prime the skin was a skin moisteriser. Depending on your skin type it would determine the type of moisturizer you would apply. That was used as a barrier and for the foundation to adhere to. But we makeup consumers have become savvy with our cosmetics and have higher demands of our products and expect better results than we did say 10 years ago.
So we welcome the primer and believe its not just a gimmick but is truly needed in our makeup bags!
We in Africa probably need primers even more so because of our extreme climate and weather conditions. If it wasn't for primers LAWD HELP US!!
So what primer is for you??
Did you know that there are 3 types of primers? If you search hard enough you will find 3 groups. But on the surface people only discuss 2 types but I will expand on all 3. If you choose to use a primer please bear in mind the type of foundation you will also need to use. Why do I say this? I say this because if the formulation of your primer does not work well with the formulation of your foundation, then it defeats the purpose of applying both product, the ingredients of the primer and the foundation will work against each other and you will look a hot mess!!!!
Primer types
1) WATER BASED PRIMER
2) SILICONE BASED PRIMER
3) ALCOHOL BASED PRIMER
Lets start in how to determine the type of primer we may be using. Lets do a little Cosmetic Science here lol!😅
By law, all cosmetic products must have an ingredient list on the packaging or the box it came in. When a product is being formulated all the ingredients in the list must add up to total of 100%. The first product seen on the list is the highest amount in percentage in the whole formulation. As you move to the next ingredient the amount of that ingredient reduces and so on and so forth. So the last ingredient in the list has the least amount of ingredient in the formulation. I hope your not lost people✌👀 Good!!
So going back the types of Primers. For water based primers you should look for such products that state oil free or the ingredient list starts with AQUA or WATER.
Such primers are light, liquidly primers that just sink into the skin and disappear. An oil free foundation be it liquid or cream to powder will work with such a primer and not repel or work against each other. Check out these below for example..
Silicone
So the silicone family is probably the base that's got us all excited. Why? well with the silicone bases we can get water-resistant, sweat resistant, long lasting, 24 hour, smoothing, blurring claims. When you see a cosmetic product hailing and claiming such words for their product then you know that silicone is the main base.
What are silicones? They are polymers that give out unique properties and benefits to cosmetic products. They can give he illusion of smoothness to the skin, fillers to the skin, moisturize the skin and make the skin look and feel conditioned. One of its famous properties is that it is water resistant. So with an ingredient such as silicones the make up world has been revolutionized.
Take a look at your ingredient list again. if your list on the first and second line has any ingredient ending in CONE such as DIMETHICONE,CYCLOMETHICONE OR SILOXANE such as CYCLOPENTASILOXANE you have a silicone base product.
Don't get it twisted though chicks, a lot of cosmetic products contain silicones but if its higher up in the list it then shows that there is a large amount of silicone in the product therefore its a silicone based primer. Remember ladies if your going for the silicone based primer for smoothing, blurring, long lasting, filling gaps, conditioning, water proof effects please make sure your foundation is also of a silicone base. But there is an exception to one of the silicone ingredients. If your primer is made of a high amount of Dimethicone you can use both water and silicone based foundations because Dimethicone is the only silicone that dissolves in water, all other silicone are water proof.
We will touch on foundations on my next post.
Her are some examples of silicone primers available
Alcohol
Finally the Alcohol based primers. The alcohol based primers are available from the professional makeup artist shops because they are predominately used in Theater and Television. They are extremely strong products and should be used by professionals. The objective of the alcohol base is to dry the skin out, minimize pores, reduce sweating as much as possible and make the foundation stick to the skin until your ready to take it off. To be honest for special occasions, TV, fashion shows and Theater this is perfect. But for everyday it can take its toll on your skin. But if you have a good skin regime I would recommend this primer for our extreme African weather
Both water and silicone based foundations will work with alcohol based primers too.
So going back to the initial question? Are primers really necessary??
HELL YES! Especially for us ladies based in Africa its so needed for us to keep slaying through out the day .If you were in 2 minds about going for a face primer don't be. Just know what your going for and compliment it with a good foundation.
Enjoy ladies and I hope you learnt a little something here.
until next time.
Chow Africa xoxo
So what is a face primer?
Face primer is a clear gel, liquid or cream put on the face prior to applying foundation and/or powder. It fills pores, smooths the skin and helps foundation adhere better and last longer.
www.answers.com/Q/what_is_a_face_primer
Well for those of us who used to wear makeup before primers were mainstream its a dream come true! I remember when I started working for Bobbi Brown cosmetic in 2001 in London, the only way to prep and prime the skin was a skin moisteriser. Depending on your skin type it would determine the type of moisturizer you would apply. That was used as a barrier and for the foundation to adhere to. But we makeup consumers have become savvy with our cosmetics and have higher demands of our products and expect better results than we did say 10 years ago.
So we welcome the primer and believe its not just a gimmick but is truly needed in our makeup bags!
We in Africa probably need primers even more so because of our extreme climate and weather conditions. If it wasn't for primers LAWD HELP US!!
So what primer is for you??
Did you know that there are 3 types of primers? If you search hard enough you will find 3 groups. But on the surface people only discuss 2 types but I will expand on all 3. If you choose to use a primer please bear in mind the type of foundation you will also need to use. Why do I say this? I say this because if the formulation of your primer does not work well with the formulation of your foundation, then it defeats the purpose of applying both product, the ingredients of the primer and the foundation will work against each other and you will look a hot mess!!!!
Primer types
1) WATER BASED PRIMER
2) SILICONE BASED PRIMER
3) ALCOHOL BASED PRIMER
Lets start in how to determine the type of primer we may be using. Lets do a little Cosmetic Science here lol!😅
By law, all cosmetic products must have an ingredient list on the packaging or the box it came in. When a product is being formulated all the ingredients in the list must add up to total of 100%. The first product seen on the list is the highest amount in percentage in the whole formulation. As you move to the next ingredient the amount of that ingredient reduces and so on and so forth. So the last ingredient in the list has the least amount of ingredient in the formulation. I hope your not lost people✌👀 Good!!
For example the image above had a list of ingredients. Water is the first ingredient listed this show
that water is the highest amount of ingredient placed in this product.
Such primers are light, liquidly primers that just sink into the skin and disappear. An oil free foundation be it liquid or cream to powder will work with such a primer and not repel or work against each other. Check out these below for example..
 |
| WONDERFUL SKINDINAVIA PRIMER |
 |
| MAC PREP AND PRIME |
Silicone
So the silicone family is probably the base that's got us all excited. Why? well with the silicone bases we can get water-resistant, sweat resistant, long lasting, 24 hour, smoothing, blurring claims. When you see a cosmetic product hailing and claiming such words for their product then you know that silicone is the main base.
What are silicones? They are polymers that give out unique properties and benefits to cosmetic products. They can give he illusion of smoothness to the skin, fillers to the skin, moisturize the skin and make the skin look and feel conditioned. One of its famous properties is that it is water resistant. So with an ingredient such as silicones the make up world has been revolutionized.
Take a look at your ingredient list again. if your list on the first and second line has any ingredient ending in CONE such as DIMETHICONE,CYCLOMETHICONE OR SILOXANE such as CYCLOPENTASILOXANE you have a silicone base product.
Don't get it twisted though chicks, a lot of cosmetic products contain silicones but if its higher up in the list it then shows that there is a large amount of silicone in the product therefore its a silicone based primer. Remember ladies if your going for the silicone based primer for smoothing, blurring, long lasting, filling gaps, conditioning, water proof effects please make sure your foundation is also of a silicone base. But there is an exception to one of the silicone ingredients. If your primer is made of a high amount of Dimethicone you can use both water and silicone based foundations because Dimethicone is the only silicone that dissolves in water, all other silicone are water proof.
We will touch on foundations on my next post.
Her are some examples of silicone primers available
 |
| Silicone based with Dimethicone |
 |
| does exactly what it says because of the silicone properties of filling in large pores to allow the foundation to look smoother on the skin |
Alcohol
Finally the Alcohol based primers. The alcohol based primers are available from the professional makeup artist shops because they are predominately used in Theater and Television. They are extremely strong products and should be used by professionals. The objective of the alcohol base is to dry the skin out, minimize pores, reduce sweating as much as possible and make the foundation stick to the skin until your ready to take it off. To be honest for special occasions, TV, fashion shows and Theater this is perfect. But for everyday it can take its toll on your skin. But if you have a good skin regime I would recommend this primer for our extreme African weather
Both water and silicone based foundations will work with alcohol based primers too.
So going back to the initial question? Are primers really necessary??
HELL YES! Especially for us ladies based in Africa its so needed for us to keep slaying through out the day .If you were in 2 minds about going for a face primer don't be. Just know what your going for and compliment it with a good foundation.
Enjoy ladies and I hope you learnt a little something here.
until next time.
Chow Africa xoxo
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