14 Best Water-Based Primers for a Lightweight Base
While makeup primer might seem like an optional makeup product—one best saved for special occasions—its unique benefits, like helping makeup last longer and creating a smooth base for application, make it worth keeping on hand for daily use. But not all primers are created equal. The best water-based primer can be a gamechanger for your makeup routine; formulated with water versus oil or silicone, it’s a great option to consider if you’re not a fan of the texture, weight, or feel of the average primer.
For starters, “they are lightweight and good for all skin types,” says Lori Taylor Davis, the Global Lead Pro Artist at Smashbox Cosmetics. That said, many water-based formulas are oil-free and leave a matte finish, making them especially helpful for those with oily skin. (Meanwhile, silicone-based primers are your best bet if you don’t want makeup to settle into fine lines or pores.)
On top of that, they can amp up the rest of your routine. Not only does primer leave skin feeling soft and smooth, it can also provide a more seamless makeup application (no streaks in sight!). Some formulas can even double as a moisturizer. “They hydrate without adding an extra texture to the skin,” says Davis. She recommends applying it to the center of your face and then blending it out. Keep in mind: Your face primer should have a similar base as your foundation—so if you’re wearing a water-based foundation, a water-based primer will give you the best results and help nix pilling.
Bottom line: The best water-based primers out there can offer a variety of benefits, from soothing skin to blurring the appearance of pores. Read on to discover 14 of the top picks, and get ready for a lightweight base that goes above and beyond. It’s prime time, baby!
Meet the Expert
Lori Taylor Davis is a makeup artist and the Global Lead Pro Artist at Smashbox Cosmetics.
1. Best Overall:
NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP Bare With Me Hydrating Jelly Primer
Packed with water-rich cucumber and aloe, this matte primer leaves skin with a tacky finish that keeps foundation, concealer, and other complexion products locked in place for hours. And it checks all the boxes: It’s grippy but not too sticky, hydrating but won’t feel heavy, and an all-around great pick for all skin tones and types.
2. Best for Dry Skin:
GLOSSIER Priming Moisturizer
Don't want to deal with yet another step in your routine? We've got you: This dermatologist-tested formula has a buildable texture, so you can customize the application based on your personal preference. Plus, it's infused with hyaluronic acid, mushroom extracts, and vitamin E for long-lasting hydration.
3. Best for Oily Skin:
HONEST BEAUTY Matte Everything Primer
A good primer for oily skin has to be able to grip makeup no matter how slick skin might get throughout the day. And this mattifying primer delivers thanks to micronized bamboo powder, which both blurs pores and keeps excess oil from giving skin a greasy look.
4. Best for Combination Skin:
E.L.F. COSMETICS Poreless Putty Primer
If you have combination skin, you might already know that figuring out the right balance—which is usually oily in the T-zone and dry on the cheeks—can be a struggle. That’s not the case with this smart primer, which blurs the look of pores, but also features squalane (a powerful emollient) to nourish skin. It offers the best of both worlds for an even skin texture.
5. Best for Acne-Prone Skin:
BENEFIT COSMETICS The POREfessional Lite Primer
Bad news first: Breakouts and large pores go hand in hand. The good news? This lightweight primer can help. The non-comedogenic formula offers great oil-control while blurring the look of pores for up to 12 hours. The best part: It feels like you're wearing absolutely nothing on your skin.
6. Best for Fine Lines and Wrinkles:
LAURA MERCIER Pure Canvas Primer Perfecting
If your makeup tends to crease—harmless, but still annoying—consider this primer, which glides onto skin and creates an even canvas. Not only does it offer immediate smoothing benefits, but the formula, which is brimming with an antioxidant-packed cocktail of green tea extract and vitamin C, also helps repair and protect skin to keep it firmer over time.
7. Best for Sensitive Skin:
MILK MAKEUP Hydro Grip Primer
If you're in the market for moisture, you're in luck: This grippy, gel primer features a combo of hydrating skincare ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid and aloe. Plus, the gentle formula—which is vegan, paraben-free, oil-free, silicone-free, and fragrance-free (whew)—also offers niacinamide, which calms inflammation and fortifies the skin barrier. “When this says it grips it grips! My makeup doesn’t budge,” says one Ipster.
8. Best for Brightening Skin:
TOO FACED Hangover Replenishing Face Primer
If your skin is looking more dull than dewy, stock up on this best-selling makeup primer, which pairs the long-wear perks of primer with a soothing blend of coconut water and probiotics. “LOVE THIS PRIMER. It's silicone-free so it lasts all day, works amazingly, and smells like coconut!” an Ipster raves. It’ll help skin look glowy and feel healthy—win-win.
9. Most Versatile Primer:
SMASHBOX Photo Finish Revitalize 8-in-1 Primer Essence
Your primer should work as hard as you do—and this primer essence, which comes as a convenient, refreshing mist, promises to do just that. It folds eight steps into a single spritz: priming skin for makeup, hydrating, nourishing, creating a long-lasting, breathable barrier over skin to keep your makeup locked down, and more. Bonus: You can use it after makeup application as a setting spray, too.
10. Best Drugstore Primer:
MAYBELLINE Facestudio® Master Prime® Primer Makeup
Use primer all day, every day? This makes for a cost-effective—but still high-performance—option, thanks to smoothing silicones and hydrating glycerin, all in a water-soluble base. You can also choose between a variety of benefits, like reducing redness, hydrating, and minimizing pores.
11. Best Primer with Sunscreen:
NARS Radiance Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 35 Sunscreen
Another easy way to get the best of both worlds, this oil-free primer instantly improves the look of skin with the brand's proprietary Radiance Boosting Complex, which has a pearlescent finish to brighten skin on the spot. And, like a real overachiever, it also contains antioxidants and SPF 35 to max out protection against environmental aggressors.
12. Best Lightweight Primer:
TOUCH IN SOL No Poreblem Priming Water
For a weightless feel, it doesn't get much better than this. This primer pairs rosewater with Bulgarian damask rose oil for an immediate (and pretty luxurious) glow. It feels like water but dries down to a grippy finish to keep makeup in place. Take it from an Ipster: “Love this!!! Has changed my makeup routine. It makes my skin look so plump and moisturized to put on any amount of makeup.”
13. Best Animal-Friendly Primer:
COVER FX Water Cloud Primer
Come for the long-wear, creamy texture that’s a dream to apply, stay for the vegan, cruelty-free formula. Plus, it actually works: “My makeup stayed in place and looked flawless. I tested this primer with my drugstore makeup and prestige brands and they all looked flawless and stayed all day. I have finally found my HG primer,” says one Ipster.
14. Most Long-lasting Primer:
DERMABLEND Insta-Grip™ Jelly Makeup Primer
While all primers are designed to help makeup last longer—it’s kind of their number-one job, TBH—this takes their makeup-extending powers to the next level. The silicone-free primer, which goes on as a lightweight, clear jelly, offers 24-hours of staying power, making it ideal if you have a long day ahead of you or are prepping your makeup for a big event, like a wedding.
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