There aren’t many times that I remember to use a makeup primer. I usually wear it if I know I’m going to be wearing a full face of makeup for more than 8+ hours OR on my wedding day. Now, I don’t plan on repeating the latter anytime soon, so that leaves me with the long days! The one thing that I don’t like about primers is that “dimethicone-y feeling”. I understand that silicones are what give me perfectly flawless skin, but I still feel uneasy when I smooth typical primers over my skin. I don’t have particularly large pores to blur, so I really just want a primer that keeps things from budging (Yes, I know that a makeup setting spray can do this too). There are two things that I absolutely LOVE about the new MAKE UP FOR EVER Step Skin Equalizers*($43 CDN/30mL): they FEEL like moisturizers and there are TEN different formulations that can be used alone or in conjunction to make sure your skin’s every concern is addressed.
The Step 1 Skin Equalizers are divided into two categories: Texture and Tone, with five of the primers designed to address issues like oil/shine, large pores, fine lines, dryness and redness and Radiance, with the other five primers aimed at boosting radiance in various skin tones. Here’s where the fun part comes in. Cocktailing! Personally, I never say no to more radiance and hydration which is exactly what the #6 Radiant Primer and #3 Hydrating Primer address. All Skin Equalizers also contain hyaluronic acid that you will often see in skincare to plump skin.
I know that some won’t care for this and neither does the analytical side of my brain, but the fact that these primers are coloured to match their packaging colour is tremendously appealing to the squealing little girl in me. They of course blend away to an invisible finish. I start with #3 for hydration and follow it up with #6 as I prefer radiance as my final step. Both feel so similar to moisturizers with #3 leaving my skin feeling SMOOTH, but I’m not too sure if #6 really makes my skin more radiant. I would like to believe it does! Maybe I smile a little more when I wear these primers?
Final Verdict: I adore how light these primers feel! Even though they still have dimethicone in them, the formulation feels so much lighter than the typical pore-blurring primers. I also like that multiple skin concerns can be addressed with two primers without feeling like I’m overloading my skin before the ACTUAL makeup process has even begun! Do these primers lock my makeup in place? Yes, but I should also add that I don’t have a huge problem with makeup migration. I have been using these in conjunction with a drugstore foundation and I most recently used it starting at 6am all the way until 7pm with a flight in between. My foundation and blush were both still intact so dare I say these Skin Equalizers did their noble priming duty?
Also, today is the last day to enter my MAKE UP FOR EVER Skin Equalizer Giveaway!
MAKE UP FOR EVER Step 1 Skin Equalizers can be found at Sephora, Sephora.com and all MAKE UP FOR EVER Boutiques.
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