Loose Powder

I have never used a foundation primer until I went to Sephora and had a little bit applied onto my face as I got color matched for some bareMineral foundation. After that little taste of foundation primer and how soft and silky it made my skin feel, I was hooked. However, I was not hooked enough to want to spend $21 on a tiny bottle of primer. So before going on a splurge, I got a couple samples of bareMinerals Prime Time Foundation Primer and the Oil Control version to make sure they didn’t cause me to breakout.

Prime Time Foundation Primer (1 fl oz. – $21)

This primer goes on smoothly and evens out my skin. I love the silky feeling I get from the primer, and it also keeps my foundation powder on longer. The silky feeling from the primer isn’t very oil and is quickly absorbed into the skin though after using this for a couple days it caused me to have minor breakouts.

Pros: makes skin feel soft and silky, not too oily, a good foundation primer

Cons: Expensive, causes minor breakouts on my oily skin.

Prime Time Oil Control Foundation Primer (1 fl oz. – $21)

This primer is a lot thicker than the regular formula. The sample mini jar I had had a dollop of primer and it remained that way until I used it all. As for the regular primer, it is a lot oilier and the moment it was put in the jar it just started to coat the bottom of the jar, but the primer isn’t runny or watery just a bit viscous and not a thick gel like the Oil Control.

I found that because of the thickness of the Oil Control primer, I had to use more primer to cover my whole face, and it did not leave the nice silky feeling that the regular primer had. Also after about two hours, my face would feel very oily, oiler than usual, and I would have to blot out excess facial oil with blotting tissue. Maybe that is the function of oil control and it supposed to keep oil off the skin, but I really did not like the feeling of oil all over my T-zone. Also the primer sort of smelled like glue.

Despite these issues I had with the Oil Control Primer, the primer still did its job in keeping my foundation on; smoothing out my face and making my pores look smaller.

Pros: Works well as primer for mineral powders, did not cause breakouts

Cons: Expensive, primer is thick, does not have silky texture when applied, makes my skin feel very oily, smells like glue

After trying out these samples, I still could not bring myself to spend $21 on a tiny bottle of primer. But Cyn directed me to the Eyes Lips Face (E.L.F.) website and mentioned their primer ran for nearly half of the price of bareMinerals. So I figured it couldn’t hurt and gave it a try.

E.L.F. Mineral Infused Face Primer (.49 fl oz. – $6)

This primer was everything that I hoped for. Just a little pump and I have enough primer to cover my whole face. My face feels silky smooth and it does not cause me to break out. The primer is a great base for my powder foundation and does everything that the bareMinerals primer did. Though the main difference between primers is that it is not as viscous as the bareMinerals Prime Time formula, but the E.L.F primer is far from watery. Though the first time I used the primer, it did come out very watery, but it might have been because it was a really hot day because the next time I used it, the primer came out as a gel and has always been a gel-like texture ever since.

There have been complaints about the bottle pump being cheaply made and it stops pumping after several uses, but I have been using my bottle for a while and have not had any problems with the pump. The only minor problem I have is that the cap for the bottle is a bit loose and has a tendency to fall off when in my makeup bag.

Also you don’t need a lot of the primer to cover your whole face. I usually use only half a pump and it is more than enough to cover my entire face, so this little bottle should last you a while.

Overall I am very happy with the E.L.F. primer and will probably stick to it because it is much more cost effective for my tight budget.

Pros: Makes skin feel silky and soft, cheaper price, good foundation primer for mineral powders, has not caused me to breakout yet, don’t need a lot for whole face

Cons: A bit small, but two bottles of these still costs less than the other brand, cap for bottle not tight

Eyeliner is my main man when it comes to makeup. I can go without anything else, but I have to line my eyes and I’ve used just about everything: powder, pencil, liquid, and gel.  On my latest drugstore run, I bought L’oreal’s  High Intensity Pigment Color Rich Cream Crayon in Perfectionist (i.e. black).

Once you use it, you'll never get back the nice, sharp tip it had when it was new.

I think “eyeliner” is loosely applied here. Marketed as a versatile eyeliner and shadow product, what it really delivers on is the high intensity. The product’s thick and creamy texture make it a poor eyeliner. It’s hard to control and easy to smear, especially once the tip becomes blunt from use. It does have a conveniently-placed “sharpener” at the other end, but the crayon is so soft the tip just keeps breaking off and making a mess all over my fingers.

I wouldn’t recommend this as an eyeliner, unless you’re about to play football or single-handedly annihilate a dictator and his army for kidnapping your daughter.

It does, however, make a great eye shadow base, especially for the sparkly, bright colors in my palette that I couldn’t otherwise wear to work. So far I’ve tried the black HIP Crayon under greens and purples, with great success. I applied the black base all over the lid, then patted the desired color over most of it, starting at the outer corner, blending out the edges, and working my way in. The effects depend on the composition of the eye shadow, but the variety of the Color Rich Cream Crayon colors seems like a great way to tone down a bright shade or make a sparkly shadow pop.

Pros: Long-lasting, bold color that makes a great base.

Cons: Too sloppy to be practical as an eyeliner.

I feel like there’s a use for every kind of eye liner, but gel liners are really my favorite so far. So aside from the crayon that wished it was an eyeliner, I also bought the Maybelline EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in blackest black.

Mac Fluidline

I’ve actually been using Mac’s Fluidline eyeliner since I first saw it a few years ago. Not every day, but it’s a very good liner. Gel is easier to control than a liquid liner, and I think it stays put a bit better. At the very least, you can layer more on and it won’t fade or flake, or dry with that weird plasticky sheen that some liquid liners unfortunately have.

Maybelline Lasting Drama

But after trying  Maybelline’s gel liner, Lasting Drama is my new daily must. It’s every bit as good as  Fluidline for half the price. It lasts all day and has passed the sweaty work-out test without smearing at all. I will definitely be buying more of this liner and trying out the other colors.   But here’s the bonus:

It comes with a brush—a  small tapered brush that comes to such a fine point, you can really control what you do. That’s not to say it’s 100% mistake-proof, but I’m getting really good at doing fine lines at the outer corners, which I could never quite pull off with the angled eyeliner brush (sold separately) I used with the Fluidline product.

Pros: Easily manipulated, waterproof, long-lasting gel liner paired with a great brush. It’s a conveniently-packaged duo of eye-defining perfection.

Cons: I haven’t found any yet, but I will keep you posted.