Make up primers

I use Boots no 7 Airbrush Away - you only need a small amount and it really does make a difference.
Tried Nanoblur but hated it - too thick and gloopy.

I use GOSH from Superdrug about £15 and it's wonderful!

I use clinique city block sheer , its not really a primer but it seems to work in the same way . Foundation , if you need any , seems to go on smoother

I've just realised that Nanoblur is not actually a primer - you're supposed to apply it on top of your makeup! It's still rubbish.....(IMO, of course)

nanachrissy I use superdrug also I find it suits my skin fine you can certainly see the differance,i tried an Avon one but that was a flop it made my skin too tight.

Anagram.....lol............I find the whole make-up palaver so annoying nowadays. I used to need the full mask (worked in high end ladieswear for a while - a real hoot but thats another story). Now, what with needing a decent light and wearing varifocals, all the glasses on then off then peering into a high magnification mirror then stepping back to see in a full length that the eyebrows are not crooked etc etc...I only do it for high days and holidays now. To the effect that when I do need to wear it my skin has changed yet again, as has the season and the carefully chosen foundation is now the wrong colour and has usually gone a bit gloopy!

I have recently gone down market a bit, and found Number 7 BB very good - I think this would qualify as a primer, goes over moisturiser and under foundation. Nanoblur works, as a lot of those "age concealers" do, by taking out the oil, so it works beautifully over a light foundation to provide a matt appearance without powder, though it doesn't do a thing for my laughter lines! Nanoblur is drying, so I don't use it very often (You can mix it with your moisturiser apparently), but it came in very useful during a recent trip to London where my make-up stayed in place all day.

'Down market', dahlia! What can you mean?
Boots products may be cheaper, but have often been proven to be more effective than more expensive brands.

BTW, I couldn't get on with Nanoblur at all - threw it away in the end!

Glammanana, I'm with you on Superdrug, their Vitamin E skincare range is brilliant and Maybelline's Lumitouch beats Touche Eclat anyday-definitely downmarket but heh! I'm laughing!

I just use good old fashioned Ponds Vanishing cream, which makes the foundation go on more smoothly. I remember my mother using it, and its distinctive smell, but it has changed, is now a fresh citrus scent.

I have never heard of Nanoblur - where have I been all this time?
Nannablur sounds like needing new varifocals, though.

I've recently gone all evangelical about skin care and make-up products, as due to my daughter becoming a consultant for a botanically-based brand, I've learnt from her about all the 'nasties' in 96% of what is available.
I'm genuinely horrified to have discovered about parabens and mineral oil, and the effects on our bodies (Google, and you'll come across masses of info. I don't intend to launch into a frenzy of skin-care evangelism on here )
One of the items I have changed is my primer. I used to buy the Mac one. I've also changed my tinted moisturiser (for every day use rather than foundation) from the No.7 one. I have to say that the feel and effectiveness of my new, pure brand is better beyond comparison. The products penetrate several skin layers rather than sitting on the skin and blocking your pores (mineral oil can't penetrate skin).
All I will say is, look for botanically-based, chemical free products if you value your skin (and your body and health).

"Botanically-based" means chemicals from plants are used. They are still chemicals. Don't kid yourself that they're necessarily better than non-botanically-based chemicals. Some are. Some aren't.

BTW, I should confess I only looked at this thread to see what a make-up primer was. I thought it might be a little booklet explaining the intricacies of putting make-up on ! I only use water and acqueous cream on my face because I seem to be allergic to some of the chemicals (botanical or otherwise) in everything else.

oops. aqueous.

Glamma & Grannylin I think the Superdrug range of Vit E creams are fantastic value, I use quite a few of them.They smell nice and have spf too. I object strongly to paying through the nose for the name & packaging of the "top" brands.

bagitha! Make up primer indeed!

Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturiser Balm is wonderful if you incline to dryness and a good SPF.

Since I started using Liz Earle's tinted moisturiser, my skin has looked a bit younger; and Clarins Beauty Flash Balm since someone on GN recommended it.

I thought a primer was pink paint....oh, I guess it is

No, it's usually white!

bagitha I didn't know what a 'make-up primer' was either.
You may be interested in this info about Aqueous Cream in a 2012 journal:-

'New research at London Univ. School of Pharmacy shows that Aqueous Cream(routinely prescribed to eczema sufferers) actually thins the outer layer of skin,damages the skin's structure at cellular and molecular level ,increasing
peeling and inflammation'. !!!!!

I must have dispensed bucketloads of aqueous cream in my long career!

That's interesting, maniac. It was a pharmacist who recommended it for a small patch of what I suppose is eczema on my right eyelid. I've just checked and my usual moisturiser for my face each morning and hands at night is Boots Skin Therapy Emollient Cream which contains almond oil and lanolin. Don't know what the eyelid thing is about but it has improved, though not gone away, since I started using the aqueous cream.