What kind of primer?

Aug 3, 2014

Manuela G.

What it means to match your primer to foundation usually lays in the idea of if (it's usually is) the primer is silicone based so should your foundation instead of it being water based and vise versa, there are a lot of people who prefer to mix and match

Silicon based primer is used for filling of pores, fine lines and giving your face a feel of slick canvas for foundation
Keep in mind that too much silicon on the skin might cause the foundation to wear off faster, or get oily if you're prone to oil on the face even if primer does act as a prolonging tool

For the most part that's the ideal way to wear foundation and primer but those are some of the mishaps

Aug 3, 2014

Abby S.

Oh. I'm still slightly confused...I was looking at Smashbox primers and Too Faced primers. How would I know if it's silicone based vs. water based etc.?

Aug 3, 2014

Becky J.

You can tell by looking at the ingredients, the most prominent ingredient will be listed first.

Or you can just feel them. Silicone primers feel much more gel like and personally I sometimes find them slightly greasy feeling. They are usually a bit thicker too. While waterbased ones usually look an feel thinner.

Smashbox is silicone based, as is the benefit porefessional and maybelline's babyskin. And for waterbased the nars oil free primer is a nice one.

You definitely don't need a primer though, if your foundation is holding up well without one then it's not the end of the world if you skip it. Moisturiser is often enough to prime the skin for foundation.