10 Best Primers For Oily Skin In 2021

Written by Poulami Nag
Last Updated on
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Primers are an essential part of a woman’s makeup kit, as they not only set the skin for some excellent makeup moves but also let the makeup last longer during the day. But if your skin is oily, even the top-rated primer may be of no help in keeping your face grease-free if it is not designed for oily skin.

In this post, MomJunction lists some of the best primers for oily skin to keep you fresh for longer even on humid days.

10 Best Primers For Oily Skin

1. Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Face Primer for Oily Skin

Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later

The Elizabeth Mott primer provides overall uniform coverage, hiding the fine lines and pores entirely. It’s a composition of non-greasy hydrating liquid that suppresses the oily nature of the skin and lasts for an entire day. What makes it a hot favorite is its light texture that sits smoothly on any surface and gives a delicate glow.

2. Skin2Spirit Better’ n Ur Skin Foundation Mineral Primer

Skin2Spirit Better' n Ur Skin Foundation

An entirely vegan, gluten-free primer, this one contains botanical and organic ingredients. This not only controls oil production but also moisturizes the skin and boosts suppleness of the skin. This paraben-free product is made with the highest care to retain the goodness of its ingredients and acts as a rejuvenator for oily skin.

3. Cover girl Matte Ambition, Skin Primer SPF 20

Cover girl Matte Ambition

This matte primer is suitable for all skin types, gives an even matt finish, and counters the oil all day long. It is smooth to apply and blends conveniently to form an invisible layer that provides SPF protection. Extend your makeup look and make it last all day with this primer from Covergirl.

4. God Blomster W Airfit Pore Primer

God Blomster W Airfit Pore Primer

The pore-controlling technology of this primer reduces the pore size over regular use, thus decreasing the oil content on the surface. It can be worn as a basic primer or can be used over makeup for a locked-in smooth look. This natural product provides a seamless matt coverage, hiding even minute imperfections.

5. Maybelline Master Prime Primer Base

Maybelline Master Prime Primer Base

Maybelline offers a water-based product that provides even and smooth coverage by eliminating any discoloration and hiding away fine lines and wrinkles. Its luminous effect offers a beautiful finish to the surface. Usually worn under makeup, it helps subdues the oil production to give your face an oil-free look even hours after you have put it on.

6. SOZGE Face Primer For Oily Skin

SOZGE Face Primer For Oily Skin

The SOZGE invisible primer protects the skin well against the harsh chemicals of the makeup and also keeps it hydrated. Its lightweight formula ensures even coverage throughout the day and keeps fine lines, pores, and wrinkles at bay. This light-textured primer is recommended for use before makeup, for smooth application and giving a natural shine to your skin.

7. GL-Turelifes Pore Facial Makeup Primer

GL-Turelifes Pore Facial Makeup

The pore facial primer by GL-Turelifes is lightweight and perfect for oily and dry skin types. It acts as a film to protect the skin and hides acne, pores, and other fine lines to give the skin a smooth look. This product provides a light to medium coverage, hydrating the skin from within. It also keeps the skin moisturized, preventing the collection of the oily sebum, and flakiness of makeup.

8. City Color Oil Control Primer

City Color Oil Control Primer

One of the best primers available in the market todya, the oil control primer provides stubborn protection to the skin and controls the oil levels, giving the skin a natural feel and glow. This paraben-free product suits all types of skin, including sensitive skin. The absence of gluten and paraben, along with its composition of cucumber and chamomile, hydrates the skin and gives it a perfect glow all day long.

9. COVERGIRL truBlend Primer for Oily Skin, 1 oz

COVERGIRL truBlend Primer for Oily

CoverGirl truBlend offers a great finish to the makeup with this primer. Its sensitive skin formula prevents clogging of pores, and the truBlend feature lets it blend with other foundations quickly. It is also suitable for oily skin as it controls the sebum levels and doesn’t clog the pores, making the makeup look natural and radiant.

10. N3 Pore Minimizing Oil Controlling Primer

N3 Pore Minimizing Oil Controlling

A pore-minimizing primer, this one offers a silky finish and has a green tint to it. It is ideally applied before the makeup and provides full even coverage. The product is put together in a very organic way by eliminating all chemicals like parabens and is a completely vegan product. Its skin-smoothing formula offers an oil-free look, keeping your makeup intact for hours.

How To Apply A Primer?

If your skin is oily, you need a matt finish primer to avoid the accumulation of oil on the skin surface.

  1. Before applying a primer, wash the face with a gentle cleansing agent and then dab it dry to remove impurities from the skin.
  1. A primer should be ideally used before putting on foundation, as it creates a thin protective surface between the makeup and our skin.
  1. While applying a primer, move from the center of the face towards the edges, by moving the fingers or sponge in circular movements.
  1. A primer should ideally be mixed with a dollop of moisturizer. The moisturizer helps the primer glide and blend easily, creating a seamless finish.
  1. While applying and blending a primer, use fingertips as finger pads enable better blending than a brush. If you feel uncomfortable about using your fingertips, you can always use a damp sponge for easy application.
  1. After applying the primer, let it dry for a couple of minutes before putting on the foundation layer. This allows the film to settle down on the skin, giving it a smooth texture and prepping it for makeup.
  1. The amount of primer should be dime-sized, as, in the case of primers, less is more. Primer, if applied more than necessary, can sabotage your makeup by creating an ultra-luminous or ultra-matt look that will look unreal.
  1. Primers that are applied over the makeup are lightweight and don’t overwhelm the effects of makeup, keeping your skin hydrated at the same time.
  1. To create a seamless, smooth finish and hide all those skin flaws like blemishes and wrinkles, gently pat the primer on your skin, rather than rubbing it, for a more natural, smooth look.
  1. In case of dull skin, lightly dabbing some tinted primer before blending in the primer softly could give some color to your cheeks

 How To Choose The Right Primer For Oily Skin?

Here are a few tips to follow while choosing a primer for oily skin.

  • The base rule for selecting a primer is to check its absorbing capacity or oil-fighting capability.
  • Oily skin requires a lesser amount of primer, as the surface of the applied primer is stuck to the oily skin.
  • Oil-fighting primers are the best as they tend to absorb the sebum that gets collected on the skin surface, without sucking the moisture of the skin and making it dry.
  • A primer with the feature of color correction can be a good buy for oily skin as it mutes certain shadows and hues on the face, giving it an even glow. For example, yellow primers easily hide dark circle shadows and are useful to brighten up the problematic corners of the face.
  • Select a primer that gives a medium-to-full coverage for oily skin as it tends to form a thin layer over the larger pores, eliminating any oil accumulation
  • The primers for oily skin should have a hydrating feature to moisturize the skin, retaining its smoothness and purifying the large skin pores.
  • Before choosing a suitable primer for oily skin, its hypoallergenic quotient should be checked.
  • Choosing a silicon-based primer is a very effective way of curbing the oil accumulation as silicon tends to blend evenly by absorbing quickly into the skin.
  • The composition of the primer is essential to determine its effectiveness. Using a primer with natural antioxidants and vitamin E will help moisturize the skin and remove the grease from the face.
  • Some primers come with particles of powder in between the liquid that helps absorb the oil much faster than others. Such primers are a must-buy for extremely oily skin.
  • Primers with anti-acne and natural ingredients are suitable for oily skin as they prevent the occurrence of acne.

Does A Primer Help In Reducing The Oiliness Of Skin?

Yes, primers with anti-oil effects help reduce the presence of oil on the skin by forming a protective layer over the surface, which absorbs the excess sebum to give you a mattifying effect. They also play a crucial role in reducing the size of the pores, resulting in less oil production.

The type of makeup that we use should align with the nature of our skin. Primer is the first step for having an evenly spread makeup. More users are realizing the importance of using a primer before applying makeup.


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