Are you guilty of slapping on your foundation in a rush and heading out the door – only to be disappointed later in the day that your makeup does not look how you left it when you kissed the mirror goodbye at 7.30am? Do you find the lip stick colour you fell in love with in store doesn’t look the same on you? Do you want your eyeshadows to pop and be amazing? Are you looking for longer, thicker lashes?

You wouldn’t build a house without a good solid concrete foundation and your flawless face should be the same. Primer is the key to ensuring a smooth canvas to apply your look to, it sets the makeup in place and ensures a longer lasting finish – and best of all you can think of it as real life Photoshop. You can also use primers to help combat skin colouration concerns and for the lips and eyes they will make your colours pop, creating a neutral base! Choosing the best primer for your needs and the ideal outcome can be easy if you know what you are looking for.

e.l.f. Cosmetics has an array of primers to choose from and to ensure your cosmetics look flawless all day and all night. We offer face primer, eyelid primer, lip primer and mascara primer, so let’s talk through the how to’s and benefits of each x

Face Primer

Developed to combat against excess oil, flaky dryness, enlarged pores and fine lines. This clear multipurpose skin primer will prepare your skin so makeup goes on evenly for a long lasting satin finish. Always remember – a little goes a long way with primer. Overuse can affect the efficacy of the product and defeat the purpose of using it…

First things first… Choose a face primer that does not make you feel greasy at all – remember everyone’s skin is different and you may need to try a few before you find the perfect match for your skin type. Just because your friend loves one brand, doesn’t mean your skin will too! A primer should glide onto your skin, leaving it feeling silky and smooth, and not feel like you have added any grease to your “canvas”. Use the primer after your moisturiser and before foundation.

Always care for your skin – a good cleanser and moisturiser are essential to retaining your youthful appearance, along with creating flawless works of cosmetic art! The primer will help give the appearance of “smooth” skin, but it won’t do the job for you – think of it more like a Band-Aid to those issues. Focus on getting any dryness and flaky skin issues resolved through hydration and a good skin routine! In the meantime, the primer will assist by giving the appearance of a smoother base to work with.

If you already have an excellent skin care regime and you have smooth skin, then primer will still work for you by increasing the longevity of your makeup through the day

Primer is amazing for reducing the appearance of large pores – due to its clear nature the product will not always provide a cover to allow you to not wear foundation over the top, but it will ensure the foundation has a smooth base to be applied to. Your primer should be non-comedogenic and not block pores but simply hang out with them ensuring the foundation can’t get in and exaggerate the look of those mean little “divots” that like to make you look less flawless than you hope for.

Again with the smoothing and making a perfect base to apply your perfect makeup look to, primer can also assist with reducing the look of fine lines. Winning, I hear you say! Yes, the benefits of primer far outweigh not using it, for sure.    

Choosing to use a formula with some colouration can help you deal with pesky little issues such as dull skin, redness and even just provide some glow.

Using a green based primer will assist with redness within your skin, caused by a number of reasons and generally doesn’t make you feel good about yourself. The green base will help take away some of the redness to allow your foundation to show its true colours and disguise the undertones. These are a very pale green and while you may not feel you can see the colour difference – they are subtly doing their job to assist you take control.

Feeling a bit dull due to sickness, harsh weather and the daily grind? Use a radiant or brightening primer, with small amounts of shine and glimmer throughout to help raise the bar. You deserve to look your best at all times – and dull skin is never your best! In colder months especially, even your perfect foundation can make you look dull - using these primers as a base will allow you to feel brighter and your foundation will begin to again work for you and not against you.

For full face coverage apply a small dab and spread evenly all over your face after moisturising. If you find you have specific issues with your T-Zone, then you can apply to just those areas. After a minute or two, apply your foundation then use a powder to set in place

e.l.f. Cosmetics Mineral Face Primer is available in Clear, Tone Adjusting Green, Brightening Lavender and Radiant Glow, you can choose the most suitable for your personal skin type and needs. Remember – a little goes a long way!

Lip primer 

Lip primer – have you ever been disappointed when you got that amazing red lipstick home only to find it was not the colour you envisioned by the packaging colour label when you applied it with care to your perfect pout? The truth is that not all skin was created equal and this applies to lips as well. When we talk of colour cosmetics we refer to “payoff” this is the best intended colour the product developer wants to achieve. You will notice that almost every lipstick ever has a beautiful little sticker or colour band on the packaging indicating the true colour of the lipstick. Anyone who has swatched onto white paper will know that the colour the lipstick/stain looks on a plain white canvas is never the colour it looks on you. The truth is lips come in millions of different colours, along with your natural skin tone causing undertones and altering the effect.

This is where lip primer steps up to the plate – taking away your natural shade of lip colour, and creating a beautiful smooth base to apply the colour of your dreams to. The best part – it also helps with pash proofing your lippy! Or just getting you through that important all-day meeting…

Other benefits to lip primer include reducing feathering of the lip colour and also giving a neutral base to apply your lip plumping magic to – with no natural lip colour coming through to ruin the secret to your suddenly larger plumper lips!

Try e.l.f. Cosmetics Lip Primer & Plumper today – use each on their own or together.

Eyelid Primer

Do you suffer from eyelid-creasitis? Does your eyeshadow lose its colour flair 30min after application? Or do you just need to ensure that the way you looked at the start of the night is the same as at 3am?

Using an eyelid primer can be an underrated cosmetic tool for many – but the true secret to having amazing eye shadow all day long. The best part of a well chosen eyelid primer is that you can use it on its own as a colour correcting base – some of the subtle signs of tiredness and looking dull include visible veins in the eyelid and redness of the eye area. You can use primer on its own can help disguise these and give you the natural look with less effort.

As with all primers, an eyelid primer gives a great base to any eye look – available in a number of base colours such as sheer, champagne, golden and pearl – these little gems are a great way to set the tone for your smokey eye, cut crease, winged eyeliner or natural look. 

Choose a sheer/matte primer for a basic base – these will leave you with a smooth looking blank canvas, which allows you to use any colour eyeshadow, or even none with a wicked wing eyeliner. If you want to highlight and emphasise your beautiful eyeshadow colours then choose a primer with a colour base that compliments the colours – use a golden one if you are using earthy neutral browns and bone colours. If your eyeshadows are bright colours use a pearl colour – this will help maximise the colour pay off by removing an element of your natural skin colour. A champagne will look beautiful with all your pinks and purples tones and highlight their undertones.  

For best results, using your personal choice of primer colour dab on a small amount directly to the eyelid with the doe foot applicator and spread using the tip of your finger, less is more with these products. After application, wait until the primer is dry and then apply away with your eyeliner and eyeshadows, knowing they will be popping and locking all day long!

Try one of our most renowned products now – Essential Shadow Lock Eyelid Primer.

Mascara Primer

Are you looking for longer, thicker lashes? Then Mascara primer could be for you! Go for an enriched formula to ensure that the product is doing heavy lifting for your lashes, while looking fabulous.

An enriched formula will include vitamins and proteins which allows it to protect and nourish your fluttering lashes while simultaneously giving the appearance of longer, thicker lashes.

By using a coat of primer on your lashes you are extending their length and making them appear thicker – so when you get your lash on with your favourite mascara you will instantly see results! Ours goes on white and dries clear, that way you can see you have coated every lash perfectly.

This will help with the durability and wearability of your mascara throughout the day, or night, and also reduces flakiness!

Try the e.l.f. Mascara Primer today to see longer strong lashes

As with all the above – I can’t emphasise enough the importance of starting with a solid base for your creation. You don’t want your artwork slipping away during the day! Using primer should become a daily routine if you are looking to achieve beautiful flawless results everyday.