Primer Time.

Primers. Most women don't even bother with them. Some even don't know what they are. And no, I'm not talking about something you whack on your walls before painting!
Basically primers are used underneath your make-up to smooth, reduce oiliness and even out your skin. They help the state of your skin but they're main job is to make your make-up stay properly and for much longer! You can get all sorts of primer's for different parts i.e. eye primers, face primers lip primers etc.
You don't necessarily need a primer but I find they are very helpful and make your face appear almost smoother and almost flawless whereas wearing no primer can make it really obvious you wearing make-up and make your skin appear crumbly and flake-y  which is the last thing you want! Also Primers are widely recommended by make-up artists (which is always a plus!)There are tiny little silicone balls in primers that fill your pores which is why they are so effective at creating that oh so desired smooth surface ready for your make-up.
Now for the reason we are all here. Primers usually cost £10 and upwards which is all well and good but that's money you could put on your electric bill, which is where I come in! I'm going to share my wisdom and show you all how to make your own Primer-esq product using pieces you all probably already have, so you get lasting, professional looking make-up on the cheap! The one i'm going to show you is mainly a tinted moisturizer but can double up as a primer) I wore it all night at work under my make-up and it hadn't moved an inch!

You will need:

• Foundation - a liquid one that matches your skin tone
• Concealer - a liquid one that again matches your skin tone
• Body butter - Preferably unscented but it doesn't really matter. Or you can use really think moisturizer such as the Lush's 'Dream Cream', it just has to be thick and a good consistency!
• A little pot to mix and put everything in, preferably with a lid. (I've used an old Vaseline lip tin just washed out)
• A spoon
• Toothpicks for mixing.
• Also you can use any aloe Vera gel, but I didn't have any handy!

Step 1: Making sure you have a clean tin, pour some foundation in, you don't need a lot, just about an almonds size, depending on the size of your tin and how much you want to make.

Step 2: Add the same amount of liquid concealer, this makes it mix well with your skin tone, provides even coverage and helps keep everything light and bright.

Step 3: Using the back of the spoon start adding the body butter to the pot. Aim for the same amount as the concealer and foundation but once you have mixed it, if you feel like you need more you can keep adding to get a nice thick consistency.

Step 4: Using a tooth pick mix it all together, careful not to spill any. Once you're happy with how it looks, and how much you have then you're ready to go and now you can try it out!

It really is that easy, takes less than 5 minutes and can save you a lot of money. I know it doesn't sound like much but it really is useful and really does work, I didn't quite believe it would do anything till I made it myself and now I live by it! I even told my best friend all about it and she didn't believe it until she saw it! So give it a go! Experiment a bit and hopefully you'll love it too and save a bit of cash in the mean time!

Here I have out eye shadow on my hand on it's own and on top of the Primer. The eye shadow on it's own is really smudgy and weak looking almost like it's watered down and it's not consistent, it's bolder in different area's whereas the eye shadow over primer is instantly bold and strong, the colour is much more prominent too and it will last 3x as long as the shadow without the primer!

 k.

Left - Eye shadow on its own
Right - Eye shadow with primer.