This article is a part of CNN Underscored’s Guide to Age-Defying Beauty, a weeklong focus on the essential products, tips and tricks to enhance your glow at any age. We’ll be featuring editor-tested skin care and beauty tips from experts over 40, so check back to see what’s new.
Just like our bodies’ needs shift as birthdays pile up, so will our skin’s. Fine lines, texture and the occasional uneven spot or blemish can make achieving a smooth, airbrushed finish seem like a distant dream. Fortunately, makeup primers are the hidden gem of the beauty world and can make your skin look smoother, brighter and overall more even.
These little wonder products are designed to do far more than prep your skin. They can help even skin tone, reduce shine and create a balanced, flawless canvas for makeup that stays put all day long. Some are even formulated with added skin care benefits to make your makeup work twice as hard. But choosing the perfect primer for your skin type can feel like a puzzle, especially when walking down an endless makeup aisle.
That’s why we set out to swatch, wear and review the best primers on the market. We reached out to women in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond with skin types at various stages — textured, menopausal and beautifully wrinkled — to test each primer for several weeks and get their honest reviews.
Our testers thought Dr. Brandt's Pores No More Refiner Primer was a fast-absorbing product that helped tone down oily skin. Some testers found the beige formula watery but helpful nonetheless. The pore-minimizing primer is formulated to create a smooth base for makeup, and many testers found this to be the case, especially those with ruddy skin tones. Its silky, lightweight formula helped blur the appearance of large pores and imperfections while controlling excess oil and shine.
Harvey loved the formula of the Dr. Brandt primer, noting how smooth and mattifying it was, especially in the relentless heat of Austin, Texas. As someone with oily skin, she was impressed that it kept her face shine-free without any breakouts. The product also had a subtle anti-redness effect, with a light beige tint that helped even out her complexion, though it wasn’t dramatic enough to visibly alter her skin due to her freckles. The smoothing power was a standout, too; her skin texture looked even and flawless, even when paired with La Roche-Posay tinted sunscreen and a bit of concealer. She plans to use it again, especially considering she received several compliments on her skin while wearing it.
URL: https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/cnn-underscored/reviews/best-primers-for-mature-skin
