Paycheck #3: Primer

Your third purchase for your makeup bag makeover will be primer. Primer is one of those beauty products that I thought for the longest time sounded like bullshit. It claims to even out your skin, but I thought that meant "spend $30 on snake oil."  Then I got a small sample of Smashbox primer at Sephora and realized I was wrong. Primer is the consistency of gel and is slightly oily. You put it on on your skin (after moisturizer, of course) before you put on foundation or concealer — and yes, it really does even out your skin, especially if you have large pores. I use the Smashbox concealer pictured here and think it's great; I've never tried the NP primer from Target, but perhaps I should try it because it supposedly calms redness, too.

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer, $36, Smashbox.com

NP Calming Foundation Primer, $29, Target.com