Miracle Foundation Primer

For this round of BlogHer’s Life Well Lived series, we were asked, “What are your favorite beauty tools?”

It was really tempting to just get snarky and say “Photoshop.” Or I could get earnest and talk about the benefits of a positive attitude and a smile. But I think we all know what we really want to hear with a question like that. We want the fountain of youth. We want something that will transform what we don’t like about ourselves into gleaming perfection. We want something that will permanently make us over and cost no money.

I don’t have anything like that, so I’ve settled for something that actually keeps my makeup where I put it, when I actually go to the trouble to put it on.

I’ve had this little sample size of makeup primer in my makeup bag for AGES, which you can tell by the condition of the bottle, but I never used it because I really didn’t know what it was for. I never wear full makeup complete with foundation and powder, so it didn’t seem applicable to me. As part of Project Put Together I pulled it out and gave it a try and became an instant convert.

Even if you don’t wear foundation regularly, you probably wear something on your face. A little powder, a little blush, a little concealer, and if you’re like me it’s all gone almost before you leave the house. My skin absorbs makeup like it’s oxygen and within a matter of an hour the concealer is gone, the blush is a memory, and my eyeliner is halfway down my cheek.

But when I wear the primer, everything stays put. It doesn’t feel heavy, but it still somehow provides a barrier between my skin and the makeup and keeps everything from migrating. My friends with fine lines swear it works miracles by keeping the makeup from collecting and highlighting those wrinkles, and I know it does the same for some of my large pores. But even if it did nothing for the condition of my skin, just being able to count on not looking like a crazy person with my makeup in disarray is still enough to make it a miracle product to me.

What are your favorite beauty tools? Join the conversation at BlogHer and get all kinds of great recommendations. You can also enter to win in the latest Life Well Lived Sweepstakes!