Category Archives: Primer

Makeup Before and After: Saylee, Alison Raffaele, and Smashbox

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Here’s gorgeous bride-to-be Saylee making my job as easy as it gets. For her wedding she wants a soft romantic look to match her fairytale caliber gown. She didn’t need much, just the basics- shimmer shadow, black liner, and pops of color to her lips and cheeks. Today I’ll highlight a few standouts that I recently started carrying in my kit and I don’t know how I ever did without them.

It’s just an ‘after’ since I forgot to snap a ‘before.’ It happens.


Click to enlarge

Hero Products Used:

Primer: Miracle Skin Transformer. Her skin is in great shape so I just wanted some light moisture and to even out her tone before her light foundation application.

Concealer: Alison Raffaele’s Concealer is as good as you’ve heard. This cult favorite is light with tons of natural looking pigment which works beautifully for both dark circles and blemishes. It’s also paraben free and without mineral oil and talc so it doesn’t slide or dry the skin making it perfect for both everyday use and photography. It’s truly one of the best concealers around.

Luminizer: Alison Raffaele Luminizer in Yellow which gives light and dimension to the face without any sort of shimmer. It’s a grown up highlighter and a worthwhile extra step for those who are serious about great looking skin. I find myself grabbing for it now instead of the highlighter I’ve used for years since it’s more versatile and photographs beautifully.

Eyes: Smashbox Limitless 15 Hour Wear Cream Shadow is a new classic. If you want your shadow to stay on all day, you have to layer powder shadows with a cream like this one. It’s really light which makes layering easy, and the long wearing formula intensifies and keeps shadow fresh hour after hour even on the oiliest lids. I used Topaz, a pinky neutral which I’ve found works great under any shadow, or even on its own.

I can’t come to your house to get you glammed up everyday, but you can use what the pros do to make your beauty routine easier and longer wearing.

Miracle Skin Transformer

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If you’ve asked me for a concealer recomendation in the past few months, I’ve told you to high tail it into Sephora and grab Miracle Skin Transformer’s because it’s among the best I’ve ever used. I actually bought it and would again- both for me and my kit. It’s no surprise that their Miracle Skin Transformer (MST) for the face is just as stellar.

The all-in-one ease of MST for the face makes it perfect for both the girl who loves a good pre-foundation primer and she who wants great looking skin just by rubbing something on before heading out the door. It can be used as a primer if you want to build a little more coverage with foundation on top, but its true brilliance is how it gives that blurry effect to the skin so pores look smaller, discolorations fade away, and you have a really good look to your skin whether it’s used as a first or only step. It’s touted as a 5-in-1 for hydration, mattifying, SPF 20, priming, and perfecting – basically it makes the skin look and feel great. I’ve used it under mineral foundation, regular foundation, and on its own. It enhances whatever I use and just makes the skin look better. If nothing else, it’s my lazy makeup/SPF solution for the days when a full routine proves to be too much.

Hourglass No 28 Primer Serum

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Primers are eveolving. There’s a big all-in-one trend combining skincare principals to makeup right now (hello BB Creams) so some primers aren’t just layer of silicone anymore. I’ve tried a few really great ones lately that I was going to lump together for a hot new primer post, but they’re so impressive that I think they deserve shout outs all their own. Up first is No 28 Primer Serum $68 from Hourglass which I find to be more skincare that just happens to also prime the skin for makeup. It’s infused with essential and plant oils along with vitamins so it can even be used as a skin treatment at night sans makeup, perfect if you like the feeling of a weightless slip to the skin.

It does provide a plenty of reinforcement for a long lasting foundation wear time and gives the skin a more refined look and feel. It’s a really unique serum that isn’t greasy or heavy – it has been pretty awesome as my new go-to primer in my kit lately. If you’re as serious about the look and condition of your skin as you are your overall makeup routine, you have to check this one out.

Vapour Organic Beauty Stratus Instant Skin Perfector

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Don’t be confused by the stick applicator, just think of it as a makeup primer/skin perfector with a hint of moisture. Infused with 70% certified organic ingredients and 30% vitamins and natural pigments, it’s the first naturally sourced primer that I can actually use in my kit because it gives a professional result as soon as it touches the skin. Use it as a quick primer under makeup, or because of its soft focus pigments that blur pores and imperfections, as a perfector in place of foundation so your skin looks really great without adding color. Great for for hitting the gym or for days when you just don’t have the energy for a full face of makeup, which for me is admittedly most days.

It comes in 3 very subtle skin tone balancing shades, but the one I have is 903 the yellow-based one that I’ve used successfully on all skin types. The carry less of a ‘color’ and more of a ‘tone’ that’s so slight that the yellow cast disappeared immediately.

I especially love it for crow’s feet pre-makeup to blur out fine lines and give a good base that makeup doesn’t settle into. For a while my go-to for this was L’Oreal Studio Secrets but I honestly get a better result with Stratus not to mention how much better I feel about using a chemical-free formula.

I also found that if you rub a little onto your finger tips, you can press it on top of areas where your foudation looks heavy or chalky to help it warm into the skin a’la Mercier’s Secret Finish.

Check out Stratus and all things Vapour HERE.

Atopalm Daytime Undermakeup Moisture Cream

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If Atopalm is good enough for the seasoned Makeup Artists who I saw using the stuff on model’s parched, overworked faces backstage at fashion week, it’s way good enough for you. Don’t take their word for it though, you can also browse the gazillian reviews on sites like Dermstore to see that people go wild for their moisturizers that perfectly prime the skin for makeup. As you can imagine, I was psyched to get a sample of their new Daytime Undermakeup Moisture Cream to see if it could stand up to the hype I’ve been giving it in my own head. Thankfully, it does.

There’s nothing too sexy about it – no big price tag, glittery presentation or sweet smell – just a fantastic light cream without parabens to calm and soothe even the most sensitive skin. Don’t let the undermakeup thing throw you off either, it balances the skin and holds in moisture so foundation blends beautifully but it’s completely fine for use at night as well. I found it to be one of the most neutral moisturizers I’ve ever felt on my skin, meaning my skin just felt like skin – not slippery or shiny or tacky, just the way it should without all the crazy stuff we tend slather on top that disguises our natural skin’s texture.

I like it and I like the price ($18). I think this and their best-selling original will be my new go-to moisturizers for my kit since they’re calming and suitable for all skin types.

Atopalm Daytime Undermakeup Moisture Cream found at Dermstore, Skinstore, and Atopalm.com

Cover FX Skinprep Primer

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Mixed in with this super sheer silicone-based primer are skin hydrators so it can replace the need for a morning moisturizer, or add additional hydration to thirsty skin. It’s a primer with a feel unlike most; not greasy or heavy, with a slight slip to give foundation something to hang on to leaving skin hydrated and balanced. It’s a fantastic primer for dryer skins to encourage a longer foundation wear time. At $45, Skinprep is a bit of an investment, but it’s more of a grown up primer for those whose skin isn’t automatically perfect without a little bit of help.