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Usually I strive to reduce my “getting ready time” in the morning, as I am not an early bird and tend to always be on the cusp of being on time or within 15 minutes late. Limiting my product use has become quite essential, which recently has led me to combine my moisturizer and foundation with a tinted moisturizer, and skip curling my eyelashes altogether. I’ve tried primers before, and noticed that makeup artists frequently use them, however I never aknowledged the necessity of one, perhaps because I never used a truly exceptional one. I had the opportunity recently to try the new  Givenchy Mister Mat Mattifying Foundation Primer ($30, Sephora), and I’ve got to tell you — it rocked my world! The weightless primer has a gel-like substance, but goes on and melts into the skin almost like a talc. It really evens out your skins surface, and made some red breakout spots around my chin less noticeable. My skin tend to look softer and more seamless than normal, but the real test was when I applied powder to my face: without the primer it seemed to sit more on top of my skin, making it quite evident that my face was on the dry side and I definitely was wearing powder. The Mister Mat Primer can certainly be accredited with a smoother blending of the powder with my face, and now I know that I can never go back to life without primer, especially this one! Now I’ve just got to figure out what to cut out of my morning regimen – I think I can live without those four squirts of perfume!

–Julia DiNardo

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