Dark Spots, part 1... cover 'em

I know we want to get to the good stuff... getting RID of dark spots, but that takes time, my friend. Let's just cover them up in the meantime.

In my makeup loving existence, I have tried roughly 4000 concealers. I have patted, I have dabbed, I have rubbed, I have tried it all. In the end it comes down to a few good tricks. The first? A primer. Most of my friends (the ones who aren't makeup junkies) have caught on to the eye primer craze, but haven't delved into the world of face primers. To them, I say welcome... it's about damn time.

You can pile on makeup for 45 minutes every morning (if you are toddler-less), but if you don't have primer, by noon your dark circles, spots, and oily forehead are going to smack you in the face as you're walking past any reflective surface. They're gonna be all "um, hello... you thought you got rid of us?! oh no girl, no. you. did. not"

Yes, my skin problems talk to me, and they have an attitude.

So, there is a TON to decipher when you walk into Sephora/Ulta/CVS. Where do you start? Well, if you have dry/normal skin, you are pretty lucky. You can pick up pretty much any silicone based primer and call it a day. The most popular being Smashbox Photo finish primer. There are so many dupes of this that I really believe are going to work just as well at a fraction of the price. Most notably (due to sheer hilariousness) is Monistat chaffing cream. Yes. Yup. No, I haven't tried it because my skin hates silicone based primers, but apparently it works well. Again, I haven't tried it, so this isn't a recommendation, but google it and draw your own conclusion. Yes, I'm still giggling. Now, I know this product isn't actually for your lady bits, but simply to stop any sort of friction in areas that may, um... rub? I don't know, but the idea is that it sits on your skin and fills in any sort of line or pore to help your makeup glide on, and stay put. It should also help you use less since it won't be sinking into your skin.

A few more for the normal/dry skin ladies:
Urban Decay


Now, for the oily skin gals, like me... sigh. It's a rough life. You don't know me, you don't know what I've been though. My makeup slides off, my liners fade away, my blending gets blotchy. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. But, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve. One of them, is this bad boy...

Now, does anyone NEED SPF 55? No. They do not. However, did you know that using a physical (as opposed to a chemical) sunscreen will mattify your skin? Yeah, I know. Mind blown. 

Ive been using this on and off for years, and I just found out its discontinued. Sad face. But, lesson learned. I'll search for a dupe and update later.

Another one I really like is Lorac Oil Free Neutralizer. I think it may be getting discontinues as well, though (come on people, seriously?!). I love that it has a green tone that cancels out redness and it dries super matte. This is for the REALLY oily ladies, though (and gentlemen, too!), as it can really dry you out. I wear it without anything over it sometimes but usually a little BB cream and I'm good to go. Great, GREAT product.

A few honorable mentions:

No parabens- TimeBalm (also the winner of most under rated cosmetic company ever, in my opinion

Best for large pores- Too Faced 

Brightening- Laura Mercier

Tomorrow we will go over what concealer to use, and why!

So there you have it... all I know about primers. Let it be known that I am not a skin care professional, I just know what I have worked with and what has worked for myself and my clients. 

What's your favorite primer? 

-C