Foundation Primer: The Miracle Product That Actually Works

The first time I ever tried foundation primer I was idly wandering through my local drugstore waiting to meet someone. I saw a clear bottle and, wondering how a clear product could be a cosmetic, squirted a bit onto the back of my hand. I rubbed it in as I read the product description. It promised to give me lasting smoothness to create a perfect canvas for my foundation. The back of my hand certainly felt smooth, but I wasn't sure how long it would last. Two hours later when my chronically dry hand was still super smooth, I bought my first bottle of foundation primer.

Why do you need a foundation primer to make your skin smooth if you're already using a cream to hydrate your skin? Well, because you're skin still has a texture (pores, fine lines, scars, etc), and no amount of washing, scrubbing and moisturizing is going to get ride of that. There is nothing wrong with your skin having a texture, but it does mean that when you put on make up, it will settle into all the tiny lines and crevices, which can make your foundation look uneven. By using a foundation primer fills in all the lines and crevices making a smooth canvas for your foundation. I introduced a friend of mine to foundation primer recently and she described the effect like this: without the primer you can see that I am wearing foundation, with the primer it looks like I have nothing on.

The first one I happened upon and the brand that is still my favourite is Smashbox Photo Finish. other companies make similar products, including Lancome's La Base Pro, and Revlon's Beyond Natural Smoothing Primer. However, for my money, I'd choose the Smashbox one, any day. The consistency of the others is more watery and less effective at smoothing out the skin. Although Smashbox is not the cheapest option, the price difference is not great enough, in my opinion, to justify buying the inferior products. If you're going to go for a foundation primer, save up the extra few dollars and splurge on the Smashbox, you'll be glad you did.

Smashbox Photo Finish comes in a variety of options. There's the original, a light version, and a variety of colour correction options. There is a very helpful video which can help you determine which option is best for you. Personally I started with the original and I loved it, several of my friends with more acne prone skin have opted for the light version and found they prefer it.

Recently I purchased the green colour correction primer, not because I had a sudden urge to look like the wicked witch of the west, but to help compensate for the red in my skin tone, especially in my cheeks. With this green primer I get the same great smoothness and a reduction in my red colouring. The only disadvantage I have found with this is the packaging. The packaging of the original has been fixed, but as far as I know all the other varieties still suffer from the same issue. The primer comes in a glass container with a pump top, however, because of the consistency of the foundation, much of it becomes stuck on the sides of the container and is hard to get out. Other than packaging issues though, I have have no complaints, and I whole heartedly encourage everyone to try it.