Makeup should stay on, period—and the easiest way to ensure that happens is to reach for a face primer. What is that, you might ask? It is—or should be—the first step in your makeup routine. It’s like insurance for your look, helping your makeup stay on and look good for a longer period of time. Our best hydrating primer, Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer, does all that and more, keeping your look locked on all day long with a gloriously dewy effect—even if you have dry skin.
Get ready to stop worrying about dryness, cakey foundation settling into fine lines, or concealers and eyeshadows creasing and flaking. This award-winning hydrating face primer mitigates all that and so much more. Read on to find out how Hydro Grip works and why it’s one of the best primers in the game.
What is a hydrating face primer, and why do I need one?
Hydrating primer does what a regular makeup primer does: It preps your skin for any makeup look by smoothing and refining your face for a fresh, pure canvas. The right formula allows your makeup application to be effortless and seamless while making your favorite makeup products last longer.
Unlike a typical primer, though, a hydrating face primer is formulated with additional skin-nourishing ingredients to give skin a glowy, hydrated finish. This particular feature makes hydrating primers especially great for mature and dry skin types, as well as those with dehydrated skin. You can use this type of makeup primer on your whole face, but there are also ones created for specific areas, like eyes and lips.
Our internet-famous, Allure Best of Beauty award-winning Hydro Grip Primer, in particular, is a clear, water-based gel that grips makeup for all-day wear and locks in hydration with skincare-inspired ingredients—no matter what your skin tone may be. Our best face primer for dry skin is spiked with blue agave extract to help form an invisible, makeup-securing layer atop your skin with a dewy finish, while a medley of hydrating ingredients, namely hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, glycerin, and aloe vera extract, boost moisture levels, provide brightening benefits, and visibly smooth away fine lines and dry patches.
This silicone-free, cruelty-free, oil-free formula is also rich in antioxidants and is gentle on sensitive skin—including acne-prone and oily skin types. Of course, be sure to patch test before you put any product on your face, to make sure it works with your skin.
What does makeup primer do for your face and what is a grip primer?
Face primer does a few things: It creates a smooth canvas for base makeup (like foundation, tinted moisturizer, and concealer), allowing for seamless application. It also extends the wear time of makeup, making it look fresh for hours. “Primer is like insurance for your complexion,” says Sara Wren, our Director of Artistry.
Our Hydro Grip formula goes beyond that, though: It also hydrates skin to prevent your makeup from smudging, budging, melting, or caking on skin. The combination of hyaluronic acid, hemp seed extract, and niacinamide deliver a ton of moisture to skin, leaving it looking dewy, radiant, and smoother than ever—results that stick around even when you top it with makeup.
We also added the word “grip” to our best-selling hydrating face primer because that’s truly what it does—this formula latches your makeup onto your skin for all-day wear. Yep, we’re talking up to 12 hours. “A complaint I hear from people all the time is that their makeup doesn’t last long enough or that their skin texture disrupts application,” says Sara. “A great grip primer solves both of those issues.”
Don’t just take it from the makeup artist; Our entire community has been loving Hydro Grip Primer since its launch in 2019, and the hype hasn’t died down since. With more than 12 million tags across TikTok for the whole Hydro Grip Fam, viral wear tests of our hydrating primer have likely already popped up on your FYP, showing just how well it works and why it deserves its place in the industry as one of the best primers for dry skin.
Hydro Grip Primer acts as a base layer for the best foundations and all your favorite complexion products, like Future Fluid All Over Cream Concealer or Flex Foundation Stick. You can also wear it alone (over your skincare products and sunscreen, of course) to enhance the natural glow of your skin without the use of highlighter. We designed it for all skin types, especially combination skin and dry skin. This hydrating primer is also safe for sensitive skin types, but, again, be sure to do a patch test first to make sure you’re good to go before committing to a full face.
Can you use Hydro Grip Primer on your eyes?
Hydro Grip Primer is great for your whole face, but Hydro Grip Eye Primer is specifically designed to prep your lids and under eyes. Not only is it oil-free, silicone-free, cruelty-free, and suitable for all skin types, but it’s also infused with niacinamide and hyaluronic acid for a similarly hydrating and nourishing effect. The major difference from the face primer is Hydro Grip Eye Primer has a doe-foot applicator that easily deposits an even layer of primer onto your eye area, so your concealer, eyeliner, and shadow go on flawlessly and stay all day without flaking or creasing.
How to apply primer on face
Do you put on moisturizer or primer first? The answer to this eternal question is simple: Start with moisturizer. “The best way to use face primer is right after skincare,” Sara says. “I love primers that are infused with skincare ingredients, so I think of them as my last step to seal in skincare and prep skin for makeup application.” After your morning skincare routine, here’s how to apply primer on your face:
1. Apply one to two pumps of Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer evenly on your face, blending it out with your fingertips. “A small amount goes a long way,” Sara points out. “Makeup is all about creating thin layers that blend together seamlessly.” Too much face primer runs the risk of feeling heavy or causing your makeup to cake.
2. Once Hydro Grip is on, let it dry for a full minute before applying the rest of your makeup. (You want to give the primer time for its gripping powers to activate. It’s supposed to leave your skin feeling slightly sticky.)
3. Follow the same steps for Hydro Grip Eye Primer: Apply thin layers, rest for a minute so the formula can activate, and then add your favorite makeup products.
Choose your formula: hydrating face primer vs matte blurring primer
Not all primers are created equal, so the best primer for you can depend on a few factors, like the finish you want and, more importantly, your skin type.
Because Hydro Grip is a hydrating face primer, it’s our best face primer for dry skin and mature types. It’s infused with powerful (yet lightweight!) moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid and aloe, giving the formula skincare benefits in addition to its makeup perks. The payoff? Skin that looks dewy and radiant.
But that might not be your jam if your skin is naturally prone to oiliness and breakouts, or if you have the type of combination skin that gets shiny throughout the day. If that’s the case, scope out the Pore Eclipse Mattifying Primer, our blurring primer that leaves skin with a soft matte finish. As with Hydro Grip, it contains niacinamide to brighten skin, but also offers bakuchiol and lentil extract to control shine and even out skin texture.
Face primer vs setting spray: What is the difference?
It's not face primer vs setting spray so much as face primer and setting spray. In fact, they should bookend every beauty routine. Setting spray works as a last step to secure your makeup application. Consider it to be that extra layer of protection against the elements. In other words, start with our Hydro Grip Primer to lock on makeup and help brighten and moisturize skin. Finish your look with our Hydro Grip Set + Refresh Spray to lock in makeup and all that hydration.
If you wanna refresh your makeup later or even hit your skin with more moisture throughout the day, you can spritz on setting spray for an instant dewy glow. (Check out the guide we put together about our best setting spray right here.)
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Meet The Expert
Sara Wren (she/her) is the Director of Artistry at Milk Makeup. In her role, she does all the makeup artistry and direction for our Milk Makeup global campaigns, educates the staff and field team on application methods, stars in the brand’s social media videos, and travels to different markets spreading Milk Makeup’s good vibes. When she’s not on set, Sara loves experimenting with DIY hair colors, eating tacos, watching basketball, and scouring for vintage cosmetics to add to her impressive collection.
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