While I don’t wear much makeup day-to-day, I like to go all the way when it comes to special occasions. Surprisingly, I had never used primer until about a year ago. I would complain about makeup getting smudged or caked or just looking lighter with time, but it didn’t occur to me to try on primer. Then I got a free sample from Sephora that changed everything.

This medium weight primer from Make Up For Ever goes on easily, smells great, and most important, it creates a nice base layer on which you can apply your makeup. I apply the primer on top of my regular moisturizer/sunscreen before applying foundation, and my makeup stays put for hours with minimal fading or smudging. I also find that colors look more vibrant on top of this product.

Beginning of the night

If you have insanely dry skin like mine, then you probably need to touch up your makeup frequently. That’s because anything you apply to your skin constantly gets absorbed and eventually fades. Primer prevents that by creating a protective layer between your makeup and your skin so you don’t need frequent touch ups. Here are photos of me from that evening last year, when I used primer for the first time. About four hours had passed between the photos and I had to do just one touch up, which was due mostly to all the eating and drinking.

End of the night