I feel pretty--NOT! THE COSMETICS THREAD

Not really? I think primer works by reflecting light or something making it the portable make-up equivalent of that soft focus filter they used on Joan Collins in Dynasty. But not that obvious. Or maybe it's a self esteem placebo?

I'm sorry, this Sephora review is cracking me up:

I feel like this product does absolutely nothing. I can see no difference. I even wore it on only half my face one day to see if anyone else would notice - and they did not.

That is serious dedication!

Ooh Sali the makeup guru just did a feature on primer: www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/nov/04/primers-sali-hughes-beauty

I am still dubious but I ordered a $10 Benefit primer sample set thing from Sephora just cos it was $10.

Although my skin can get oily in places so I looked at the Urban Decay one she recommends on the Sephora site (guess who just signed up for the 'beauty insider' account) and it had lots of reviews saying it made skin even oilier. Ppl seem to rave about the Smashbox ones though.

You can just wear a primer without anything over it? I've got this sweet sample of the Urban Decay Pore Perfecting Primer Potion that's been neglected in a drawer bcz I don't wear foundation/powder/etc.

OTOH the last thing I need help with is oilier skin, I really inherited my parents' Republican glands.

(this meaning my skin is oily and I don't want it to catch the extra oil kinder alleges will happen)

I don't allege! A small proportion of these people allege!

haha sorry

make sure to smooth it on, not massage it in, Sali says.

I've only ever used free samples and it's never wowed me enough to warrant buying any. I don't wear foundation either though - just concealer. I'm trying to put as little stuff on my face as possible and eventually want to convert to totally natural stuff as well. I need to use up what I have first though. Spent a lot of time reading about the ocm Jaq and Justine were talking about on the other thread but I just don't know.

I'm giving it a few weeks, but so far the ocm is not going great tbh

I use powder foundation (whatever's on sale that week), but I use it on the T-zone only.

I think I've solved the mascara problem--I stopped using eye cream and started using powder concealer instead. It worked! No raccoon eyes so far today.

x-pot Yeah, you said. I like the sound of it mainly because it's all natural. I don't know. My skin's pretty good and I think that's down to both genetics and the fact that I've been religiously using moisturizer/spf/eye cream since I was 18. I'm worried that if I touch the oil my luck will run out and it'll be disastrous. So many people swear by it though. It's tempting.

I think if you have pretty good skin, it'll probably work well for you. I have a new face oil from the same place I got the good hair oil - will send you the link when I get home

Oh cool - thanks Justine. :)

I have done like six minutes of research on makeupalley and am gonna give it a go massaging Monistat on my face.

Good luck q, etc.

Wait - WHAT? Monistat?? I think I missed something here.

Primer, IMO, is good for smoothing pores and for keeping foundation on your face, if you use it as I do. After using the urban decay eyeshadow primer, which I found really great, I started looking around and eventually bought the Smashbox face primer. It was the first and only Smashbox product ever bought, but as we all know I lucked out into a job with them so… anyway, it also feels really nice on its own too, in my opinion the Smashbox one works kind of like a blotter as opposed to making my skin oilier, but I've no experience with others.

always wanted to try primer

btw just to get this out there, my love affair with Benefit continues

i once had a nice shisheido primer that was a cream and had spf - not a full-on moisturizer but nice prep under makeup and i liked the spf aspect. i can't remember why i didn't buy more?

btw just to get this out there, my love affair with Benefit continues

High five!

Top five Benefit products?

That Gal primer
Bio-ing concealer
Ooh La Lift eye stuff
High Brow (which I use like the Eye Bright pencil, too)
Benetint lip and cheek stain

Runner up: Dandelion blush

Haha Boi-ing not Bio-ing.

have yet to get a mascara from them that I like (including the one I JUST GOT >:( )
other stuff seems a-ok

ooh la lift and eye bright pencil are ace

Hey E: monistat anti-chafing gel, applied to face, is apparently a thing. A thing I am going to try.

You mean the stuff that dries to a powder?

woah nuts. I found my Anastasia mascara sample and it's all dried and icky now :(

Apparently the Monistat gel has the same ingredients (silicone) as most primers - http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp?ItemID=98437

It's not the stuff that dries to a powder. It's the stuff in a tube.

http://review-monistat-face-primer.uncensoredguides.com/Monistat-Monostat-Chafing-Relief-Gel-3-pack.jpg

I have used it on my face, btw, and it works better there than it does between my thighs.

Try stick deodorant, Jenny? That worked for my thighs..

The thighs are the first thing to go on my jeans. Oh, the heartbreak of chub rub...

That's exactly the stuff that I was talking about. (I used it a lot when I was about 20 pounds heavier.) And it does dry to a powder, IIRC.

Try stick deodorant, Jenny? That worked for my thighs..

I'm too fat and too sweaty and too active for anything other than the barrier method, I have learned (the hard way). I rely on silk bloomers and split slips and bike shorts to get me through the hot, damp months.

Yah, ditto. Some day I will have 2 doz pairs of silk tap-pants but until then I make do with cut-off tights. Have tried powders and lotions but when my walk to the subway in the AM is 6 blocks, it's gone before I get there. On days when I might be out in public for hours and hours, walking around doing stuff, forget it.

Eh, who knows. Mitchum works for me, thankfully. Can't bear to wear an extra layer in the middle of our summers. Plus it's fun because my thighs are all glidey, LOL.

lolll @ yr display name laurel hahaaaa :)
also lol "glidey thighs"

okay so agh, one minor thing i'm hating about the lipstain be it smashbox or revlon or whatevs is the packaging glitch with the balm side of the stick - the cap comes off way too easily! and then there is stupid balm all over my keys and whatever is in that pocket of my bag! how dumb! i actually just lopped the balm off the revlon ones because it wasn't great anyway, but i kind of like the smashbox one (and it is tinted). it seems like such a ridic little thing but srsly how did it happen this oversight.

:(

i tried the revlon one but i felt like the color was too bold for me to use on a regular basis :(

Cover Girl makes one w/out a balm on the end that is more purse friendly. In fact I opened up a purse i hadn't used in 18 months recently and one was still chilling in there and it still worked just fine. It & the Revlon & the Smashbox one all seem basically the same to me. I like them all. The psychological trick of feeling like drawing with markers really works for me, they're the only lip product I feel totally ok with. They don't spread everywhere and they look normal or even still good as they fade.

I really like the color of the Cover Girl one I have. In fact when I went to buy another one I picked it out again a second time. It's like a deeper shade of my regular lips.

lol I just checked what it's called and there's no name but the number is 420

to blab more about how great they are I rode to work in the rain Monday (mistake) and my scooter helmet does not cover my chin. I had just put on red lip stain (Revlon "gothic" also lol) and was worried I would look like some melting fuchsia nightmare when I arrived. BUT after 25 minutes of fucking cold rain on my lips it had faded only a little and was not messed up at all. It was a relief!

I always put lip gloss over it because I find that it makes my lips look a little dry. Or am I just not getting the point of what it's supposed to look like?

I don't lip lip stains like that at all because they've always seemed too drying for me.

i find them drying, and i feel like they exacerbate the lines in my lips, too.

Yeah. I love them in theory but have never found one that actually looked good on.

i find them drying, and i feel like they exacerbate the lines in my lips, too.

Anything with a matte finish will do that, just like it does with house paint.