Our Must-Try Primer Makeup Hacks

All the reasons why primer should play a starring role in your beauty prep

Have you ever wondered whether you really need a primer? The short answer is a thousand times yes! Primer essentially acts like an IRL beauty filter for your skin. Once you apply it, it enhances your complexion instantly by evening out your skin’s texture and by filling and blurring pores. It also provides an ideal barrier between your skin and base makeup, like foundation and concealer, helping them stay put longer and also look better throughout the day. You’re probably wondering why everybody isn’t wearing this miracle product on the regular. Well, not all primers work the same way and finding the right one for your skin type can be a lot of lessons in trial and error. Whether you’re still looking for “the one” primer that will change your life, or you simply want to learn more about its myriad benefits or multiple hacks, you’ve come to the right place. We’re setting the record straight on primer.

Primer Hack #1: Get To Know Your Primer Formulas

When it comes to primer tips, there are a few hard and fast rules to follow for achieving makeup primer bliss. The first one is right-sizing your primer formula for your skin type and also the foundation you’ll be applying over top of it. This also means staying with like formulas first and foremost. “If you have oily skin, I would start using a more matte primer, like The Mattifier Oil-Control Primer,” says celebrity makeup artist Emily Gray. “If you’re more dry, stick with something hydrating like The Hydrator Plump & Fresh Primer.”

Primer Hack #2: Use Primer As a Spot Treatment

Let’s be real, there are some areas of our face that are always going to need a little extra help. We’re talking enlarged pores in the T-zone (forehead, cheeks, chin, around the nose) and areas that also tend to flush and get red like the tops of the cheeks and around the nose. Concentrate your pore-minimizing primer or anti-redness primer on these areas for seamless skin results–with or without your foundation.

Primer Hack #3: Let Your Primer Fully Absorb Into The Skin

We get it, mornings are rushed enough as it is and when you add a new product or step to your routine, it feels like make-work. But what if we told you the results of letting your primer fully absorb into the skin are game-changing? Trust us when we tell you that allowing your primer to settle into the skin makes all the difference in the final result. Help your primer melt into your skin by warming it in your hands before patting it into the skin.

Primer Hack #4: A Dime-Sized Amount of Primer Is All You Need

Listen, applying primer isn’t like moisturizer, no matter what the #GRWM videos on your TikTok For You Page tell you. It’s not for slathering all over the face. Start with a dime-sized amount and add more as needed. A telltale sign you’ve gone overboard? If your foundation starts peeling or slipping off. The exception to this rule is if you’re going to forgo foundation or concealer overtop.

Primer Hack #5: Use Primer As A Mixing Medium

Makeup primer has the unique ability to transform so many products in your makeup bag. It can transform your foundation into a tinted moisturizer, your powder blush into a cream one and even your eyeshadow or highlighter into easy-to-blend cream versions. It’s a multi-use product that’s incredibly versatile so get creative with it to reap results.