Credit: Courtesy of Stylist loves and brands
Stylist Loves
Ace your base with the best primers for your skin type
By Hanna Ibraheem &Darcy Brown
2 years ago
3 min read
Primers are often overlooked, but they can be the answer to making your make-up last longer. Here are our top picks…
When it comes to perfecting your make-up application, many make-up artists have told the Stylist beauty team the same thing: the key is a good base. And though you may have spent time perfecting your foundation and concealer, the next big ask is for it to last all day.
There’s a host of tricks and tips you can use to improve the longevity of your make-up, but the key lies with prepping your skin. When you first approach your base, one important step is applying primer after your skincare has sunk in.
Primers act as a ‘glue’ between your skin and make-up and help to extend the life of your foundation. This means it won’t slip off your face come 3pm. Of course, everyone’s skin is different, so the best primer for you will depend on your skin type.
Here, we list the best primers according to every skin type…
For combination skin: Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Primer
An airbrushed finish awaits with this skin-perfecting primer. A lightweight gel texture glides over the face and uses micro powders to create a seamless complexion, blurring any areas prone to excess shine, eg the T-zone and chin. It perfectly preps your canvas to ensure filter-worthy make-up application.
For dull-looking skin: Clinique Even Better Light Reflecting Primer
This is the pick-me-up your skin is missing. It locks your make-up in place all day and coats it with vitamin C to give a serious glow. With light-catching illuminators, you can expect an inside-out radiance.
Shop Clinique Even Better Light Reflecting Primer at Lookfantastic, £30
For sensitive skin: bareMinerals Redness Reducing Prime Time Primer
If your skin is prone to redness, reach for this formula to restore calm. Tinted with green, it counteracts redness while treating skin with nourishing chamomile extract. Packed with barrier boosters, it strengthens your skin to take on the day.
Shop bareMinerals Redness Reducing Prime Time Primer at Cult Beauty, £30
For blemish-prone skin: Glow Recipe Strawberry BHA Pore-Smooth Blur Drops
Like a skincare serum, this formula goes the extra mile to ensure your skin looks its best. It works while you wear it by using exfoliating fruit acids to get deeper into pores and stop excess oil at the root. It dries matte to reduce excess shine.
For oily skin: Huda Beauty GloWish Blur Jam Silicone-Free Smoothing Primer
A primer is a safety net for those with oily skin, ensuring your make-up stays put and never slips. This formula uses three steps to take on shine: it blurs the complexion, mattifies oils and boosts hydration to restore balance. Wear it on its own or under make-up, and notice how you reach midday without feeling greasy.
Shop Huda Beauty GloWish Blur Jam Silicone-Free Smoothing Primer at Boots, £29
For dry skin: Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer Hydrating
Those with dry skin may notice that their make-up clings to rough patches. This formula offers a glass of water to thirsty skin, using olive extract to soften and lock in hydration and hydra botanicals to recover long-term moisture.
Shop Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer Hydrating at Boots, £35
For tired-looking skin: Refy Face Primer Glow And Sculpt
This sculpting saviour gifts the ultimate morning ritual. It takes on puffiness by reducing facial tension and pillow-plumps fine lines for a supple finish. It dials up the dew without leaving any sticky residue behind, leaving you with nothing short of a post-facial glow.
For overworked skin: Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Face Primer
If you love Ole Henriksons Banana Bright Eye Cream, then you will love this. The same banana powder-inspired pigments deliver instant radiance. A dose of vitamin C fights free radicals from pollution, making it the ultimate city companion.
Shop Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Face Primer at Sephora, £30
For mature skin: Sisley-Paris Instant Eclat Glow Primer
Restore your glow for a your-skin-but-better finish. An energising formula targets dark circles and softens the appearance of fine lines to create a seamless complexion. It creates the ultimate base to ensure make-up looks radiant and perfected.
Shop Sisley-Paris Instant Eclat Glow Primer at Cult Beauty, £73
Images: Stylist Loves; courtesy of brands
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