Primer under makeup is not a required step.

I think a lot of people are confused about primer.

Some people aren’t really sure what it does.

Other people think they absolutely have to use one before foundation.

You don’t.

Especially with mature skin, your skincare should already be doing a lot of the basic prep work.

We want our skin hydrated.

We want dry areas softened.

We want foundation to go on more smoothly instead of grabbing onto texture.

Good skincare, chosen for your skin type, can help create that better surface for makeup.

That doesn’t mean primer is useless.

Primer is more of a problem-solver.

Maybe your nose gets extremely oily and you need a mattifying primer there.

Maybe you have larger pores around your nose and want a smoothing or blurring primer there.

Maybe you need a little extra grip in one particular area.

And this is important:

You don’t have to put primer all over your face.

Use it where you need it.

If your nose is oily, prime your nose.

If you have larger pores in one area, use a pore-smoothing primer there.

The rest of your face may not need anything more than your skincare.

The thing I think gets missed is this:

Primer does not automatically make your foundation look better.

The wrong primer under the wrong foundation can make your makeup pill, separate, look patchy, or just sit badly on the skin.

So instead of thinking,

“I wear foundation, therefore I need primer,”

think:

“What problem am I trying to solve?”

If your skincare already leaves your skin hydrated, comfortable and ready for makeup, you may not need primer at all.

Primer is a problem-solver, not a required step.

And sometimes fewer layers really do look better.

Best,

Camille

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