I’m sure by now most of you have heard about primers and if you haven’t, don’t feel bad… we’re all here to learn and help each other. Isn’t that what besties do?

A cosmetic primer is a cream or lotion applied before another cosmetic to improve coverage and lengthen the amount of time the cosmetic lasts on the face. There are different kinds of cosmetic primers such as foundation primer, eyelid primer, lip primer, and mascara primer.

I had read a lot about them on other blogs by make-up artists, beauty tutorials but never thought to rush out and buy them. I’d been applying my foundation on top of my moisturised face and it was fine.

Here’s the thing… the minute you try a primer, you’ll never go back and you’ll wonder why it took you so long to try it in the first place.

For true transparency, this is not a sponsored post.The first primer I tried was for my face. I was introduced to the 1. Bodyography’s Veil Foundation Primer and it’s amazing. I moisturise my face and then apply the primer – it gives a silky, satin feeling to the skin. As soon as I have applied it all over my skin, I then take my beauty blender or foundation brush and apply my foundation. What a difference. I feel like you use less foundation because it glides on and it blends perfectly to give you the correct coverage. My foundation lasts longer, I have oily/combination skin – so this helps with keeping the shine away a little longer than usual and

Other great primers: 2. Smashbox Photo Finish, 3. Clarins Complexion Perfector, 4. Benefit’s Porefessional and 5. Maybelline’s Baby Skin Instant Pore Corrector.

I had also heard about eyelid primers but I thought (again), I’ve applied eyeshadows without an eyelid primer since I’ve been doing make-up and it’s been fine! Why add another step?

I was given a sample of 6. Benefits Air Patrol eyelid primer and now I’ll never not use an eyelid primer. Firstly, it colour corrected my eyelids. When I apply my eyeshadow I get the true colour of the shadows showing up and it’s a game changer. Secondly, my eyeshadow lasts longer than usual – no creasing and no falling.

I’ve applied the same colour eyeshadow to my hand without primer and then I’ve applied the eyelid primer first and the same eyeshadow. You can see how much better the pigment shows up.I also love 7. Catrice’s Prime and Fine Eyeshadow Base. It works so well and is really affordable.

Matt lipsticks are all the rage now – love it or hate, it’s thanks to Kylie Jenner. I bought a liquid matt lipstick from MAC to try it. The make-up artist suggested I buy the lip primer too as it acts as a barrier between your lips and matt lipstick, makes your lipstick last longer, your lips don’t feel dry and it doesn’t make the matt look, glossy.

A primer will work better than lip balm and I’m glad I bought it, even though it was an up-sale.

Have you incorporated primers into your beauty regime? Which brand do you prefer?