A primer to amp your look

A hint of colour, a touch of sparkle and loads of magic now comes in a bottle of primer. It smooths on like a gentle caress, holds on like a jealous paramour and lifts the skin to a new level of exciting light and colour.

A skin primer, works in many ways like its paint variant. Just like you would use a paint primer to cover the cracks on the wall and offer a base for the varnish to glide on, this make up wizard cuts through your flaws, repairs unsightly blemishes and gives you the kind of impeccable beauty, you believed existed only in the glossies.

Wide variety

There are primers for the face and niche primers for the eyelids, eyelashes, nails, lips and even the hair. There are special primers for men too. Today, the newest buzz in the beauty world is the arrival of the fragrance primer. As the latest product in the bouquet, the perfume primer creates a vapour barrier that reportedly prevents the scent from blending with your own unique body chemistry. It enhances the fragrance ever so subtly and allows it to linger on your skin all day long.

A skin primer is essentially, a make-up product that aims at making the rest of your make-up products last longer. It fills pores, reduces fine lines, covers blemishes, hides dark spots and makes the skin look more healthy and radiant. And though it might mean adding many more tubes and bottles to your regular arsenal of cosmetics, fashionistas believe that primers are like pearls of great price.

Each primer offers a different function. A nail primer would prevent your nails from chipping, an eyelash primer would allow for thicker lashes while a skin primer would hold on to your creams, base, blush and face powder for much longer.

Make-up artists swear by the primer, but they advise against using it indiscriminately. Says Gauri Kapur, make-up artist and founder of her eponymous beauty academy, “A primer has to be used under your foundation and it acts as a barrier between your skin and everything else that you plan to use. However, as artists, we always study the skin before deciding on the kind of primer we plan to use. If a client has clear skin, we know that he or she only needs a moisturiser as a base. But if a person has problem skin, open pores or an uneven skin tone, a strong primer is a must.”

According to Gauri, a good primer does not come cheap. “My favourite primer costs between Rs 6,000-Rs. 7,000 and it is truly excellent,” she says. “But don’t go and buy any primer in the stores. Take time to consult with an expert on your skin type, know the right primer that you need for your unique problems and then as a next step, find a foundation that is compatible with it.”

Unlike the BB creams and CC creams that are lighter cosmetics, the primer is stronger and sturdier, and yet strangely, not thicker in formulation. The best primers are so light and can be smoothed onto the face so easily that adding make-up seems like a breeze. As Zarina Nissar, make-up artist and image consultant says, “A good primer holds your foundation or base for a whole day, adds a glow to the skin and acts like a platform for other products. In my opinion, a lip primer is a must because many women in our country do not take care of their lips. You need to begin with a lip scrub, add a primer and you will be surprised at how good your lips look all day.”

So, the next time you go shopping for make up, don’t skip the purchase of a primer. It is a beauty wardrobe essential, that can amp up your look and take you many steps down the road of flawless beauty.