Real talk: Do you really need to be using a primer under your makeup? (2024)

“Heir Atelier is a beautiful, demi-matte formula, that increases hydration as well,” says celebrity makeup artist Mary Irwin. It helps your makeup glide on without balling or caking and stay looking fresh for longer.

“I’m a fan of Glossier Priming Moisturizer,” says Irwin. “The fatty acids and ceramides really increase hydration and lock foundation in.” The creme visibly evens out skin texture, and minimizes the look of pores, while an anti-redness complex soothes your skin.

This formula combines shea butter with vitamins B, C, and E, to keep your skin moisturized and looking its best. It helps your makeup go on smoother and last longer.

Lightweight and oil-free, this moisturizing primer contains coconut water for hydration and quinoa protein to help protect, nurture, and support the skin barrier.

This editor-favorite primer is made with sodium hyaluronate, a derivative of hyaluronic acid, which is great for hydration. It’s oil- and silicone-free, so it’s great for sensitive skin. As Well+Good beauty writer Kara Jillian Brown describes it, “It starts out as a cloud-like whipped gel and smooths into your skin effortlessly. It dries down quickly, leaving a smooth finish that’s still a bit tacky to the touch, but not overly sticky.”

Equal parts makeup and skin care, this primer transforms from an oil to a soap to a gel before melting seamlessly into skin. According to the brand’s founder, Jennifer Lawless, the formula functions as pre-makeup serum, primer, and moisturizer all in one, and can cut multiple steps out of your morning (and evening) routines. Its clean, water-based formula includes Pentapeptide-59 (a synthetic ingredient designed to fight redness and protects sensitive skin), rosehip seed oil (which reduces the appearances of acne scars), and sea buckthorn oil (another ingredient that protects you body’s largest organ from environmental threats).

A primer/moisturizer hybrid, this “Primerizer” is Davis’ top pick for clients with dry skin. It contains three kinds of hydrating hyaluronic acid and redness-reducing niacinamide. Its hero ingredient, though, is “silk screen complex” made up of vitamins, antioxidants, and probiotics that defends against damage from blue light and environmental stressors. It creates a smooth, seamless canvas to apply makeup on top of, and will leave your complexion looking dewy and fresh. mi

Another one of Davis’ go-tos, this formula features a triple hyaluronic acid complex and niacinamide to hydrate, plump, and nourish the skin underneath makeup.

This formula feels like a moisturizer but works like a primer, simultaneously working to nourish skin while also prepping it for makeup. It hydrates, protects against blue-light damage, and smooths fine lines and wrinkles. It’s so good for your complexion, you’ll want to wear it even on days you aren’t applying foundation.

This oil-free primer is made with a trifecta of good-for-skin (particularly oily skin) ingredients: Glycerin, which helps to retain moisture; Bark extract, which improves skin texture; and Ginger root extract, which offers smoothing benefits. Not only will it blur your pores immediately after you apply, but it will also help improve their appearance over time.

This primer is great for oily and acne-prone skin, as it uses willow bark powder (an ingredient you’ll often find in pimple-fighting products) to control shine. According to fans of the formula, it goes on smooth, feels weightless, and won’t ever pill under your makeup.

This primer has long been a celeb favorite, and it’s even been recommended to us by Daniel Martin, the makeup artist responsible for Megan Markle’s wedding day glam. “If it’s humid, you have oilier skin, and are wearing a lighter weight or oil-free moisturizer, reach for The Liquid Silk Canvas,” he says. The lightweight, liquid formula is oil-free, and made with silk powder extracts to smooth out pores and wrinkles, as well as a blend of botanical and antioxidant-rich extracts that protect and nourish the skin.

Rihanna is truly a formulations wizard, and this oil-free primer is just as good as everything else Fenty Beauty puts onto the market. It leaves behind what the brand calls a “soft matte” finish, which will never make your skin look (or feel) chalky or dried out. It absorbs shine to leave skin smooth, and melts seamlessly into all skin types and tones.

Medhin recommends this smoothing primer, which hydrates skin but doesn’t leave behind any excess oil. Its claim to fame is its ability to grip onto foundation and make it last “all night.”

One of Patinkin’s favorites, she notes that she keeps this primer in her kit and uses it “only if my client is truly oily.” In addition to smoothing skin and locking makeup in place, it offers physical UVA and UVB protection with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

A true drugstore diamond, this $10 pick has hundreds of five-star reviews. It’s beloved for its staying power, non-sticky finish, and how effectively it holds onto makeup. It goes on clear to give skin a “soft focus” effect.

This primer-meets-serum is infused with peptides, which boost your skin’s plumpness and overall health in the long term, and pearls, which add an instant boost of radiance. It can be layered under makeup, but also looks gorgeous when it’s worn on its own.

Though this is technically a highlighter, it’s the perfect level of luminescent to layer under foundation for the ultimate dewy finish. It comes in two shades—champagne and bronze—each of which delivers a candle-lit glow. Plus, it’s made with vitamin C and rosehip oil, which will brighten your skin’s natural appearance over time.

This silicone-free, gel-texture primer calls on ultra-fine pearls to give it its gleam. It’s great for dull, dry skin, and contains a blend of skin-soothing botanicals (namely lotus, gardenia, and white waterlily) to calm stressed complexions. Though it looks shimmery straight out of the bottle, when you rub it into your skin it offers a gorgeous, glassy finish.

Nothing says “luxe” like diamonds, which is exactly what this formula uses to create its translucent glow. It feels like a serum (really, you can think of it as both a part of your skin-care and makeup routines), and includes ceramides to strengthen the skin barrier and lock in moisture. It’s made with makeup-locking technology, so works well under foundation, but is also great for days when you want to go makeup-free but are still looking for a little skin-enhancing boost.

From a dullness-combatting standpoint, this formula does it all. It’s made with light-reflecting microspheres to give skin an instant boost of brilliance and blurring, and contains collagen-stimulating peptides and anti-wrinkle ingredients that smooth and brighten dull, dehydrated skin over time.

Well+Good’s senior beauty editor Zoë Weiner swears by this priming moisturizer to prep her dry skin for makeup. In addition to hydrating ingredients like glycerin and shea butter, it’s got light-reflecting pearls and roast extract. The pearls give skin a gleaming glow immediately after application, and the rosat extract helps to boost the skin’s natural radiance over time to deliver glazed donut skin in a single step.

The brand describes this primer perfectly: ” It’s like walking around with your own flattering lighting everywhere you go.” It’s made with soft-focus pigments that blur the appearance of pores and add radiance to the skin, giving you a smooth, even complexion with the perfect amount of incandescence. While it doesn’t offer any long-term skin-boosting benefits, it’s great for days when you need an instant pick-me-up.

Like many of the other illuminating primers on this list, this Laura Mercier formula contains pearls, which brighten complexions, and is ideal for someone with dull skin who wants to add to their skin’s luminosity. It’s also made with light-reflecting technology, which ups that glow factor even further, and porcelain flower extract, which enhances natural skin radiance over time.