Your primer might come in the form of a hyaluronic acid-spiked facial serum that boosts hydration, a sunscreen that protects and softens the appearance of pores, or a traditional silicone-based primer looking at you, Smashbox that smooths and blurs. It's worth pointing out that the newest primers don't just smooth skin, keep makeup in place, and blur pores to near invisibility. They can also brighten, fade fine lines and wrinkles, target acne, and add tons of moisture.
Some can even give skin a temporary face-lift, all without feeling heavy. The bottom line: If you're wondering whether or not you need a primer in your life, just ask yourself how happy you are with the overall look, feel, and finish of your face makeup. If there's something off or missing — maybe you want to add more overall glow or trim shine from your T-zone — a primer could be precisely what you need.
Unlike products that lock your makeup in, like setting powder or setting sprays , primers are almost always applied after your last skin-care step and before your makeup. Phillips also recommends giving primer a full minute to dry before layering anything on top in order to avoid disturbing the makeup. For example, he says that someone with extremely dry skin that tends to absorb makeup more quickly can handle a quarter-size dollop of primer, whereas someone with oily skin should stick to the bare minimum because it sits on the surface longer.
Once you get into half-dollar territory, however, you've gone overboard. A little goes a long way with primer, and too much can sabotage your makeup look before you ever get to create it. In certain cases, you can use primer after foundation, too — but it has to be the right formula.
Charlotte Tilbury's Wonderglow Instant Soft-Focus Beauty Flash Primer , for example, is one that can be worn underneath or on top of makeup, as it's a hydrating, slightly shimmery formula that doesn't interfere with makeup. Tap it onto the high points of your face after foundation and you're good to go. Finally, if you want to disguise wrinkles, pores, or the odd blemish or two, then you can just use primer on the areas you want to cover.
Squirt a pumpkin-seed-size dollop on the back of your hand, and dab it on with your fingers using a light patting motion, or try applying with a foundation brush to fill deeper wrinkles. If you're hoping to reduce redness or boost radiance, you'll want a color-correcting primer more on those here.
If you're looking to fade the appearance of fine lines, you'll want one with a smoothing effect, such as Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer. The editor-favorite elixir expertly plumps the skin while blurring imperfections. One Jelly Pack , both of which come recommended by makeup artists who work with primers on a regular basis.
If you're still unsure of when or why you should use a primer, check out this guide to makeup primers for every skin concern imaginable. You're bound to find one or a few that will suit your needs. One of the main missteps people make when it comes to priming is applying makeup too soon afterwards. As Phillips mentioned, you want to wait a full minute or more to allow the primer to dry completely before going in with makeup, as this will help to curb pilling or patchiness.
Above all, primers need to be consistent. Despite this conservative bent, primer technology is experiencing a revolution right now. The latest generation of primers has been cooked up by the engineers at Federal Ammunition. The new primer is called Catalyst, and it represents an improvement over traditional primer compounds in several ways. Before getting to the merits of Catalyst primers, however, we still need to answer the question posed above.
What exactly do primers do? One useful way to think about a primer is as a mini volcano or rocket engine that spews a potent mix of hot, burning slag that mingles with the gunpowder contained within a cartridge. Since the s, this mix has been formulated by combining lead styphnate, the main explosive, with an oxidizer, barium nitrate which adds oxygen to the flame. These two elements account for about 80 percent of the primer compound. During this brief eruption, which lasts between and 1, microseconds one microsecond is a millionth of a second , three things happen: The primer compound generates flame and hot particulate matter in the form of slag and burning metal, and it creates a gaseous pressure front.
In a perfect world, the primer would ignite every grain of powder simultaneously to give our ammunition the greatest possible consistency from shot to shot. Ideally, when the primer erupts, the flame and hot metals penetrate deeply into the column of gunpowder to help get us as close as possible to achieving the chimeric goal of igniting each kernel of powder simultaneously. If the slag is able to spread through the powder, it can transfer its heat to the propellant more effectively.
Like many innovations in ammunition, the development of the Catalyst primer was driven by a request from a large customer. In this case, the U. Federal turned the project over to one of its engineers, Joel Sandstrom, who went on to invent Catalyst.
Even better, the Catalyst formula propels more hot, heavy metals, while producing less pressure from gases, into the propellent bed than any other primer system Federal has used—even its vaunted Gold Metal primers. This, more than anything, demonstrates the confidence that Federal has in the product.
But will consumers be as willing to embrace Catalyst? The fact that various elements of the U. Like all primers, Catalyst relies on three main things to work: a fuel source, an oxidizer, and sensitizers. But the chemical reactions within Catalyst primers are markedly different from those with lead styphnate. The most interesting piece of the Catalyst pie is the aluminum it contains.
This accounts for only about 10 percent of the mix, but it performs two different, yet complementary, functions. When aluminum interacts with any explosive, it makes the explosive more sensitive. With Catalyst, that would be nitrocellulose, which makes up about 20 percent of the primer compound.
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