7 Editor-Approved Face Primers That Give You Have Flawless Makeup Every Single Time

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The biggest hack to a perfect-looking face is to prep your complexion with the right skincare products. Beyond cleansing, toning, moisturizing, and slathering on facial sunscreen, applying a thin, even layer of face primer before stippling on makeup offers many skincare benefits. But with hundreds available to shop on Amazon, Sephora, and Ulta, finding the best face primer for your needs – or the best to give a friend or loved one – can be overwhelming. As our makeup-obsessed beauty editor, I tested dozens of face primers to bring you the most elite picks. Keep scrolling for my guide to shopping for all things face primers, along with my ride-or-die solutions for all budgets and skin types.

The Best Face Primers

• Best Overall: BareMinerals Prime Time Original Pore-Minimizing Primer

• Best Budget Primer: e.l.f. Poreless Putty Primer

• Best Multipurpose Primer: Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré

• Best for Oily Skin: Milk Makeup Pore Eclipse Mattifying + Blurring Makeup Primer with Niacinamide

• Best for Blurring: Caliray So Blown Blurring & Hydrating Collagen Peptide Face Primer

What to Consider

Face primers create an invisible barrier between your skin and foundation to help keep your makeup looking fresh. There are tons of different formulations, all aimed to target a specific skin concern like oiliness, dryness, or uneven skin tone. Everyone can benefit from layering a face primer before applying any face makeup for all-day wear and major cosmetic benefits. But before you hit add to cart, the two most important factors to consider are your skin type and the primer’s active ingredients.

Skin Type

Oily Skin

Face primers are essential for anyone with oily skin because they help control the oiliness and minimize shine. Primers for oily skin do wonders for someone looking for a pore minimizer, so someone with acne-prone skin, such as teenagers, will appreciate them. You’ll want a face primer with a lightweight gel formation that’s preferably non-comdegenic, meaning it won’t congest your pores and lead to acne.

Dry Skin

Those with dry skin will love a face primer with hydrating ingredients to add a glow to their visage. Some face primers are infused with dermatologist-approved moisturizing skincare ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid and squalane. Your safest bet is to apply a thicker face primer, such as the reader-favorite Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré, which has a beautiful creamy consistency.

Combination Skin

Those with combination skin (typically dry on the cheeks and oily across the forehead, nose, and chin) know it’s a struggle to find beauty products that help rebalance your skin. Folx with combination skin will want something that can keep shine and oil at bay in the T-Zone but doesn’t wipe away the natural glow on your cheeks. There are basically two options for how to tackle this issue: Either use a face primer that combines oil-absorbing and moisturizing skincare ingredients, such as the Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Hydrating Makeup Primer, or you can order two face primers: a lightweight, gel option for oily spots and a richer primer for dry areas.

Sensitive Skin

Someone with sensitive skin might prefer clean beauty brands, such as Milk Makeup, because they’re free of irritants that could trigger reaction. Speaking of skin irritations, someone dealing with rosacea or loads of angry red pimples might be into face primers with a green color-correcting tint to camouflage redness. Opting for a color-correcting face primer, such as the ones from BareMinerals, helps eliminate the need to apply a neutralizing color corrector before foundation and concealer.

Best Ingredients

Different skin types have different concerns, and those concerns require different active ingredients. Here’s a quick look at dermatologist-approved components worth incorporating into your makeup routine.

• Bakuchiol is a plant-based retinol alternative that helps smooth uneven skin tone and rough texture.
  

• Hyaluronic acid holds in moisture and reduces lines and wrinkles.

• Collagen is a protein naturally found in our bodies that slows signs of aging and boosts hydration.

• Squalane is an emollient that smoothes and moisturizes skin, retains water, and fills in holes in the skin barrier.

• Glycerin hydrates dry skin and protects the skin barrier because it has antimicrobial properties to help ward off bacteria and infection.

• Niacinamide brightens dark spots with prolonged use.
  

How We Chose

I know the struggle of shopping for new beauty products with plenty of hype online but failing to deliver on their actual promises IRL. It’s a waste of time and money, and let’s be real, it leaves a salty taste in my mouth. Fortunately for you, Best Products is all about first-hand product testing to bring you the all-time best gift ideas.

I personally tested dozens of makeup primers over several months because I’m obsessed with discovering new beauty products to perfect my skin. I wore these face primers independently, layered under different foundations and concealers, applied them with my fingers and brushes, and wore them in various real world situations — think long-distance flights and shorter trips to the office, running errands around town, and dining out with friends and family. I also traveled quite a bit and wore these face primers in different climates, ranging from humid Florida weather and seasonal changes in NYC.

After testing several new beauty products, classics, and straight-up icons from high-end and drugstore brands alike, I settled on six standout face primers ideal for various skin types. Since the budget-friendly face primers I tried didn’t impress me as much as the mid-range picks from Sephora, I asked members of our team who have uses primers about their favorite picks, and the standout nomination (the e.l.f. Poreless Putty Face Primer) is only $10.

Regardless of your budget or skin type, I’m confident you’ll find a lovely face primer for your unique beauty concerns without breaking your budget. So keep scrolling for the best face primers for yourself — and lucky loved ones with an upcoming birthday, fun celebration, or just because.

Prime Time Original Pore-Minimizing Face Primer

Kicking off this list is this staple from BareMinerals. It recently earned one of our first-ever Best New Beauty Awards seals because it’s my no-fail way to ensure my makeup lasts.

While I adore all of these Best Tested face primers, I keep returning to Prime Time because it layers seamlessly under face makeup. I can also wear it alone for a naturally enhanced look on no-makeup makeup days.

Unlike other face primers on this list, Prime Time makes several versions that target unique skincare concerns. For example, the Redness Reducing Primer uses transparent green mineral pigments to color-correct redness from acne or rosacea. Someone with large pores, like myself, will adore the featured Original version, while someone with dry skin will become obsessed with the Hydrate & Glow face primer.

Regardless of your chosen option, this innovative face primer preps skin for makeup application by diffusing imperfections to the point where you might not even want to layer a foundation on top.

More: Expert-Approved Natural Face Moisturizers

Poreless Putty Face Primer

When you only have $10 to spare on a new makeup primer, let e.l.f. Cosmetics’s unique solid primer be your go-to beauty solution. It has a unique solid texture that transforms into a liquid when warmed up by the body heat emitted by your fingers.

Despite the price, Poreless Putty Primer doesn’t skimp on skincare-quality ingredients, such as squalane, which moisturizes and ensures your complexion is smooth before makeup application.

“I was a little wary of the texture when I first tried it,” says our tester (and Senior Director of SEO and Content), Erica Murphy. “It’s really hard initially, and you have to rub your finger around a lot to actually get enough product to use. But once I got some product on my hands, I felt it smoothed out well on my skin! For people looking for a cheap primer, I think this is a solid option. It does its job and doesn’t leave skin feeling too dry or too oily.”

Pore Eclipse Mattifying + Blurring Makeup Primer

Last year, Milk Makeup debuted a new face primer to its roster of iconic clean beauty products, and my complexion couldn’t have been happier. Pore Eclipse soaks up excess oil and minimizes shine, creating a beautiful blank slate for foundation application. It does an excellent job of lessening shine, so my skin has a cool matte finish.

As someone with very large pores, it does a fantastic job of filling them in without caking on something heavy. Pore Eclipse also doesn’t congest the pores, making it ideal for anyone with acne-prone skin.

Whenever I wear this face makeup primer, I can trust that it won’t budge, slide off, or fade throughout a full day. It lasts during all seasons, too, but shines brightest during hot New York summertime heat. It even helped prolong my makeup during summer concerts, including on humid subway rides to stadiums.

Hydro Grip Hydrating Makeup Face Primer

Another Milk Makeup face primer? Yup, and this one is also incredible and worth purchasing. Before the brand introduced its oily skin face primer, this was my all-time favorite Milk Makeup product.

Hyrdro Grip Face Primer is made with 94% natural ingredients, including blue agave extract, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid. These ingredients work together to prevent makeup from melting, caking, and fading. The lightweight gel formula is ideal for combination skin types. It is a green primer, but worry not, it doesn’t leave behind any weird Wicked-inspired tint. Instead, it blends into the skin and has a non-sticky feel.

I like to let my primer sit on my face for at least a minute before applying makeup for extra grip longevity. It’s not necessary, but my favorite primer hack for oilier areas of the skin, like the T-Zone, which consists of the forehead, nose, and chin.

Lait-Crème Concentré Face Primer

This iconic product isn’t just an incredible face moisturizer, but it works equally well as a makeup primer, face mask, and hand cream. The white face cream soaks into the skin relatively quickly, leaving behind a soft satiny finish to the complexion without any leftover residue.

The blend of shea butter, beeswax, aloe vera, and soy proteins is so beneficial for dry and mature skin types, Lait-Crème Concentré is also my pick for one of the best winter moisturizers and best face moisturizers for dry skin.

The flexibility is incredible, as anyone can wear it alone or under makeup while cutting down their beauty routine to just the bare essentials. It boasts a lightweight formula that’s filled with essential fatty acids and vitamins for a healthier-looking complexion before you apply foundation. My skin glows whenever I slather on this multipurpose face primer.

Invisible UV Flawless Face Primer

Makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury is iconic in the beauty world. I’m obsessed with many of her products, including her Airbrush Flawless Foundation, Best New Beauty Award-winning Magic Water Cream, and this face primer.

This is the ideal face primer for anyone looking for extra sun protection. It’s the only option on this list that's infused with broad-spectrum SPF 50 protection against the sun’s ultraviolet rays that cause aging and burns. It’s safe for all skin types and is invisible, so it won’t leave behind an annoying white cast on darker skin tones.

Speaking of skincare benefits, I love that it’s infused with hyaluronic acid, nourishing vitamin E, and brightening vitamin C. There’s even Collalift 18, an African mahogany tree bark extract that improves the appearance of pores and lines and tightens skin.

So Blown Blurring & Hydrating Collagen Peptide Face Primer

I love and trust this clear, silky-textured face primer so much I wore it to a wedding. It’s infused with good-for-you ingredients, such as skin-plumping collagen peptides, nourishing vitamin E, and niacinamide to lock in hydration.

There’s also oleic acid to restore the skin’s natural oils without clogging pores. Most importantly, it’s made with Caliray’s trademarked poreaway blend to minimize the appearance of large pores, which my oily cheeks greatly appreciate.

Just remember to use a little bit of product at a time. I was initially heavy-handed with this face primer and noticed it started to pill before I applied foundation. Once I used no more than a pea-sized amount of product across my face, that stopped.

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