I find that alot of companies talk their products up to perform miracles and then you're extremely disappointed when they don't give you the results you were expecting.  Primers are something I think fall into that category.  You put them on your face expecting  them to enhance your skin and take away the tiredness and make the skin look  spectacular before you layer on the foundation, only to find it looks exactly the same as it did before you used it.  The 2 exceptions I have found are the primers above.....both doing quite different things but  both leaving the skin looking great.
The Nars is called Skin Smoothing Face Prep and I have used it in one of my tutorial videos.  It's not a liquid, it is more like a firm paste that I brush lightly over the skin with a foundation brush and it literally smooths out the surface of the skin and leaves it quite matt so that when you apply the foundation your skin looks flawless. I find it works really well on oily and mature age skin .  It gives the skin a beautiful, soft look and is great for evening as it hardly needs any maintaining.
The Laura Mercier Foundation Primer does the opposite and when you put it on the face, after you have moisturised and  before you apply the foundation ,it gives the skin an evenness and a dewiness that is noticeable. This is great on normal to dry skin and also mature age skin when you want the skin to glow. I have also used it on young women on its own without a foundation to give that fresh healthy look to the skin and then lightly dust over a powder like Mac Prep and Prime just down the T-zone. Gives a great fresh natural look.

I know these shoes have absolutely nothing to do with beauty , although they do beautify the feet and have a beauty of their own.... but I had to share them. They are from the Valentino 2013 collection and ever since seeing them on Pinterest I am completely lusting after them. They are to me, the most elegant, gorgeous , sexy shoes I have seen in a long time. Taking inspiration from an era when women were so well groomed and elegance was key. Just goes to show great design never goes out of fashion.  Feeling the need to own a pair!

I have this little gadget at home that is yet another thing I own to  keep the lines at bay and it's  called a Galvanic spa.  And of all the products and gadgets out there that profess to work miracles,  I actually notice the difference in my skin when I use it. The galvanic spa uses self adjusting galvanic currents that have interchangeable conductors that synergistically work with  specially formulated products to deliver the key ingredients to your face. The brand I have is Nuskin and they make a range of serums that go with the spa. The intended result is to lessen the fine lines , tighten the skin and reduce the size of the pores and I can say that it definitely does all of that .
You use the pre treatment gel with the spa first and that is negatively charged and it draws the impurities from the skin. This contains marigold, sea kelp and vanilla extract to soothe and condition and cocoyl glutamate to cleanse and purify the skin.
Then you use the treatment gel with the spa and it's positively charged and this is when you start to see the difference. This gel contains arginine which helps the skin recover from stress and  magnesium to promote cellular energy.
There is also a cream that you can use for the deeper lines but I find when I use this one my skin breaks out so I just stick to the pre treatment gel and the treatment gel. Nuskin recommends you use it 3 times a week but I usually only manage about twice a week . It takes about 10 mins all up to use the first gel and run the spa over your face, rinse it off and apply the second gel and run it over your face again for about 5 mins. I prefer to do this when no-one is around as I get some strange looks from my boys when they catch me doing it.
It's not cheap though, and I had to go without a pair of shoes to buy it (anyone who knows me knows how much that hurts). But I figured that if I could use this spa twice a  week  it would cut down on my maintenance at the beauticians . I have to say it has paid for itself , I visit the beautician far less.  You can check it out at www.nuskin.com under "products".

 As a postscript to my Gorgeous and Grey post I have decided to take the plunge and  stop coloring my hair and go grey.... so the process begins. It is only 3 wks but I can already see the silver coming thru and I am ok with it. My hairdresser is going to help me grow it out gradually with some highlights as I go so I don't have to cut my hair off short and start again. He is great with color and I trust he is up for the challenge!  The Feb edition of Australian Vogue has done an article on women who have all decided to give up the color and go grey, so clearly I am not the only one thinking about this.  I took it as a sign.... standby for  the updates.

Sometimes it's good to get back to the basics and discover the natural ways that we can look after our skin instead of always buying expensive products.  One of my favourite food to use is honey. Two or three times a week I spread it all over my face and sit there for a few hours  (if I have the time, otherwise it's a quick 15 mins ) while it works its magic. It has antibiotic compounds called "inhibines' that work on the skin even after you have removed it and is also a humectant,  meaning it retains moisture. The honey creates a water tight film that allows the skin to rehydrate itself. It cleanses the skin's surface and temporarily tightens the outer layers and also contains antioxidants that help reduce and eliminate free radicals from the skin. Manuka honey is especially good if you have problem skin such as spots or acne because of its increased antibacterial properties. 
I dampen my face slightly and then take a spoonful and smooth it all over my face , extending it down my neck. I  find after I have rinsed it off my skin feels incredibly smooth , the pores have tightened and my skin glows.
You will want to use raw honey though because the high heat in the pasteurisation process destroys  some of the naturally occurring compounds that are so great for your skin.