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10 best primers 2023, tried and tested

Find the best primer to match for your skin type in our round-up of top-reviewed base-perfectors

Sabine Wiesel
Friday 28 April 2023 15:01 BST
<p>A layer after your moisturiser prevents make-up from sitting in fine lines, pores or imperfections</p>

A layer after your moisturiser prevents make-up from sitting in fine lines, pores or imperfections

Our Top Picks

Prepping your skin with the best primer for your skin type is far from just an additional step in your make-up routine that brands want you to buy into. It is, in fact, the key to creating the most flawless foundation finish and the secret make-up trick to make it stay in place all day.

So, if you’re finding your make-up looks blotchy by lunchtime, or it’s noticeably sitting in fine lines, pores or imperfections, drawing attention to them, a primer layered between your daily moisturiser and base might just be your new favourite beauty product.

And that’s because a powerful primer does two things. Firstly, it creates a smooth base by evening out the skin’s surface, so your foundation applies evenly. Secondly, it provides a gripping barrier for make-up to hang onto in order to extend its wear.

But the best primers have evolved, and now work that bit harder, offering extra skincare benefits too. From primers that give dry skin a hydration boost, to those that mattify and keep shine at bay, and everything in-between – like the ones that blur your imperfections and act like an IRL soft-focus filter.

Whatever your skin type or skin’s needs, don’t underestimate what a primer can do for your complexion. You’ll find the perfect primer to partner with your favourite foundation in our edit. In this round-up of the best, we’ve got you covered.

How we tested 

To help you find your new base-perfector we’ve been testing our way through the latest and greatest bestselling formulas. All have been used for a minimum of five days each and used layered underneath the same foundation in the interest of fairness. Our winning primers prolonged the wear of our base as standard, kept it looking fresh, but also had to go the extra beauty mile – be it blur pores, boost hydration, control shine or add radiance.

The best primers for 2023 are:

  • Best primer overall – Tatcha the silk canvas primer: £51, Spacenk.com
  • Best SPF primer – Sculpted by Aimee Connolly beauty base protect primer: £23, Boots.com
  • Best moisturiser and primer in one – Victoria Beckham cell rejuvenating priming moisturiser: £92, Net-a-porter.com
  • Best primer for normal to dry skin – Mac Studio radiance moisturizing + illuminating silky primer: £28, Johnlewis.com
  • Best budget primer – E.l.f. c-bright putty primer: £12, Elfcosmetics.co.uk

Tatcha the silk canvas primer

Tatcha the silk canvas primer.jpg
  • Best: Primer overall 
  • Size: 20g
  • Key ingredients: Rice, algae and green tea superfoods

From the skincare brand that fuses Japanese beauty rituals with modern skincare innovation, comes this natural-glow-in-a-pot primer that we’ve become a little obsessed with. Like all Tatcha skincare products, you’ll find the brand’s skin-protecting hadasei-3 complex, a trio of rice, algae and green tea superfoods, as well as a combination of silk extracts that smooth and blur lines, pores and blemishes for a just-as-it-says-on-the-box super silky canvas.

It illuminates the skin and locks in make-up so well that it even kept our make-up meltproof through a summer heatwave wedding – make-up tests don’t get tougher. Don’t let the price put you off either, we found you need to use very little so it’s going to last you longer than more traditional liquid formulas. Plus, it’s multi-tasking as it works on the eyes and lips too.

  1. £51 from Spacenk.com
Prices may vary
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Sculpted by Aimee Connolly beauty base protect primer

Sculpted by Aimee Connolly beauty base protect primer.jpg
  • Best: Primer for sun protection 
  • Size: 50ml
  • Key ingredients: Ceramides and hyaluronic acid

Irish make-up artist Aimee Connolly has some impressive primers in her cosmetic collection to pick from, but the latest might just be our favourite yet – for summer skin, it definitely is. For those that like a minimal routine, this boasts a broad spectrum of SPF50 sun protection, teamed with skin-plumping and hydrating ceramides and hyaluronic acid.

There’s no chalkiness or heaviness to the formula that you might expect from a high SPF, and it leaves behind a radiant non-greasy glow that you often don’t need to apply coverage to. But, when you do, it does leave a better foundation application with smoother results and a longer-lasting finish.

  1. £23 from Boots.com
Prices may vary
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Ole Henriksen banana bright face primer

Ole Henriksen banana bight face primer.jpg
  • Best: Primer for dull skin
  • Size: 30ml
  • Key ingredients : Vitamin E and C

The Danish skincare guru Ole Henriksen has this popular primer in his vitamin C-infused line that we turn back to again and again. Of course, this has the antioxidant and skin-brightening “sunshine vitamin” (as Ole himself calls it), but it’s also enriched with nourishing vitamin E. Add to the mix light-reflecting minerals named after banana powder which make-up artists use to brighten the skin, and you’ve got a primer that evens the skin tone. It helps to smooth out uneven skin texture, but ultimately leaves lacklustre complexions noticeably dewy and bright.

  1. £25 from Boots.com
Prices may vary
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Victoria Beckham cell rejuvenating priming moisturiser

Victoria Beckham cell rejuvenating priming moisturiser.jpg
  • Best: Moisturiser and primer in one
  • Size: 30ml
  • Key ingredients: Augustinus Bader’s TFC8, including nutrients, peptides and plant enzymes

Teaming up with professor Augustinus Bader, the very same name behind the skincare brand everyone’s talking about, we had very high hopes for this moisturiser that has priming properties too – and we’re pleased to report it delivers, and then some. With the cell-rejuvenating TFC8 patented ingredient in his famous “the cream”, coupled with a blend of nutrients, peptides and plant enzymes, this nourishes, protects and renews the skin. The priming comes from a natural plant-derived polymer that creates a film on the skin for smooth make-up application on top. Yes, it’s expensive but we rate it very highly - and it’s essentially two for the price of one.

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Vieve skin nova instant radiance primer

Vieve skin nova instant radiance primer.jpg
  • Best: Primer for radiance
  • Size: 30ml
  • Key ingredients: Niacinamide and rose water

MUA and social media star Jamie Genevieve knows a beauty tip or two when it comes to make-up application, but she also knows the trick to making a top-of-the-line primer. It grips to make-up and locks it in place all-day-long as standard, but the real selling point with this formula is the golden suit-all-skin hue it imparts to leave skin truly glowing with radiance. It also gives you an extra skincare layer thanks to popular ingredients that brighten and hydrate, including niacinamide and rose water. We found that it left our skin comfortably soft, smooth and luminous with our make-up fixed in place until take-off.

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Mac Studio radiance moisturizing and illuminating silky primer

Mac Studio radiance moisturizing + illuminating silky primer.jpg
  • Best: Primer for normal to dry skin
  • Size: 30ml
  • Key ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, glycerin and vitamin E

Mac have nailed the art of making high-performing products and offering a vast colour range, but it also understands the importance of first-rate skin prep before make-up application, and that is why the best make-up artists always carry the brand. Enter: the latest primer to join its collection of base-perfecting primers for every want and need. This one is suitable for all skin types as it delivers a flawless, long-wearing make-up application every time.

It’s jam-packed with skincare from the likes of hyaluronic acid, glycerin and vitamin E for an extra hit of hydration that in turn smooths and plumps the complexion, leaving behind an even, silky canvas for foundation to glide over. It makes skin ooze a healthy glow that doesn’t look unnatural like some other brands - promising eight hours of radiance, this truly delivers on keeping make-up fresh all day.

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Benefit the porefessional lite primer

Benefit the professional lite primer.jpg
  • Best: Primer for pore blurring
  • Size: 22ml
  • Key ingredients: Water-based with pore-minimising powder

Benefit has recently added this lightweight primer to its wardrobe of bestselling base-perfectors. Like the brand’s OG pore primer, this creates a beautifully smooth base and makes pores look less visible. But it’s a different formula, both water-based and silicone-free it feels both cooling and refreshing on first contact. And we found it pairs well with lighter BB, CC or tinted moisturisers as well as heavier coverages, thanks to its light, weightless texture and breathable formula. A top choice for summer, and there’s a mini version that’s perfect for travelling.

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E.l.f. c-bright putty primer

E.l.f c-bright putty primer.jpg
  • Best: Budget primer
  • Size: 21g
  • Key ingredients: Vitamin C

This newbie to the popular putty collection of primers from e.l.f., which has a make-up gripping, skin-smoothing formula for every need, focuses on adding radiance and evening the skin tone. Infused with vitamin C it adds an antioxidant layer of protection to the skin and can brighten hyperpigmentation and acne scarring over time. We’re big fans of the instant dewy glow it adds to the complexion, so much so that we love to use it on its own too for a polished, au naturale make-up look. But under foundation, it works as brilliantly as the other putty formulas, leaving a velvety canvas that prolongs a pristine base.

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Milk Makeup hydro grip primer

Milk Makeup hydro grip primer.jpg
  • Best: For dry or dehydrated skin
  • Size: 45ml
  • Key ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, hemp-derived cannabis seed and blue agave

Often a favourite with beauty editors, this modern beauty classic remains hard to beat on performance. It’s ideal for complexions that need an extra hit of hydration (don’t we all), with its cocktail of moisturising ingredients, including hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, hemp-derived cannabis seed and blue agave. Your skin will drink in the cool, gel-like texture instantly, but for best results, you have to leave it for a minute while the grip of the formula takes hold ready to lock in your make-up.

  1. £18 from Cultbeauty
Prices may vary
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Gucci sérum de beauté fluide matifiant mattifying face primer

Gucci sérum de beauté fluide matifiant mattifying face primer.jpg
  • Best: Primer for shine control
  • Size: 30ml
  • Key ingredients : Salicylic acid, bamboo powders, hyaluronic acid and glycerin

Refreshing on first contact with the skin, watch this mattifying primer even out and blur pores and imperfections in seconds like a natural filter for the face. It’s a luxe option, but it’s packed with skincare benefits too, so worth it if you have combination or oily skin and want results. Salicylic acid and bamboo powders work together to keep shine at bay, while hyaluronic acid and glycerin keep skin smooth, plump and well hydrated.

We were impressed with how fresh it kept make-up – even in the heat wave, and loved how you can use it without foundation as a skin perfector on summer skin that doesn’t need coverage. If you have normal to dry skin, the alternative primer in the line is another top choice with a luminous finish.

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Primer FAQs

What is primer and what does it do?

The main purpose of a primer is to prepare your skin for foundation, creating a smoother canvas for a flawless finish that make-up adheres to for longer. Just like using paint primer on a wall for a smoother canvas, or wearing the right underwear to ensure there’s no VPL underneath your new dress, what goes on underneath can perfect a look.

What are the benefits of using primer?

Next-generation primer formulas go beyond extending the staying power of your make-up with added skin-perfecting benefits. You’ll find pore blurring, line-filling, hydration boosting and radiance promoting formulations to pick from. Some are so good they actually make you want to skip foundation altogether.

What type of primer do I need for my skin type?

You’ll find game-changing primers designed to enhance every complexion. “The key is knowing your skin type and understanding the benefits promised from the primer,” says make-up artist, Aimee Connolly. “If your skin’s on the dry side, you’ll want to look for a primer with hydrating and moisturising benefits, whereas if your skin is more oily, you may need something that has built-in oil control that mattifies the skin.”

The verdict: Primers

Our top pick is Tatcha the silk canvas, as the brand continues to impress us. The primer blurs lines and imperfections, so its suitable for any age and skin type, making skin ultra-soft and smooth, so make-up stays fixed in place all day. If you’re looking to spend less, try the Mac studio radiance moisturizing + illuminating silky primer.

To complete your base, look to our review of the best BB creams that give glowy, lightweight coverage

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