Us Brits love to talk about the weather. Whether it’s too cold, too hot, too rainy or too much beautiful sunshine, we find a way to moan, groan and whine.
The temperature and quantity of sunlight adversely affects our lives in many ways, be it gripes about our outfits, our hair or our makeup. Heatwaves have a way of melting products off our face, while bitter winter winds can leave our complexions dry and flaky.
Our all-season saviour is a water-based primer. As with everything in life, preparation is key - especially when it comes to our makeup and water-based formulations prep the skin with hydrating ingredients, nourish our faces, and creates the optimal canvas for the base products to follow.
There are two main types of primers on the market; silicone or water based - and there’s pros and cons to both. Look out for water (aqua) or glycerin as the main ingredient in the traditionally long list and this will signify that it’s a water based product. Silicones will start with something like dimethicone. The latter creates a blurring effect that sits on top of the surface layer of your skin but has been known to clog pores and lead to breakouts and may be more irritating. Water-based options on the other hand are kinder to those with sensitivies and have a more natural ‘no makeup-makeup’ finish that doesn’t shield our natural skin texture.
Come summer, the lightweight water-based primers will prevent our carefully curated makeup look from slipping and sliding off our faces without adding heavy, sweat-inducing coverage, while in winter, when the air is cool and dry, they’ll infuse some much-needed moisture into the situation.
Water-based primers can be used by all, but are preferred by oily, dry, dehydrated or sensitive skin types for creating a smooth, healthy finish that gives real lasting power to what follows. These products ensure a flawless application with a barely-there feel that’s also complete with soothing properties.
However, to ensure that these primers work to the best of their ability, you must pay close attention to the composition of the foundation and concealer that you will layer over them. Fellow hydrophilic blends will mix seamlessly yet oil-based products are hydrophobic and may pill, ball or flake when combined with this water-based first step.
See below for the best water-based primers
Rare Beauty Always an Optimist Illuminating Primer
The Selena Gomez-founded label has created one of the best primers on the market, period. This is due to the lightweight water-based formula that hydrates the complexion, while also giving an incredible glow. Harnessing the power of a botanical blend of lotus, white water lily and gardenia, it has a soothing effect the moment the cooling gel texture is applied onto the skin with no greasy finish. Best of all, when it comes time to apply your makeup, your skin feels smooth, soft and the products glide on with ease. A little goes a long way and there’s fine-line plumping to boot.
Buy now £15.00, Space NK
Tula filter primer blurring & moisturizing primer
If you’re looking for a smoother finish for your foundation, this is the multitasking primer you need in your arsenal. A prep stage and an illuminiser in one, it has a mega-watt radiance that gives a filter-like finish before you’ve even layered up any pigment with an ingredient line-up that will strengthen and nourish the skin at the same time.
The star component is the label’s signature blend of six ‘super’ prebiotics and probiotic extracts and licorice extract that works to even out tone and texture.
Buy now £33.00, Tula
Too Faced Hangover Replenishing Face Primer
Much like the entirety of the Too Faced Hangover collection that includes a setting spray mist, this is a joy to apply. From the scent and hydration provided by the coconut water to the dewy finish that it leaves in its wake, it will be a product that you add to basket time and time again. The texture is very lightweight and is infused with probiotics that nourish the skin, while also prepping the canvas for foundation that won’t budge.
Buy now £30.00, Cult Beauty
REFY Face Primer
Content creator and beauty entrepreneur Jess Hunt has taken a different approach to the typical primer with this makeup bag hero. For application, you simply roll the formula over your face, giving sculpting benefits in the process to the cheekbones and jawline, depuffing and tension relief. We love a multitasker and this is the ultimate. The formula is enriched with niacinamide that has a balancing, calming effect on redness, while glycerin brings up the moisture levels. The combination locks your base products in place.
Buy now £24.00, REFY
Milk Makeup Pore Eclipse Mattifying Primer
High performance products are the Milk Makeup M.O. and this primer follows suit with a kind-to-skin composition that is mattifying. Oily and combination skin types will be rushing to add this product to their routines thanks to its water-based texture that has the miraculous ability to feel lightweight and creamy, while also blurring pores and keeping shine at bay. There’s even bakuchiol to even out the complexion (it’s known as a natural alternative to retinol that’s more sensitive-skin friendly) and calming niacinamide.
Buy now £18.00, Cult Beauty
Charlotte Tilbury Invisible UV Flawless Poreless Primer
For makeup that lasts and lasts, look no further than legendary makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury’s eponymous label. Yet this is a product that does far more than lock makeup in place (although it does that very well too).
It creates a blurring finish that is glowy and has a soft focus effect. But the innovation of a proprietary CITYSTEM pollution defence matrix is what sets this apart from the crowd.
This complex provides SPF50 protection against UVA and UVB rays, while African mahogany tree extract forms a shield against external aggressors to smooth out pores and encourage long-lasting hydration, the latter of which is doubled down on with hyaluronic acid.
Buy now £40.00, Cult Beauty
Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Hydrating Travel Size Primer
In a handy travel-sized for application on the go, this primer is part of Laura Mercier’s high-powered skin and makeup hybrids. It is packed with olive oil extracts that encourages hydration but also forms a protective shield from external factors like pollution and sun exposure that can cause the skin to dry out. Set alongside marine hydra botanicals, they work to dose the skin with the nourishment that it deserves, while leaving a dewy, silky soft finish.
Buy now £19.35, lookfantastic
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Hydrating Primer
The weightless feel of this primer will make it an integral part of your makeup ritual no matter the season. Whether you’ve got normal or dry skin, you will appreciate the nourishment that this formula provides before you layer up your foundation and the likes. The hydration powerhouse includes grape seed oil and sodium hyaluronate that leaves a lovely soft texture but is quickly absorbing. Thirsy complexions, be gone.
Buy now £28.00, Boots
NYX Professional Makeup Plump Right Back Primer & Serum
Only a pea-sized amount of this primer is necessary for full-face application. It’s a pre-makeup step to hold your look in place, but it doubles up as a serum too, powered by electrolytes and vitamins to replenish the skin, plump and hydrate. The product has a satin smooth texture that will come particularly welcome on warm summer days when your makeup has a way of sliding off. It’s moisturising but not oily so sits well on the skin.
Buy now £15.00, Cult Beauty
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Hydrating Primer
If it is luminosity that you’re looking for, the Giorgio Armani primer should be on hand. There is just one shade available with an adaptable tone that has light-reflecting pigments that give a fresh-from-the-beach glow and blurs imperfections. These are crystal-encapsulated (talk about luxury) with an oil-in-water composition that makes it easy to layer up any product that follows.
Buy now £37.00, Selfridges
