We know Irish women love the smokey eyes for Christmas. But our make-up artists at LA will tell you that getting the base is the key to festive success! Foundations and primers get better every year; no more orange face for us!

We’ll look at foundations next week so let’s start with primers. Now this isn’t a product you would used too often a few years ago but lately every brand from Benefit to Nars have this product on the shelves.

Basically what it does it set the foundation (or eye shadow) on your face so there aren’t any Halloween-style slippages happening on the dance floor. You can smooth over any imperfections in your skin before applying foundation.  And you know if foundation goes on more smoothly then you’ll look more glam! With silicon as one of the main ingredients a good primer will even out your skin tone and make sure that any dry areas caused by lines are plumped up.

Does that sound like a mini facelift? Well, it’s not quite that magical but you will get a better result for a big night out by layering this on under your foundation. Just remember that primer was developed for models to use under the heat of studio lamps; so it’s a heavy product. You probably wouldn’t want to use it every day as your skin just won’t breathe at all!

For anyone who has seen the effects of Airbrush Make-up then using a good primer is like this but of course only lasts for the day. Primer really helps if you’re heading out early and staying late; less re-application and less slippy face-look.

There are some great products out there for you. Smashbox was one of the first companies to make primer for regular people i.e. not models so that’s probably a good place to start. Beaut.ie has a list of Irish stockists.

For a lighter touch in some funky packaging try Benefit’s That Gal or their great Lemon Aid which goes on your eyelid; light enough for daily use.  Mac does a range of products including the Prep and Prime Skin Refined Zone which covers up your pores for a screen-perfect finish.

Next week we’ll have a look at foundations and the age old question; fingers or brush?

What do you think about primers?