You just spent hours on your makeup: choosing the perfect foundation, carefully crafting the perfect eyeshadow look, dusting on your contour and highlight just so. But when you take a selfie, all you see staring back at you is a ghost. Sound familiar? That's thanks to a little phenomenon called photo flashback, a makeup catastrophe that even celebs have been known to struggle with.
Flashback is caused by light bouncing off your face — and your primer, foundation or setting powder could be the culprit. Common ingredients in makeup, such as silica and those containing SPF (like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide), can reflect the light from your camera, causing that dreaded white cast.
Now, no need to panic: You don't have to avoid these ingredients altogether (in fact, you shouldn't, especially not the SPF). So, what's a girl to do? First, start out by testing the products in question and experiment with decreasing the amounts you apply.
What if you don't have to time to make a test run? Well, primers are your secret weapon when it comes to being selfie-ready. Here are five makeup primers that are safe for flash photography — and your next selfie.
This makeup primer is silicone-free and preps even the oiliest skin to a matte finish. A favorite of celebrity makeup artist Wayne Goss, it also doubles as a finishing spray.
Blur uneven skin texture and other imperfections with this cult-fave primer. It's designed to make makeup last longer and give skin a flawless look — and, as you can probably tell by the name, it's actually formulated to look good in pictures.
For those with dry skin, this makeup primer hydrates and smooths, prepping skin to be the perfect canvas for foundation. It also helps extends the wear time of makeup.
Despite having SPF, this facial moisturizer was tested as a makeup primer and had no flashback. It's the perfect primer for days when you're spending time outdoors and need some extra sun protection.
