Off the Eaten Trail: Makeup Primer Substitute

Ok, so I'm veering off food posts with this one. I'm always interested in alternatives or substitutes for pricey products like makeup. But there are a lot of cheap or hokey suggestions out there and it's hard to know what really works.

One day, I saw a makeup artist's tip from a lifestyle talk show on using chafing gel as makeup primer because they have the same main ingredients. So I was very intrigued about using chafing gel as a low-cost primer substitute. I use Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer but I don't use it everyday because I don't like a lot of steps in my makeup routine and it's expensive at $36 for 1 oz. (at time of this post). I love the silky and smooth feel of the primer, and I could see how it would work for chafing. But I would never waste expensive primer on my body! 

I haven't used chafing gel and a Google search primarily turned up two products. Other anti-chafing or anti-friction sticks and powders show up but aren't going to work as primer.

1. Lanacane Anti-Friction Gel, 1 oz. - may also be labeled as "Anti-Chafing Gel"; price range $5-8. Ingredients from Lanacane's Anti-Friction FAQ page: cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone crosspolymer, dimethicone / vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, zea mays (corn) starch.

2. MONISTAT COMPLETE CARE® Chafing Relief Powder Gel®, 1.5 oz. - price range $5-7. I didn't find ingredients easily on Monistat's site so here are the ingredients listed on Target.com:

Active Ingredient: Dimethicone (1.2%)

Inactive Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Silica, Tocopheryl Acetate, Trisiloxane.

Now, the Smashbox primer ingredients are: 

CYCLOPENTASILOXANE , DIMETHICONE , DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER , TRISILOXANE , SILICA , DIMETHICONE/VINYL DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER , ETHYLHEXYL SALICYLATE , RETINYL PALMITATE , TOCOPHERYL ACETATE , CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS (SAFFLOWER) SEED EXTRACT , PROPYLENE GLYCOL , WATER\AQUA\EAU , VITIS VINIFERA (GRAPE) SEED EXTRACT , COLA ACUMINATA (KOLA) SEED EXTRACT , CAMELLIA OLEIFERA LEAF EXTRACT

After comparing the products, I'm actually inclined to try chafing gel as low-cost primer substitute. The Smashbox ingredients listed first are identical to the chafing gels. Both products are used on the skin, and at $5-8, I would have no problems using chafing gel for actual chafing. 

Now, the Smashbox primer does have other ingredients like a number of plant extracts, but they are listed at the end and I doubt the amounts are significant to justify a price that is 450% or more than chafing gel.

Once I've tried this substitute, I plan to update this post.