Yahoo Lifestyle The only primers I trust for makeup that lasts on my dry AF skin
Finding the right primer for dry skin is a challenge for us all – yes, including us beauty journos (hey 👋). If you're working with a flakey complexion, you'll know how annoying it is when every foundation you try seems to cake around your nose by lunchtime.
No matter how many layers of moisturiser or hyaluronic acid you apply beforehand, even the most glow-giving bases can turn powdery after a few hours.
While many of the best makeup primers are designed to blur an oily T-zone (ie: the exact opposite of what dry skin needs), there’s now a host of great primers available for thirsty skin, here to keep you hydrated from morning to night.
The superior options are often enriched with ingredients like hyaluronic acid and shea butter to moisturise and provide a nourishing canvas to apply makeup onto. Especially as the sunny season hits, it's important to scout out these ingredients to keep your skin hydrated and protected throughout. No one likes crusty foundation.
What's more, the right formula will prevent your foundation from clinging to dry patches and migrating into fine lines. Instead, it'll support your makeup's staying power and boost its glow.
As for the best hydrating primers to shop, this is where I come in. I've tried my fair share of products to save my tight and dehydrated complexion, so there's no better person to share the top primers worthy of your attention.
The very best hydrating primers for dry skin
Power Grip Primer
If you're looking for a primer that will stick around longer than your last situationship, then Power Grip takes the number one spot.
The gel-like formula creates a tacky base that is ideal for applying foundation to – and once it's on, it's not budging. As for the finish: it's neither matte nor dewy, but gives your complexion a soft-focus blur that smooths texture and pores.
The Power Grip is also a water-based formula, as opposed to silicone, so it's a great choice for those with dehydrated complexions.
Trust me, that situationship will come crawling back with skin looking this good.
Hydro Grip + Glow Primer
When my mate told me that she doesn't use primer, I – after picking my jaw up from the ground – pointed her in the direction of this grippy and glowy formula.
The OG Hydro Grip is a sensation for a reason so you'll be pleased to know that this iteration has many of the same features, including 12-hour wear. The only difference? It's infused with light-reflecting pearls to lend a golden glow to the skin, while nourishing it with aloe vera and hyaluronic acid.
Yes, I have a great foundation on my side, but I'm convinced my radiant glow is down to this primer.
Glow and Sculpt Face Primer
Refy's face primer is an outstanding product in two ways. Firstly, there's the rollerball applicator that makes massaging in the product feel truly relaxing.
Then, there's the formula itself: it's a serum-like gel that hydrates the skin and smoothes texture. It shines when worn alone, and will make any foundation look a million times better too.
Plump Right Back Primer
A great pocket-friendly option that serves me well is the NYX Plump Right Back primer. With hyaluronic acid and vitamin E, this hydrating hero creates a smooth base for complexion products, plumps the skin for an energised look and injects that all-important moisture. It’s vegan, affordable and hydrating; three big ticks from me.
Easy Blur Primer
Huda Beauty's Easy Blur Primer has impressed the entire Cosmo beauty team and, with multiple editors who favour different textures and finishes, that says a lot.
What's so unique about this formula is it delivers the same results you'd expect from a silicone-based primer – blurred pores and smoothed texture – without containing, you guessed it, silicone. Instead, it's packed with glycerin and milk thistle extract to keep the skin hydrated and to regulate oil production.
As for staying power, this stuff will keep your foundation locked in place all day. I mean, what else would you expect from the qween of airbrushed finishes.
Glowy Super Gel
Saie’s primer/highlighter hybrid is a hit for those with dry skin. Not only does its lightweight, shimmer-infused gel add a glisten to bare skin, but the moisturising formula creates the optimal palette for the rest of your makeup to sit on.
Apply it in-between your moisturiser and foundation for a dewy look, then concentrate the pigment to the high points of your face – brow bones, cheekbones and nose bridge – to moonlight as a highlighter.
I’m telling you, multi-tasking makeup is the way forward.
Cloud Glow Primer
Milk Makeup is known for its never-seen-before textures (er, hello Cooling Water Jelly Tints) but this takes things to new extremes.
As you'd guess from the name, The Cloud Glow Primer dispenses a lighter-than-air foam that has the consistency of your fave foaming facial wash – but minus any sticky feel.
The foam easily slips over the skin to plump and hydrate, leaving a radiant canvas for makeup application. It also smells like a piña colada, just saying.
Skin Food
So the packaging may look like you'd buy this in an apothecary shop, but it's about what's on the inside – right?
Weleda's Skin Food is truly a hero product, with sooo many celebs using it to achieve a radiant glow (hi, Hailey Bieber and Victoria Beckham).
As for me? I generously apply a thick layer before my makeup and
my complexion comes to life. The glow is unmatched, leaving a glossiness that beams through makeup.
The best part is that it's a multi-tasking product, so it can be used as a moisturiser, on lips, cuticles, or as a radiant primer.
Studio Radiance Moisturising + Illuminating Silky Primer
If you're looking for a primer that will deliver a stunning, healthy dew without going OTT on the radiance, then look to MAC's Moisturising and Illuminating Silky Primer.
As a long-time lover of MAC, I had high hopes for this base and I can confirm that she didn't disappoint. Not only does it give a plump and energised glow to my complexion, but it also creates the perfect canvas for makeup.
The buttery formula hydrates the skin so that my foundation applies seamlessly without clinging to dry patches or seeping into fine lines. My makeup also stays more vibrant too, as usually my bronzer is fading off my cheeks by midday. V impressed.
Vitamin Enriched Face Base
If you're on the right side of TikTok, you'll know that Bobbi Brown's Face Base has caught the attention of many beauty pros, MUA's and mere mortals alike for its ability to make your foundation look flawless.
Part primer part moisturiser, the nourishing blend of hyaluronic acid, vitamin E and shea butter keeps your skin feeling hydrated throughout its wear, but draws the line at any greasy residue from pilling.
A little bit goes a long way too, so this tub will last. A true top performer IMO.
Peptide Glazing Fluid
I'm a huge fan of Rhode Skin, but if I had to pick a fave from the collection, it would be the Peptide Glazing Fluid.
The milky serum applies beautifully under makeup and gives my complexion the same glossiness as Hailey Bieber's. Plus it can be tapped over my cheekbones throughout the day to maintain a dewy sheen.
Some things just make sense, and apparently looking like a glazed 🍩 is one of them.
Skin Nova
Vieve's Skin Nova is one illuminating primer that I highly recommend, alongside the rest of the Cosmo clan.
Thanks to the ultra-fine golden pigments, the gel-like formula lends a subtle lit-from-within glow that seeps through your foundation for a dewy finish.
I’m also here for the skincare benefits: it’s formulated with niacinamide to smooth and lock in moisture. If you fancy something that's a little richer, opt for the new Super Skin Nova – it has the same illuminating finish but with a thicker consistency to lock in moisture.
Priming Moisturizer
If you’re on the hunt for a moisture-rich primer that will equally hydrate and brighten, you can’t get much better than Glossier’s Priming Moisturiser (the name says it all really).
It helps mollify dry zones yet still ensures the longevity of your makeup. The texture is excellent too: it's a comforting cream that feels like a puffer jacket on thirsty skin.
Beauty Base Protect
What's better than a moisturising primer? A moisturising primer that also contains SPF50. Sculpted By Aimee has our base on lock, all whilst helping to protect the skin.
This is one of the most hydrating and moisturising primers that I've tried, whether applying it before foundation or mixing both together, it always leaves my base looking perfect.
Even though it contains SPF50, it's always best to apply a standalone SPF beforehand, so that you're applying the right amount to your face. Any skincare-makeup hybrid products with SPF are an added bonus for protection.
Magic Cream
Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Cream is truly such an OG that's loved by makeup artists and beauty lovers alike. One swipe will leave your skin feeling more hydrated and plump than ever before.
I love taking this cream on holiday when I don't have a lot of room for liquids as it saves me having to pack a normal primer and can double-up as a primer-moisturiser hybrid.
It uses the brand's Magic 8 Matrix, a patented formula that is infused with bionymph peptide complex, hyaluronic acid and vitamins C and E to add glow and plump your complexion.
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