15 Top Makeup Primers for Mature Skin for That Perfect Prep
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase.
Primers are indispensable for makeup enthusiasts, but finding the top makeup primer for mature skin can sometimes be confusing, as products don’t often specify age ranges.
Can a primer suited for teens work for older adults, too? Let’s find out!
In this article, discover the top primers for mature skin, tailored to various needs like pore minimization and hydration to achieve a youthful glow.
Your age shouldn’t limit your makeup prowess, and the ideal makeup primer for mature skin can help you achieve a flawless look at any age.
- Breathable formulation
- Has niacin/vitamin B3 to strengthen skin barrier
- Vitamin E to prep your complexion
- Infused with a caring serum for skin health
- Contains a universal rosy formula
- Continued use helps improve skin health
- Broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection
- Formulated with 100% mineral fillers
- Free of fragrances, phthalates, parabens
Table of Contents
The Best Types of Primer for Mature Skin
Primer is a helpful makeup product for people with mature skin as it can create a smoother canvas, help makeup last longer, and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
When choosing a primer for mature skin, it’s important to look for products that cater to the specific needs and challenges that come with aging skin.
Here are some types of primers that are generally considered good for mature skin:
- Hydrating primer: Mature skin often lacks moisture. Hydrating primers contain ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and oils to provide a boost of hydration, making the skin look plump and youthful.
- Illuminating primer: Illuminating or radiance-boosting primers contain light-reflecting particles that can add a subtle glow to your skin. These primers can help give your complexion a more youthful, radiant appearance.
- Smoothing primer: Smoothing primers are designed to fill in fine lines and wrinkles, creating a smoother texture for your makeup application. They often contain silicone-based ingredients that create a velvety finish.
- Anti-aging primer: Some primers are formulated with anti-aging ingredients like peptides, antioxidants, and vitamins to help improve the overall health and appearance of your skin over time.
- SPF primer: It’s important to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays, which can accelerate skin aging. Look for a primer that contains SPF to provide sun protection while creating a smooth base for makeup.
- Pore-minimizing primer: If you have enlarged pores, a pore-minimizing primer can help reduce their appearance and create a smoother surface for makeup application.
Our Picks for Top Face Primers for Mature Skin
So let’s get to it! Here are our recommendations for the top mature skin primer on the market right now.
Our Editor’s Choice helps you turn back the hands of time thanks to its skincare-infused ingredients.
Key Benefits: Blurs deep-set wrinkles; improves skin texture; prevents makeup from settling in creases
Features:
- Breathable formulation
- Has niacin/vitamin B3 to strengthen skin barrier
- Vitamin E to prep your complexion
If you have mature skin, StriVectin Line Blurfector Instant Wrinkle Blurring Primer will be a must in your makeup routine.
Say goodbye to your wrinkly worries with StriVectin Line Blurfector Instant Wrinkle Blurring Primer!
This breathable primer is formulated with “Optical Blurring Microspheres” that instantly blur the appearance of deep-set wrinkles on your face, leaving it flawless with a smoother texture.
It’s also infused with vitamins like B3 and E that help strengthen your skin barrier.
Plus, this primer helps keep makeup from settling in the creases of your face.
A lightweight face primer that targets fine lines and pores and leaves you with smoother-than-smooth skin.
Key Benefits: Minimizes appearance of pores; diminishes look of fine lines; refines complexion
Features:
- Compliments all skin tones
- Contains Vitamin E derivative to protect the skin
- No oil-formula
Our pick for the best pore minimizer primer for mature skin has to be Benefit Cosmetics POREfessional Pro Balm Face Primer.
If you have large or noticeable pores on your face, then Benefit Cosmetics’ POREfessional Pro Balm Face Primer is a must-try.
With just a tiny drop, it can minimize the appearance of pores and fine lines, helping create an almost poreless skin primed for makeup.
It’s also lightweight and uses a no-oil formula, which helps leave you with a beautifully refined complexion immediately after use.
An affordable face primer that leaves a serum-like feel to your skin and creates a flawless makeup base.
Key Benefits: Helps with makeup spreadability; doesn’t dry out the skin; smoothens out the appearance of fine lines
Features:
- Contains high-flexibility silicones to leave skin with a soft, velvety feel
- Suitable for all skin types
- Alcohol-free and oil-free
If you’re after the best drugstore makeup primer for mature skin, you won’t go wrong with The Ordinary High-Spreadability Fluid Primer.
If you want a quality primer but are worried about the hefty price tag, drugstore brands like The Ordinary can offer excellent, affordable options.
Their High Spreadability Fluid Primer gives you smoother, velvet-like skin with a dewy finish, which acts as a solid base for your makeup application.
It also helps smoothen the appearance of lines on your face, helping to make you look fresh and youthful.
A fantastic facial primer that leaves you with gorgeous, touch-worthy skin.
Key Benefits: Smoothens the appearance of pores; evens texture and tone of skin; absorbs shine
Features:
- Oil-free
- Lightweight and comfortable formula
- Paraben-free and phthalates-free
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’s Instant Retouch Primer is a must-try if you like having fabulous-looking, mattified skin all day.
For those with oily skin, Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’s Instant Retouch Primer is definitely worth your buck.
It instantly absorbs the shine on your face, leaving you with mattified skin all day that looks fantastic without making you feel dry or chalky.
Plus, it gives a filter-like blurring effect to help make your skin always look camera-ready.
This primer is an instant cure for skin issues caused by late nights and lack of sleep.
Key Benefits: Hydrates and smoothes skin; brightens skin; leaves skin with a dewy and healthy-looking finish
Features:
- Made with coconut water and probiotics to revive the skin
- Vegan-friendly
- Paraben-free
Are you looking for a primer to revive your skin's moisture levels? Give Too Faced Hangover Face Primer a go!
Sometimes, lack of sleep and stress can cause a “beauty hangover,” resulting in dull or dehydrated skin that needs moisture. After all, keeping your face well-hydrated is vital to unlocking younger-looking skin.
If you need a primer that provides hydration, then Too Faced Hangover Face Primer is a perfect match for you!
Its formula is infused with coconut water and probiotics that boost your skin’s radiance and promote its elasticity and moisture.
It also holds down your makeup so you can enjoy a flawless-looking appearance longer.
This two-in-one primer blends the fantastic benefits of a primer and a sunscreen in one effective package.
Key Benefits: Provides SPF 40 sun protection; hydrates skin; provides a dewy-looking makeup base
Features:
- With hyaluronic acid and niacinamide to leave skin supple
- Sea lavender gives skin antioxidant protection
- Free of fragrances, phthalates, parabens
Enjoy perfectly primed skin with added sun protection through Supergoop! Glowscreen Sunscreen.
Two-in-one products offer great bang for your buck, and this primer from Supergoop is a perfect example.
This Glowscreen Sunscreen offers Broad Spectrum Protection that shields your skin against UVA and UVB rays, which is a must if you’re often out and about and exposed to the sun.
At the same time, this primer is formulated with hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and sea lavender to provide instant hydration that makes your skin look smooth, supple, and dewy!
Our Budget Pick is a primer that perfects your skin without hurting your wallet.
Key Benefits: Minimizes shine; provides smooth finish; gives sheer coverage
Features:
- Lightweight formula
- Vegan
- Cruelty-free
For a silky, lightweight primer and smoother makeup application, try NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP Angel Veil Skin Perfecting Primer.
Good makeup doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive!
For those who are a bit more practical in their choices but still crave perfect-looking makeup, NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP Angel Veil Skin Perfecting Primer can offer great value for its price, which is why it’s also our pick for the top drugstore primer for mature skin.
Its lightweight formula minimizes shine and leaves your skin looking and feeling silky-smooth, enabling your makeup to slide seamlessly onto your face, giving you a flawless look.
A velvety, lightweight primer that can give you longer-lasting makeup looks.
Key Benefits: Smooths and blurs lines and pores; protects skin from pollutants and damages; corrects complexion concerns
Features:
- Has vitamins A and E for nourishing skin
- Contains grapeseed extract and green tea
- Formulated without parabens, oil, fragrance, and talc
Photo finish perfect makeup is possible with Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer.
Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer is an excellent primer that works and provides several benefits simultaneously.
Not only does it nourish and protect your skin with botanical extracts, but it also gives you a great-looking canvas for the perfect makeup look — one that doesn’t have noticeable lines, pores, or other complexion concerns.
Its lightweight, silky feel doesn’t leave your skin feeling heavy or sticky afterward.
Plus, just a tiny bit of this primer goes a long way!
Primer performance + face moisturizer benefits = Bobbi Brown Face Base, an excellent primer for mature skin.
Key Benefits: Plumps skin with hydration; gives skin a healthy-looking, fresh glow; ensures smooth makeup application
Features:
- Has vitamins B, C, and E for replenishing and conditioning skin
- Contains hyaluronic acid and shea butter for hydrating and plumping skin
- With grapefruit and geranium for an uplifting scent
Mature queens are probably no strangers to Bobbi Brown and its iconic Vitamin Enriched Face Base!
Bobbi Brown is well-loved for their excellent and inclusive beauty products. Their Vitamin-Enriched Face Base is a fantastic face primer with the added benefits of a moisturizer.
It contains vitamins and hyaluronic acid, squalene, and shea butter that nourish and hydrate your skin.
This primer gives you plump and prepped skin with a healthy-looking glow, perfect for a smoother complexion and more flawless makeup application.
Our pick of the best organic face primer for mature skin will make you defy your age to help you achieve a flawless complexion.
Key Benefits: Hydrates skin; blurs skin imperfections like lines and wrinkles; gives you a radiant complexion
Features:
- Infused with age-defying serum
- Made with certified organic ingredients
- Vegan and cruelty-free
Makeup and skincare in one package is possible thanks to Juice Beauty Phyto-Pigments Illuminating Primer.
Juice Beauty Phyto-Pigments Illuminating Primer is an excellent choice if you prefer organic beauty products.
This lightweight primer is formulated without silicones and instead made with coconut alkanes and plant juices that help give you sought-after, luminous-looking skin!
It smoothens and blurs the appearance of lines and wrinkles, leaving you with a natural-looking, radiant complexion.
This affordable drugstore primer is formulated specifically to care for mature skin.
Key Benefits: Boosts healthy-looking skin; moisturizes and soothes skin; instantly smoothens fine lines and pores
Features:
- Infused with a caring serum for skin health
- Contains a universal rosy formula
- Continued use helps improve skin health
This is perfect if you want a universally flattering primer to smoothen fine lines and provide a natural-looking finish.
Looking for an excellent drugstore primer that’s made just for mature skin? You won’t regret trying this!
Age Perfect by L’Oréal Paris is easy on the pocket and formulated specifically for mature skin.
It’s infused with a caring serum and features a unique universal rosy formula flattering all skin types.
This primer instantly reduces fine lines and pores and provides a natural, soft-focus finish. It can be worn alone for a pretty and natural look or as the first step before foundation and makeup.
Plus, continued use helps improve the skin’s appearance.
This primer works great on older skin and combines the benefits of sunscreen, primer, and foundation all in one.
Key Benefits: Smoothens the skin; blurs fine lines and wrinkles; protects against environmental stressors
Features:
- Broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection
- Formulated with 100% mineral filters
- Free of fragrances, phthalates, parabens
This is your best bet if you want a fantastic primer that smoothens the skin while protecting it from environmental factors.
The best products are those that are multipurpose and serve each purpose well. This primer from Image Skincare is a perfect example.
It’s a skincare primer that smoothens the skin and blurs fine lines and wrinkles.
It’s also infused with SPF 50 and created with mineral filters to provide full spectrum UVA/UVB protection and protection from environmental stressors that can irritate the skin.
Plus, it’s tinted too, ensuring the product provides sheer coverage and allows you to forego foundation if you want.
A soothing and perfecting primer that also gives mature skin much-needed moisture and hydration.
Key Benefits: Visibly brightens and evens skin tone; creates a smooth texture; hydrates and nourishes the skin
Features:
- Lightweight and breathable
- Award-winning hydrating formula
- Silicone-free and paraben-free
If you have dry skin, this primer is the perfect choice!
Laura Mercier is known for creating primers and foundations that are lightweight on the skin and highly effective. This primer is another example of that.
Olive extract helps smooth the skin and lock in hydration, while marine hydra botanicals promote moisture recovery for nourished skin.
Good hydration is essential for mature skin to ensure a soft and dewy finish.
This primer helps protect the skin’s moisture while preparing the face for makeup and ensuring a nice and smooth finish.
Enjoy glowing and luminous skin with this primer that reflects light and prepares the skin for makeup.
Key Benefits: Blurs imperfections and fine lines; makes skin appear glowing and nourished; soft focus and sheer coverage
Features:
- Contains hyaluronic acid and peptides
- Provides 24-hours of hydration
- Contains light-diffusing particles
This is a great primer to smoothen mature skin and provide a soft and subtle glow.
Alongside blurring lines and imperfections, can a primer also help give you a gorgeous shine-from-within glow? This one can!
Charlotte Tilbury’s Wonderglow Face Primer was created to nourish skin thanks to hyaluronic acid, smoothen the complexion, and provide a gorgeous glow thanks to light-diffusing particles, peptides, and wild pansy.
The serum-like formula provides 24 hours of hydration and keeps skin looking perfect and refreshed all day.
Enjoy soft and smooth skin while reducing imperfections with Lancôme’s La Base Pro Makeup Primer.
Key Benefits: Visibly reduces imperfections; provides a smooth base; leaves skin feeling soft and smooth
Features:
- Not greasy and absorbs quickly
- Silky matte finish
- Lancôme’s Elasto-Smooth Technology
If you want a luxe product that glides on smooth and provides a gorgeous matte finish, try this primer from Lancôme.
This oil-free face primer provides a smooth base and absorbs quickly into the skin without feeling greasy.
It’s great for mature skin because of its effortless application and gorgeous air-brushed look.
Plus, it’s infused with Lancôme’s Elasto-Smooth technology that helps to refine the skin’s texture and diffuse light.
It’s suitable for all skin types and ensures makeup lasts all day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Use a Primer With a Mattifying Effect on Mature Skin?
Mattifying primers are generally better suited for oily or combination skin.
Mature skin tends to benefit more from hydrating, illuminating, or smoothing primers as mattifying ones can sometimes accentuate dryness and fine lines.
Should I Use a Setting Spray in Addition to a Primer for Mature Skin?
Using a setting spray can help your makeup last longer, especially if you have mature skin.
It’s a good idea to use both a primer and a setting spray for the best results, as they serve different purposes. Primer creates a smooth canvas, while setting spray helps lock in your makeup.
How Do I Apply Primer for Mature Skin?
To apply primer, start with a clean and moisturized face. Use a small amount (usually a pea-sized amount) of primer and gently apply it all over your face, focusing on areas with fine lines or texture issues.
Allow it to set for a minute or two before applying foundation.
Find Your Perfect Primers for Mature Skin
Choosing the top makeup primer for mature skin is essential if you want smooth skin and flawless-looking makeup all day.
With any of our 15 suggestions above, you’re sure to find the perfect primer that suits your needs, preferences, and budget.
So try them out and get ready for some true age-defying beauty!
Want To Know More About Skin and Other Beauty Trends?
Check these out:
- How To Apply Foundation, Concealer, and Primer
- Powder vs. Liquid Foundation: Which Is Right for You?
- 14 Types of Makeup Styles + How To Recreate Them