Congratulations! You're getting married or you are in a friends
wedding! Either way, it is going to be a lot of fun, a lot of work,
some stress, and very rewarding. The day of the special event you want
to look as good when the reception is winding down (no easy task after a
glass of wine or five) as you did when the procession music started
playing. I am more than happy to share some tips with you to make your
make-up stay all day and all night! We have previously prepped the skin by exfoliating, and now it is the day of our big event. Next we need to prime the skin, choose all day
wear cosmetics (and ones you will feel comfortable wearing all day),
and set your make-up; Moreover, I'll share some tips from not
accidentally damaging your face during the event to how to remove all of
it in the end.
We have already prepped the skin, so why now prime it? Priming does a number of things. First, it gives your make smooth surface, or canvas, to be applied to and gives everything a "smooth as glass" or "airbrush" finish. Secondly, priming the skin gives your make-up something to adhere; Thereby, significantly increasing its wear. Third, priming your skin prevents your skin from metabolizing your make-up, also significantly increasing the wear of your make-up. Forth, priming helps keep environmental factors (such as 93 degree weather and 100% humidity) from decreasing the length of wear of your make up. Lastly, some primers help to waterproof or provide additional benefits such as minimizing oily shine. With all of this, you can certainly see that priming the skin is an absolute must for event make-up.
There are two primer categories. Primers for face and primers for eyes. I will discuss both.
When do I use a primer? Primers should be applied after your skin care and before any make-up. Additionally, through years of experience being a make-up artist, I can tell you, prime your eyes, do you eye-make-up, then begin priming your face and doing the rest of your make-up. I know this is counter intuitive. We perfect our faces, color our face and lips, and eyes (our focus feature) are our last show-stopping endeavor. Any mistakes or eyeshadow fall-out could significantly increase your make-up application time and may result in you starting all over. Who wants that? So, moral of the story-- prime and do your eyes first, then prime the rest of the face and complete the rest of your
regime.
1. Prep / exfoliate the skin (days before the event)
2. Prime / moisturize/hydrate the eyes
3. Prime/ use eyeshadow primer on the eye area
4. Complete your eye look (excluding mascara application)
5. Prime/ moisturize your skin
6. Prime/ use primer on the skin
7. Complete color application face and lips
8. Set you make-up
9. Mascara application
10. Enjoy your event
What primer should I use? My favorite primer without question is Hourglass' Veil Mineral Primer. I use this on all of my photo shoots and models. Yes, we all have our favorites, and I am not here to dissuade you from yours; However, this primer is so unique, versatile, and cutting-edge it at least merits a look. Why do I love it? Just touch it you'll see. It's the lightest weight primer you'll ever touch. I never thought primers were heavy or had a texture until I used this one. Also, it performs impeccably. It's versatile, it's approved for all skin types and can be used on both the eyes and the face. It's great for sensitive skins and those of us that like to avoid controversial ingredients (it's oil-free, paraben free, phthalate free, sulfate free, fragrance free, gluten free, and vegan friendly). Wow! With all of those "frees" how can this possibly work well. As if that weren't enough this Primer also helps to neutralize redness so your foundation has less work to do. Give it a try, you will love it! Any and all make-up (even powders) becomes water-proof when used above Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer and it comes in both a normal size and a travel size. Please, do yourself a favor and check this product out. http://www.hourglasscosmetics.com/veil-mineral-primer/
If this is not the primer for you let me help you select a good primer for you.
Let us start with eye shadow primers. All of these merit a look, but just about every brand makes a great one.
Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer is light-weight, long wearing, and photography-friendly.
http://www.smashbox.com/product/6031/17797/Eyes/Primer/PHOTO-FINISH-LID-PRIMER/Studio-Artist-Favorite/index.tmpl
Benefit's Stay Don't Stray is light-weight and offers concealer like coverage above and below the
eye. Just be careful, the pump gives you too much product. http://www.benefitcosmetics.com/product/view/stay-dont-stray?ext_id=psad_Ggl_US&ext_id=adaff_qBNKlhsBsB4&siteID=qBNKlhsBsB4-jpfaTEv5YS_Z_uFL21lsMA
Paula Dorf's Eye Primer is hard to find but it's a great heavy duty eye shadow primer that is made
for photographic work and it neutralizes undesirable colors on the eye. You will own this
primer for a VERY long time (a little goes a long way). http://www.pauladorf.com/makeup/eyes/eye-primer
Lancome's Aquatique Nude Eyeshadow Primer is another heavy-duty, concealer-like eye-shadow primer and this one is water-proof. It's been a fan favorite for years. http://www.lancome-usa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-lancome_us-Site/default/Search-Show?cgid=makeup-eyeshadow&start=18&sz=6&bookmark=135920
Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion is a light-weight easy to use eyeshadow primer that comes in colors and in clear. Ulta and Sephora guests and cast members use this as go-to eyeshadow primer. http://www.urbandecay.com/eyeshadow-primer-potion/296,default,pd.html?start=3&cgid=509&q=primer%20potion
Light-weight, high-performance and brand prestige are all part of Chanel's Base Ombre a Paupieres. http://www.chanel.com/en_US/fragrance-beauty/Makeup-Base-BASE-OMBRE-%C3%80-PAUPI%C3%88RES-89187
Comes from nature, long-lasting, light-weight and very professional in performance-- Tarte's Clean Slate 360 degree 12-Hour Smoothing Eye Primer is a mouth-full to say but won't break the bank. http://tartecosmetics.com/tarte-item-clean-slate-360-creaseless-12-hour-smoothing-eye-primer
A decades-old fan favorite. Clinque's touch base. Make sure you close the lid when you are done.
http://www.clinique.com/product/1598/5169/Makeup/Eyeshadows/Touch-Base-for-Eyes/index.tmpl
If you think there are a lot of eyeshadow primers to choose from, Make-Up Primers for the face are a huge financial driver for the cosmetics industry right now. Every Company makes one and every company is vying to be number one in this category. I still suggest using Hourglass' Veil Mineral Primer; However, if you still want to shop for other primers I recommend doing so by your skin type.
Oily skin may want to have a look at these primers to feel comfortable, extend the wear of their makeup, and help minimize shine. Smashbox Photo Finish Light is a light textured 60% water formula and Smashbox has long been regarded for their pioneering of the Primer category. http://www.smashbox.com/product/6038/18506/Face/Primer/PHOTO-FINISH-FOUNDATION-PRIMER-LIGHT/Studio-Artist-Favorite/index.tmpl Cargo's Blu-Ray Mattifier is made for photography and blurs imperfection so makeup is less necessary. It'll also help keep down your shine during your event and is less expensive than other professional primers. http://www.cargocosmetics.com/products/face/blu-ray-mattifier Also look at Urban Decay's Complexion Primer Potion-Pore Refining. It's light-weight. http://www.urbandecay.com/complexion-primer-potion-pore-perfecting-from-urban-decay/336,default,pd.html?start=23&cgid=4 Oily skins used to be able to depend on Lorac's anti-aging Aquaprime; However they just discontinued it. Let's hope their new POREfection not only performs as well as the Aquaprime, but also sets a new standard. http://www.loraccosmetics.com/make-up_porefection-mattifying-face-primer.html
Another popular oil controlling primer is offered by Bare Minerals. Bare Essentials Prime Time Oil Control Foundation Primer can be seen at: http://www.bareescentuals.com/PrimeTime-Oil-Control/US58927,default,pd.html
Normal Skin has a myriad of choices. Of course, you already know my favorite, but ther are other nice ones. If you need color correction, consider Smahbox Photo Finish. There is a whole collection of primers here to help with neutralizing any excessive or undesirable colors of the skin. They are ll made with photographic work kept in mind. http://www.smashbox.com/products/6038/Face/Primer/index.tmpl
If you feel as though you would like your complexion to look younger definitely inspect Peter Thomas Roth's Un-Wrinkle Primer. This primer has Peter's genius Peptide Blend including both repairing peptides and highly-desired-ground-breaking-instant-satisfaction nueropeptides. http://www.peterthomasroth.com/p-132-un-wrinkle-primer.aspx You may want to check out the skin care in this same category. Also, well known for her complexion prowess is Laura Mercier and her fans love her Foundation Primer. http://www.lauramercier.com/store/shop/Designer:%20Emilio_Foundation%20Primer_prod210040
Dry skins are getting more choices in this category all of the time. If you skin is need of serious conditioning try Hourglass No. 28 primer serum. This is a skin-healthy from nature option is also anti-aging and is built with 28 natural skin care powerhouses. Your skin will positively radiate with this within using this primer, and you can use it as your serum at night and also as your hair/skin/nail oil. Heads up Moroccan, Argan, and Marajuka oil fans. I love this on my cuticles. http://www.hourglasscosmetics.com/primer-serum/ Tarte is always a great choice for more sensitive skins. Their Clean Slate Flawless 12 Hour Brightening Primer will feel great on dry or dehydrated skins. http://tartecosmetics.com/tarte-item-clean-slate-flawless-12-hr-brightening-primer If money is no option and you love luxury try Chanel's Base Lumiere Illuminating Make-Up base. http://www.chanel.com/en_US/fragrance-beauty/Makeup-Base-BASE-LUMI%C3%88RE-88638?sku=89666
If your skin is dehydrated than it is dry consider putting water into the skin before priming. Try a few drops of Philosophy's When Hope is Not Enough firming serum. It contains sodium hyluronate a powerful skin healthy ingredient that binds and attracts several hundred times its weight in water. Your skin won't be thirsty and it won't "drink" your make-up to compensate.
Wow! Did I really have that much to say about primers? You can guess this must be a very important step. It's a big event and you want to look your best with minimal effort for as long as possible. First prepping your skin, and then priming will ensure you get the best results for the longest time.
I'm dying to know what you discover and what you think. Please, join the conversation.
Blake Artistry
Professional Make-Up Artistry
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Charleston, West Virginia
www.BlakeArtistry.com
BlakeArtistry@gmail.com
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