Prepping Your Skin for Makeup

Okay ladies, do we have our skin care?Annnnnnnd? Are we using it? I am going to go ahead and faith in you and believe that you are doing the right thing.

So, now we can move on to my life long love… Make-up!!! Actually, I fibbed, we are starting with Primer!!!

Alright, so we have prepared our “canvas”. Whats next? Well, primer is next. Now technically, as a Las Vegas Makeup Artist I don’t think of primer as “make-up”, but since it is not skin care, we are putting it in the “make-up” category.

Primer….what is it, exactly? Well, using primer is a way to help even out the skin’s surface to give you a smoother surface to apply your foundation to. It can also diffuse imperfections.

Some women love it, some women would rather not bother. I am a girl, who on myself, doesn’t bother (well, occasionally, I bother). But on my clients…..9 times out of 10, I’m going to primer you. If you have any of the following, you are a great candidate for primer….

Oily skin, uneven skin tone, fine lines, uneven texture, to name a few, but pretty much any skin issue you are trying to hide with make-up, it can be helped by primer or if you just want a little extra help looking flawless.

Primer is to be smoothed over the face. Not “rubbed” in. This is not a product that you want to absorb into your skin, it’s something you want a nice light layer of over your skin (not the eye area, we’ll come back to this). In your more problem areas, the primer can be a little heavier.

Next, let your primer set for 60 seconds or so. If you start putting on your make-up immediately after primer without giving it time to set, it can do weird things. Like balling up or rolling off your face and so forth. Which never looks good on anybody. Ever.

Next we have eyelid primer. Yes, we prime the eyelids too. Ever get those yucky creases in your eyeshadow, or find your shadow disappearing before the end of the day (or night)? If so, you need some eyelid primer in your life girl!

Just a little bit is all it takes. Focus on your crease and anywhere else you feel you lose your shadow. A light layer should do. Too much and it tends to crack, the way really dried out mud cracks. Once again, never looks good on anybody. Ever.

Okay! You are primed and ready for me to blog, next time, about foundation!

And as always, I welcome your questions and comments!

Until next time…..


Lisa Strawther
Las Vegas Makeup Artist

Keep PLAYING WITH MAKE-UP!