The Product
Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15
The promise
This primer promises to increase the longevity of your foundation and create a flawless, velvety complexion. It also vows to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
How it works
Vitamins A and E, grape-seed extract and green tea offer antioxidant protection and deliver a smooth finish, while SPF 15 guards against the sun's harmful rays and Dermaxyl Complex, an advanced peptide treatment, is clinically proven to reduce the appearance of wrinkles with continued use. Worn alone, the primer decreases fine lines and pores; under foundation, it prolongs the longevity and look of makeup.
How to use it
Apply a pea-sized amount to cleansed, moisturized skin using fingertips.
The bottom line
Two things come to mind when I hear the word primer: 1. Paint. 2. The red wine with dinner that precedes a night of tequila shots and culminates in a series of mishaps involving endangered animals and a retired boxer. Not that the latter has ever happened to me – I saw a movie about it once. But now I also associate it with flawless skin. I don't wear foundation because that involves a rather more studied sleight of hand than I possess when applying makeup. (Which also explains why I look like Alice Cooper any time I attempt the smoky eye.) With this primer, though, I can create that soft movie-star effect without any streaky, patchy or Prince-of-Darkness ramifications.
$44 at Shoppers Drug Mart ( www.shoppersdrugmart.ca) and Murale ( www.murale.ca) stores nationwide.