Dry, combination or oily? The perfect primer for your skin type

A smooth and staying face of makeup starts with your base. But the base that may work for my skin may not work for yours – so it’s important to know your skin type in order to look your best and slay all day with a great primer that meets your skin’s specific needs.

Oily skin, dry skin and combination skin – these are the three main types of skin conditions. And even those have a whole variety of skin conditions in between! For the most part however, we all fall into these categories and therefore our skin requires different skin primers with varying levels of hydration, staying power or mattifying affects to suit our skin’s needs.

Oily Skin

Oily skin will look amazing as you’re leaving the house with a full face of makeup – and could then look like you’ve melted about two hours later. The sebum that your skin produces will make your makeup move all over your face without the proper primer barrier to hold it in place and keep it looking fresh all day long. What oily skin people need are oil-free primers that mattify and improves hold. Generally they’ll be dealing with enlarged pores too, so something that works to blur those out is also essential

Clarins Instant Poreless (RRP €27.00) is a mattifying foundation that improves make-up hold using the natural power of Arbutus unedo. Known as the “miracle tree”, its many unique botanical properties give it a slightly supernatural status: it can produce ripe fruits in winter, regenerate earth ravaged by wildfire, and fight against dangerous infections. In cosmetics, organic arbutus extract helps reduce the production of sebum, meaning your pores are reduced in appearance and your makeup won’t budge from the moment you apply it!

Another one of my personal favourites as an oily-skin sufferer is the cult classic Benefit The POREfessional Face Primer. A thick balm-like substance, it acts as a second skin, blurring out your skin’s irregularities and has a gorgeous, translucent, silky texture that keeps your foundation in place all day. Quickly minimise the appearance of pores and fine lines for smoother-than-smooth skin! The formula contains a vitamin E derivative known to protect skin from free radicals.

Dry Skin

On dry skin that hasn’t been prepared for makeup, your cosmetics can look flaky, textured or packed on. You’ll see every dry spot, every bit of sensitive redness and your skin will be irritated. The cakey look happens to us all, but a good primer full of the right kinds of oils, hydrating agents and luminosity products can save your skin from dry, textured looks and create a glowing base instead.

The Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (RRP €40.00) has been called REVOLUTIONARY for dry-skin sufferers. The complexion booster is known as a super starlit skin aid that brightens skin in seconds! The Hollywood Flawless Filter has the versatility of a primer, the mega-watt glow of a highlighter, and the perfecting properties of your favourite filter. Featuring fabulous ingredients, it soft-focuses, illuminates skin and makes lines and pores appear smoother. The ultimate high gloss, high glow celebrity-skin-filter-in-a-bottle! Smoothing airbrush polymers roll over your complexion for a poreless-looking, creamy finish, Glossy Oil is a lightweight moisturising oil that reflects and adds light to your face where you need it.

Alternatively, Bobbi Brown Intensive Serum Radiance Primer SPF25 (RRP €45.00) tones up a lively luster and transparency while protecting the skin. Sheerer than the Charlotte Tilbury selection, it contains Skin Energy Complex, a common ingredient with Intensive Serum Foundation. It instantly improves gloss and transparency, giving a soft and bright skin impression. Increase the luster of the foundation that shines from the inside of the skin and smooth the skin’s surface before adding your foundation for even and enhanced luminosity.

Combination skin

Combination skin is one of the most difficult types to look after because different areas require different things. Though the skin may be dry overall, you may suffer from an oily T-zone that can’t handle the oil based products needed for dry skin. Fine lines are an issue because your skin can’t get enough hydration without being overloaded and your pores always seem to be visible. A good primer for this type is something non-oil based but still hydrating and pore-reducing.

The Lancôme LA Base Pro is inspired by makeup artist techniques, and is ultra soft, yet translucent. It’s all about smoothing out the base and keeping your makeup in place as long as it can. Its light texture means the makeup won’t cake on the dryer parts of the skin, but also won’t make the oiler sections run either.

Another option is the Clinique Superprimer Face Primers. The Superprimer creates the smoothest canvas for makeup and helps foundation last longer than ever. The lightweight, oil-free primer creates an ideal makeup canvas by colour correcting a range of concerns, prepping for makeup application and wear and allows colour to glide on evenly, with no interference from enlarged pores.