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Using a primer is the first step in a flawless makeup routine. It’s especially essential to find a good drugstore primer oily skin option if you have skin texture like pores, acne scarring, wrinkles, or pesky fine lines.
Although it may seem like an unnecessary extra step to most people, once you start using a primer you’ll quickly realize that you can never go back.
If you want to be able to achieve smooth, long-lasting makeup looks, keep on reading to find out more about some of our top primer picks.
How we chose the best drugstore primer
Drugstore beauty has come a long way since we were younger throwing mousse foundation on our faces and covering our eyelids in glittery blue eyeshadow — thank god.
Now drugstore beauty is often just as sophisticated as the products you see from luxury beauty brands, but that doesn’t mean that all products are cut from the same cloth.
When it comes to choosing the best drugstore primers for oily skin, it comes down to two things: the ingredients and how it wears on the skin. This is what we based our picks on.
We look for ingredients that aren’t too harsh and that won’t clog the pores of acne prone skin too much.
In terms of how it wears on the face, the best primers are going to smooth the skin and reduce the appearance of any texture. We want a primer to increase the longevity of our base products and still look just as good at 10 pm as it does at 7 am — so you could say, we have very high standards.
To find out which drugstore primers made the cut and give the best results, keep on reading below.
The best drugstore primer, oily skin approved
When you have oily skin, a good primer can make all the difference between looking like a greasy mess in a couple of hours or having makeup that looks fresh all day long. We look for a lightweight formula that can reduce the appearance of pores and the appearance of fine lines, all while containing some key ingredients that do good for our skin.
The drugstore is a great place to pick up primers that are not only affordable but highly effective, as the products we’ve listed below show.
Here are our top 9 best drugstore primers for oily skin that we think you’re going to love. Whether you have mature skin that needs a lightweight primer with active ingredients to prevent aging, or want an oil-free formula to get rid of excess shine and reduce the look of pores, we have the best face primers for you that will give you flawless skin.
Touch in Sol No Poreblem Sebum & Shine Control Primer – $18
Normally we wouldn’t have included this brand in the best drugstore primers list, but you can get it at Target so we’re going to call it drugstore.
The Pore Blem Primer from Touch in Sol is a drugstore primer that works to minimize pores, increases makeup wear time, and promises a flawless finish to anyone that uses this as a face primer.
Coming in at a higher price tag than the other drugstore primer options on this list, it has a lot of proving itself to do. But, here it is on the list of our best drugstore primer options. Perfect for dry skin, sensitive skin, and combination skin, this matte primer improves skin texture, controls shine, and hides the look of large pores and fine lines, while leaving a smooth base for makeup.
If you use this as the last thing in your skincare routine, you’ll have the perfect canvas for a perfect look. It’s a long-lasting primer that makes all the difference when you’re doing your makeup – it’s also an oil-free primer.
Revlon PhotoReady Prime Plus Perfecting and Smoothing Primer – $11.99
If you want to achieve a matte finish, smooth texture, and an even skin tone before you start to put on your face of the day, this is the makeup primer to do so.
The Revlon Photoready Primer is one of the best drugstore face primers for oily skin as it adds longevity to your makeup and is effective at blurring imperfections or large pores. These are often the things that can make our makeup start to look uneven and cakey.
With mattifying primers like this one, you can really ensure that you’ve got a perfect base to lay your makeup on. Say goodbye to bad skin days, and hello to a flawless base at all times.
Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser – $6.99
Maybelline New York is a drugstore brand that has been finding its way onto our makeup shelves since we were teenagers and, although the packaging of this product wouldn’t make you feel like the brand has matured, the formula most certainly does.
The Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser is a good dupe for Benefit’s famous Porefessional Primer in the way that it hides large pores and creates a smooth base for the rest of your makeup application.
At just $6.99 this skin smoothing, affordable primer is really worth the money for the impressive results it gives, being a close dupe for some much higher-end products that are considered the best mattifying primers.
e.l.f. Putty Primer – $10
Another product from e.l.f that we can’t ignore is the Putty Primer. Now, e.l.f have really leaned into the popularity of their putty products, with an extended line of eyeshadows, blushes, bronzers, and plenty of primer variations since the success of this product.
Although we can’t speak on how good everything in the lineup is, we can say that the original primer is probably one of the best drugstore makeup primer products you can get your hands on at the moment.
Perfect for anyone with dry skin to oily skin, the texture of this product is slightly thicker than some of the others we have on the list but it still applies nicely to the skin. This is the best primer for a reason, it really evens out the skin creating a smooth canvas for your makeup, and keeps everything in place all day long — you definitely won’t have to worry about getting oily midday with this one.
NYX Professional Makeup Marshmellow Smoothing Primer – $17.79
Another staple drugstore brand that you can always count on to deliver is NYX. We have so many of their products in our drawers, but one that we always find ourselves reaching for in the mornings is the Marshmellow Smoothing Primer.
Slightly pricier than some of the makeup primers at the drugstore, we still think this makeup primer is well worth the marginally higher price tag it commands. The matte primer for oily skin instantly works to smooth fine lines, brighten dull skin, and look after sensitive skin.
The best way to describe it is like a fluffy cloud on the face with some added hydrating and smoothing ingredients in there to make your skin feel great, even with some extra layers of makeup added to it.
Wet n Wild Prime Focus The Impossible Primer – $6.39
It doesn’t get more budget than the Wet n Wild products and their The Impossible Primer is a bargain at just a little over $6.
Perfect for all skin types, but especially oil or combination skin folks who want to get rid of any excess oil that could be getting in the way of them achieving a flawless makeup look.
The thick gel texture easily spreads across the face and instantly smoothes your skin before applying makeup. You only need a very small amount of this product but we’ve noticed a big difference when it comes to the longevity of our makeup whenever we use this.
L’Oreal Paris Up to 24hr Lab Primer Pore Minimizer – $15.89
While some primers promise to last for up to eight hours, the L’Oreal Paris Primer Pore Minimizer promises an impressive 24 hours of wear time. Now, we’re not going to volunteer ourselves to test out whether it truly does last for 24 hours, but we’re happy to report that this product is definitely a key component in long lasting makeup.
This pore minimizing helps to effortlessly smooth skin imperfections, hide enlarged pores, and create a good base for your makeup products — all in a nice non greasy formula — which is a lot for a drugstore brand to deliver on.
We apply drugstore primer for oily skin like this as it minimizes pores and really does make my makeup look a whole lot better than it does when I don’t use any primer. No complaints here!
e.l.f. Power Grip Primer – $10.00
e.l.f is one of those drugstore brands that you always know is going to deliver. Clear standouts when it comes to drugstore makeup, they are constantly coming out with new products that are high quality and unique — with the regular luxury dupe thrown in there for good measure.
You’re probably familiar with the Power Grip Primer as it’s been making its rounds on TikTok and Instagram.
In short, this is the primer to get if you want your makeup to last for a long time. Whether you’re planning a full day where you won’t have time to touch up your makeup, or you’re planning a big night out, you can rest assured that this primer is not going to let you down.
The excellent primer is a gel that has a nice lightweight texture for application, with a very slightly dewy finish that quickly dries down without making it look like you have greasy skin. Then just apply your makeup products, and everything will stick to the primer and not move an inch until you want it to.
The Ordinary High-Adherence Silicone Primer – $6.70
The Ordinary products may be a staple in your skincare routine, but we’d also recommend looking at their mattifying primer to help you get the most out of your makeup products.
With a nice oil free formula, the High-Adherence Silicone Primer is a great option for anyone, with any skin type. Like the other products that The Ordinary has to offer, their primers are simple but effective. The matte primer performs very similarly to the other best drugstore primers on this list, so definitely deserves its spot in this drugstore primers list.
It has a lot of skincare ingredients in the product, which makes it a big favorite drugstore primer of ours. The Ordinary are product experts so it’s obvious that they’d create a good makeup primer that addresses different skin concerns, doesn’t accentuate skin’s texture, and helps achieve pore-free skin even if your skin is on the sensitive side.
What comes first, moisturizer or a drugstore primer?
Adding more products to what, we can only imagine, is already an extensive beauty routine may leave you wondering, “But where does the best drugstore primer fit into my routine?”.
And, it’s an important question. The effectiveness of many beauty products really relies on when you apply them and the products you use before and after them. With a face primer, you want to see it as the very last step of your skincare routine, so it comes after moisturizer.
A pore minimizing drugstore primer, like the Rimmel Stay Matte Primer, or any of the others we mentioned in this post, blends the line between skincare and makeup. This is why it slots right into the middle of both your makeup and skincare routines. Something like Rimmel’s Stay Matte Primer is even used by professional makeup artists because of the high-quality ingredients it contains, its velvety texture, and its ability to provide a poreless finish.
What other products should I use for my oily skin?
If you have oily or combination skin, you don’t just need to rely on a stay matte primer to give you the matte finish you want, while disguising your large pores.
Like people who have dry skin types, it’s still important to use products that hydrate and soothe your skin — if you don’t hydrate your skin, it could encourage even more excess oil. Look out for skincare products that contain ingredients like hyaluronic acid or green tea extracts.
For fighting blemishes, look for salicylic acid or tea tree extracts, both ingredients that are perfect for acne-prone skin.
With the rest of your makeup routine, try to use an oil-free foundation that will not clog your pores, the same goes for your concealer. Then, if you’re still worried about getting oily throughout the day, you can always use a mattifying setting spray to hold everything in place.
We hope that you’ve found the right primer for a flawless look! Do you have any drugstore primer oily skin picks that we’ve missed from our list?
