Oh, primer.
Primer is one of those products that's trending right now. Everyone needs it. Everyone wants it. Which begs the question: WHY?
What it does: Primer is meant to give your skin a poreless, flawless finish over which to apply your makeup. It's usually loaded with silicon, which fills in any fine lines and wrinkles and gives skin a super soft feeling. Some primers claim to keep shine at bay, make your makeup last longer, and correct uneven skin tone, depending on which one you buy.
What it costs: A quick search on Ulta.com showed me that primer starts at around $10.00 and can go all the way up to the $50-$60 range. Keep in mind, you're getting, on average, anywhere between .17 ounces and 1.5 ounces (and that's listed as the "jumbo" size).
What I say: SERIOUSLY??
Now granted, my own skepticism of primer comes, probably, from the fact that I have 24 year old skin. Meaning I'm past the ravages of acne, and way ahead of all the lines and wrinkles I know are coming my way. I don't want to brag, but I don't feel like I need yet another layer of goop on my face just for the sake of having a better canvas on which to work. Now granted, I will use primer if I know that a) I will be photographed, or b) a lot of people will be looking at my face up close. Which is probably like, two days out of the year.
I also have to admit that I have never tried the more expensive primers. The holy grail of primers is Smashbox's Photo Finish Foundation Primer, which is supposedly the best, and I have never tried it (the price tag sufficiently scared me away). Perhaps if I did try it, I'd be a convert.
In the meantime, I don't pay $35 for my sunscreen, foundation, and concealer combined. I'm not shelling out that much for a product that may or may not work.
So what's a girl to do?
THIS.
Somewhere out there in Interwebland, someone (and I'm not sure if I should applaud this person or back away because they're some kind of twisted freak) realized that a very cheap drugstore product had the same ingredients as Smashbox's primer, and put it on their face to identical results.
The name of the mystery product, you ask?
As aforementioned, I don't know what would possess someone to go into the "intimate products" aisle and go, "Hey, look at that! I guess I'll just smear it all over my face and see if it makes my makeup go on better and last longer!" But someone did, and the entire web-based makeup junkie community is super grateful they did!
The gel is meant to prevent the problem of chafing (more commonly known as "chub rub") by creating a smooth surface on the skin.
Do a quick search on Youtube, and you'll see the scores of women who've taken this from their thighs to their faces. I'm not even joking.
You pay about $6 and get a full 1.5 ounces of product.
Naturally, I had to get on this bandwagon.
My own initial reaction is that yes, it does feel just like premier brand makeup primer. It still weirds me out that it says "Monistat" on the bottle, but there's not too much I can do about that! It comes out as a clear gel, and blends right into your skin. It says "powder-gel" on the packaging, but I've never experienced any kind of powdery finish with it.
(Just as a side note: I have used the product for its intended purpose as well. It's okay. I guess it's better than nothing, but it's not a miracle worker.)
I decided to run a VERY SCIENTIFIC little experiment with the Monistat gel as a primer.
The question: Does the Monistat gel work as a makeup primer? Namely in preventing shine and making the makeup last longer?
The hypothesis: I hope so.
The experiment: Wear the same makeup two days in a row, one day with the gel and one day without. Document results by taking pictures in the morning and evening to compare how the makeup lasted throughout the day.
The result:
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| (Omg, please ignore how tired my eyes look first thing in the morning. Also, excuse my lack of high quality photography. That's Elizabeth's forte, not mine.) |
As you can see, the results are negligible. In my opinion, my makeup went on better with the primer. It did provide a nice base, and allowed my foundation to go on smoothly and did permit for better blending. I also think that at the end of the day, the entirety of my face makeup was more intact with the primer (concealer, blush, etc.). As far as controlling shine, I don't think it did anything there.
Conclusion: If you must hop aboard the primer bandwagon, the Monistat chafing gel is a GREAT place to start! It gives you the feel of a higher end product without the hefty price tag. Plus, you get a LOT more product for your money (depending on what you buy, up to half an ounce to a full ounce more!). I can vouch that this lasts forever, too. You only need a little bit to cover your whole face evenly.
Recommended: for a primer newbie or someone like myself who doesn't wear primer every day, YES!
I hope my experiment helped you out a little bit. If you're still on the fence, go buy some and try it! You're only out $5 if you end up hating it.
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