The right primer is an important product when you want your skin makeup to go on smoothly and flawlessly, especially if you deal with textured skin.
Any good primer should minimize the appearance of pores and provide a reliable barrier between your makeup and your skin to decrease settling and creases. There are also some formulations that are aimed to provide a specific finish to your makeup, like a mattifying primer or one that offers a touch of luminescence. But when your skin has some texture, there are some added considerations that you must make when choosing a primer.
Regardless of your skin type, a primer should be the foundation upon which your actual foundation rests. It boosts staying power and keeps your look flawless all day long. So, it’s not hard to see why it’s important to find the right primer to begin your day with. In this shopping guide to primers, we’ll discuss 13 incredible face primers that work wonderfully on textured skin.
13 Best Primers for Flawless Makeup Application on Textured Skin
There is no one-size-fits-all primer that works ideally for all skin types. So, let’s focus on the best primer that can be used to smooth and nurture textured skin while providing the perfect base for concealer and foundation.
1. Becca Cosmetics Ever-Matte Primer
Skin can become textured for a variety of reasons, including dryness. If this is the case for you, you definitely don’t want a primer that contains alcohol. Alcohol is very harsh and drying, even on oily skin! This formulation by Becca Cosmetics is free of not only alcohol but also silicone, oils, and artificial fragrances. This primer provides nourishing hydration while still providing the long-lasting, matte finish that you want.
The Becca Ever-Matte primer can be used alone to provide a nearly airbrushed look to your natural skin. It can even be applied over your makeup throughout the day when you need a touch-up! This is one primer that can really do it all.
2. Tarte Double Duty Base Tape Primer [Editor’s Pick]
This is our overall best primer for textured skin. At over an ounce in size, Tarte provides a great quantity of high-end primer for the price. This 100% vegan product is infused with coconut, which delivers silky-smooth results that are perfect conditions for your foundation. Jojoba and grapeseed extract also assist in hydrating and nourishing skin – and as we all know, hydrated and healthy skin is the best foundation for foundation!
The smoothing benefits of Tarte’s smoothing and cruelty-free primer have been tested on women ages 28 through 50, with splendid results immediately and after a week of wear.
3. Bella Terra Face Primer
This smoothing and ultra-hydrating primer packs a serious pore-benefiting punch without the use of any oils or parabens. Skin is left feeling as soft as satin, with pores that seem to disappear as if by magic. These results come about only as a result of the high-quality, hypoallergenic formulation of the face primer sold by Bella Terra.
Bismuth oxychloride is a component found in many mineral-based cosmetics, but not in Bella Terra’s pore-vanishing primer for textured skin. Not only will you be delighted at how great your skin looks as the day wears on, but you will also feel good about putting this product on your face.
4. Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Primer
At an incredibly affordable price point, Elizabeth Mott cosmetics provides a long-lasting primer that’s perfect for textured skin. Without the use of parabens and other unwanted (but unfortunately common) chemicals that you’ll see in other primers, this product delivers a smooth, pore-free, and mattified finish for all-day wear.
Praised by users as a “real-life selfie filter,” Thank Me Later makes skin look amazing – with or without concealer and foundation!
5. Bare Minerals Original Prime Time
From the mineral brand that you know and love comes a primer that extends the life of your foundation while combating unwanted texture in skin. Flakiness, patchiness, fine lines, and oiliness are banished for the day when you apply this preservative-free formula to your skin. Bare Minerals’ Prime Time face primer is perfect for use in conjunction with their award-winning foundation, but you can pair it with any foundation of your choice!
6. NYX Studio Perfect Primer
The drugstore super-brand NYX delivers high-quality cosmetics that make a dramatic impact, and their Studio Perfect Primer is no exception. It smooths fine lines and diminishes pores to create effortlessly smooth, long-lasting wear for your makeup. Do you need to place an added emphasis on color correction? If so, you can purchase this primer in green or lavender to meet your needs!
The clear primer sold by NYX is a cult classic for a reason, Definitely the best budget primer for textured skin.
7. L’Oreal Paris Studio Secrets Correcting Primer
Is redness the bane of your existence? Are you often trying to cover up red patches and irregularities on your skin, only to be disappointed? From L’Oreal Paris comes the Studio Secrets Correcting Primer to save the day. This is the best drugstore primer for textured skin we’ve tried, not only it neutralizes redness, but it also combats large pores and fine lines. The result? Airbrushed-looking skin that serves as the perfect base for your foundation all day long.
On its own or beneath a foundation, this correcting primer ensures smoother-looking, more even skin.
8. Jane Iredale Smooth Affair Primer
From the brand that is known for its specialty in anti-aging cosmetics comes a breakthrough primer that harnesses the power of grapefruit, white tea, and green tea. All skin has natural luminescence, which this primer helps to bring out in a single, effortless step. It smooths fine lines and minimizes pores to let your natural beauty shine through – even under a layer of your favorite foundation.
9. Benefit Cosmetics POREfessional Primer
Benefit Cosmetics has put a lot of time and effort into the formulation of this high-end, high-quality face priming product. The lightweight balm is of a unique consistency that hydrates and nourishes skin all day long, whether on its own or as a canvas for your foundation. It even contains a vitamin E derivative to enhance the skin-restoring qualities of this product further.
You can even use this primer to touch up spots on top of your makeup throughout the day. This is a real find for those of us who struggle with keeping oils at bay as the hours wear on.
10. Peter Thomas Roth Skin to Die For Primer
An oily complexion can really bring out the texture in your skin, which most of us are trying to avoid when we choose the right cosmetics products for us. Peter Thomas Roth cosmetics has a miracle mattifying primer that is only a click away from being in your hands: The Skin to Die For primer! It smooths out skin instantly to create the perfect terrain for your favorite concealers and foundations. It’s like having a selfie filter in a bottle!
For use under makeup, over makeup or on its own, the Peter Thomas Roth Skin to Die For Primer is a 3-in-1 powerhouse of skincare.
11. Touch in Sol No POREblem Primer for Textured Skin
Unevenness and large pores are two of the most common woes that makeup wearers struggle with when it comes time for makeup application. The lightweight formula sold by Touch in Sol expertly combats these two commonplace issues to create the perfect, smoothest base for your foundation. The green tea extract within this formulation is perfect for hydrating and color-correcting the problem areas of a person’s skin.
With the help of a sebum catch powder, the No POREblem Primer by Touch in Sol combats oiliness to keep your makeup picture-perfect all day and night.
12. Dermalogica AGE Smart Skin Perfect Primer
If you’re looking for a primer that delivers a host of skin-nourishing benefits, look no further than Dermalogica! Their AGE Smart Skin Perfect Primer provides a perfect base for foundation, combats the signs of aging, and provides a sunscreen quality to protect your skin from harsh UV rays.
This powerfully smoothing primer is free of parabens and is Leaping Bunny approved, so you can trust that it is a safe product to apply to your skin whenever you want to wear makeup.
13. Bodyography Foundation Primer
This green-based foundation primer is the perfect redness-fighting product that you should introduce to your makeup routine today. Infused with vitamins E and A, jojoba oil, and grapeseed oil, Bodography’s foundation primer is an ultra-nourishing primer that will leave your skin better with each use. Because primer isn’t just for better-looking makeup, but for better-looking skin overall.
The weightless primer goes on green but applies clear, so you can feel comfortable using it without any other products! Lock your makeup in place all day while fighting redness and oil when you buy this primer.
More Tips for Perfect Primer Application
It isn’t simply enough to get your hands on a fantastic face primer. It is just like any other cosmetic product, where application technique means everything. Textured skin requires a certain care in application of any skin products, so let’s discuss what you should do to ensure your primer smooths your skin and provides the flawless base for your foundation that you crave.
A Step-by-Step for Primer Application
Step 1: Start with a clean and hydrated face. A primer won’t do its job as effectively if your skin is full of dirt, oil, and dead skin cells. Wash your face and apply your preferred moisturizer before reaching for your foundation primer.
Step 2: Warm the primer by putting the desired amount of product on the back of your hand. A warmer product means a smoother application.
Step 3: Using your fingers, apply the primer to your face and neck. Concentrate on extra troublesome areas, if applicable. For example, a green primer combats redness, so make sure to be dutiful in applying it to especially red areas in particular. Apply in a circular motion, as you do with your moisturizer.
Step 4: Allow the primer to completely dry before applying makeup. And you’re done! It really is that simple.
5 Mistakes You Might Be Making When Applying Primer on Textured Skin
While the 4 steps above surely make primer application sound as simple as could be, there are some mistakes that can prevent your primer from doing its job. Here are 5 mistakes that we often see makeup wearers use when applying foundation primer.
- Not washing your face. Dirt and other impurities can settle deeply into the pores and fine lines of the skin. Applying any cosmetic product over a dirty face will not give you the results you’re looking for.
- Not moisturizing your face. The primer should sit on top of moisturizer – it doesn’t substitute moisturizer in a skincare/makeup routine. Wait for your moisturizer to dry before applying primer.
- Applying too little primer. If you have to tug at your skin to work the primer into your face, you might not be applying enough. Tugging at skin enhances the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, especially around the eyes, nose, and mouth. Try applying just a little bit more for a smooth and effortless application.
- Not using the right primer for your skin type. You should research any product that you use to determine if it is a good fit for your skin type. Oily skin and dry skin, for instance, have very different needs that can be addressed through very different primers.
- Not applying primer with your fingers. The warmth of your hands will help the product meld more effectively into your skin. So, don’t be afraid to use your fingers in lieu of a sponge or brush.
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