14 Best Primers To Smooth Rough And Textured Skin

Primer Picks

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If you have textured skin, finding the right makeup primer depends on how well it can smooth and blur while minimizing rough skin and enlarged pores. I know that a lot of primers on the market can be too heavy or greasy, which highlights those rough patches or enlarged pores. Luckily, there are great options out there specifically formulated with lightweight, oil-free, and skin-loving ingredients that help to improve the texture of the skin over time. So if you’re looking for a primer to help you achieve a smooth, flawless complexion, these options are worth trying.

Best Primer For Textured Skin:

Fenty Beauty’s lightweight, oil-free formula primer helps smooth the appearance of rough and textured skin using their proprietary Universal Invisipink formula to create a filter-like blurring effect that melts seamlessly into every skin tone. You can wear this non-comedogenic primer under makeup for a flawless, long-lasting look or use it on its own to blur the appearance of pores, fine lines, and other imperfections. The blend of skin-friendly silicones and powder controls shine and absorbs excess oil (s/o to oily and combination skin solutions). It’s also 100% cruelty-free, without any parabens or phthalates.

If you’re looking for a softer finish primer, the Nyx Professional Marshmellow Smoothing Primer is a lightweight and oil-free formula designed to create a smooth canvas for rough textured skin. With soothing marshmallow root extract, your skin will feel soft and plushy – like a marshmallow. It is non-comedogenic and made without harsh chemicals or synthetic fragrances, which is especially great for combination skin that breaks out easily. The lightweight primer is creamy, so it glides on easily to smooth out large pores,  fine lines, and rough patches while still keeping shine under control.

Finding a makeup brand that makes a quality primer that addresses so many skin concerns and texture needs can be challenging. Maybelline New York FaceStudio has created multiple primers that address unique problems like redness, hyperpigmentation, and dry skin – but the Master Prime Blur + Smooth Primer has got to be the ideal one for rough or uneven skin texture. It goes on lightweight and smooth but still holds your makeup in place to blur imperfections and give you that healthy look. Good-for-your-skin ingredients like glycerin and vitamins C and E boost skincare as you wear all kinds of looks throughout the day and night. 

If you’re looking for some glitz and glamour to care for your textured skin, you can try the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Blur Face Primer. The nourishing benefits of corn, apricot kernel, Passiflora, and rice bran oil keep your skin soft. At the same time, the light-infused pigments reflect light away from uneven texture to leave a smooth-looking canvas for your makeup application. The blurring effect gives a softer look and enhances your natural skin with gold shimmer or brightening silver luminosity for all skin tones.

The Ordinary’s High-Adherence Silicone Primer is a game-changer for those with textured skin. The advanced adaptive silicones give you smooth and even application for makeup that lasts all day. Not only does this primer provide a matte finish, but it is also hydrating and blurring for skin that looks and feels its best. Its lightweight cream formula means you won’t even feel like you’re wearing a primer at all. You can also use it as a non-greasy hydrator without makeup if you want that smoother look on a no-makeup day. 

It’s an original for a reason. The Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer is a lightweight gel formula designed specifically for textured, dull, and uneven skin. As a Sephora favorite, this oil-free primer has all you need to keep your makeup in place. It provides vitamins A & E to nourish and protect your skin with antioxidants that defend it from environmental damage and stress. The clear gel also works with every skin tone, so you can even wear it on its own on days you just want that naturally smooth look.

You may not think of a daily moisturizer as a primer, but this one is definitely a win-win! The Effaclar Mat Daily Face Moisturizer by La Roche-Posay is an excellent choice for oily and textured skin. One of the main benefits of this non-greasy moisturizer/primer is its matte finish, which helps reduce shine and excess oil (aka, no clogged or highlighted pores). Effaclar Mat also contains salicylic acid to help gently exfoliate dead skin and supports clearer and more even-toned skin under makeup or on its own. The Effaclar Mat is reliable and effective as a daily moisturizer, which can help to control oil and improve the appearance of their skin.

Sometimes you need a primer that grips your makeup all day but still makes your look effortlessly. The Cover FX Gripping Primer is a clear gel primer designed to give your textured skin a glass-like finish. The unique alcohol-free formula has an instant skin-tightening effect that creates a smooth complexion and improves your makeup wear. It’s vegan and cruelty-free, with clean ingredients free of talc, parabens, fragrance, mineral oil, gluten, sulfates, and phthalates. Here’s a better grip tip: gently tap the formula into your skin to activate for seamless results.

If you’re looking for a primer that doubles as sun protection, Murad Invisiblur Perfecting Shield is for you. The three-in-one solution addresses the look of wrinkles, pores, and uneven texture with a velvety-smooth colorless formula with 12 hours of flawless wear. Murad made this product with mushroom peptides that restore skin’s firmness, and a proprietary Soft Focus Complex smooths and evens skin tone. The sunflower and cucumber extracts enhance and protect your skin’s moisture barrier. It’s cruelty-free, non-comedogenic, and formulated without gluten or animal-derived ingredients, along with invisible SPF 30 to protect against UV damage.

This clean beauty primer is a lightweight serum for people with smaller areas of rough texture who still want that extra skincare boost. The REN Clean Skincare Perfect Canvas Clean Primer gives numerous benefits for textured skin. Key ingredients like agave extract smooth the skin for a matte finish, while probiotic extract supports natural cell renewal and alpha-glucans promote a healthy skin microbiome. This serum is also vegan, cruelty-free, and gluten-free, with recyclable packaging for an extra eco-friendly element. Whether used as a primer or on its own, this multitasking product leaves skin looking healthy and ready for makeup application.

Another sunscreen primer that gives your textured skin nourishment and your makeup a velvety-smooth performance is Dermalogica’s Age Smart Skin Perfect Primer SPF 30. With hyaluronic acid, you’ll get a healthy dose of hydration while nourishing peptides stimulate collagen production to reduce wrinkles and increase skin firmness. It gives that “soft focus” effect we all want, which you can use as a last step in your skincare routine to seal in your products or wear alone for a “no makeup” makeup look. 

The e.l.f. Poreless Putty Primer is an affordable primer that hydrates and smooths makeup onto textured skin. The key ingredient is squalane, a plant-based super hydrator that gives a velvety smooth texture for a seamless look. This putty primer lives up to its name by gripping makeup for all-day wear and all skin types. It comes in three varieties: Luminous (for a radiant look), Matte (for shine-free wear), and Poreless (for a flawlessly smooth finish), so you can choose the one that best fits your needs. 

You can use Paula’s Choice Smoothing Primer Serum as a multi-tasking makeup base to target fine lines and wrinkles while improving and evening out skin tone. It can be worn alone or under makeup for a perfectly primed face. The broad spectrum SPF 30 can be worn alone or under all kinds of makeup. It’s a silky, pore-blurring texture refiner and an effective moisturizer with an antioxidant blend of green tea and coffee seed extract and vitamin A to defend against environmental damage. Feel free to use this morning and night as a serum after the rest of your skincare routine. 

There are three stellar ingredients in this MILK MAKEUP primer: niacinamide to reduce the appearance of pores, bakuchiol to even skin tone and texture, and lentil extract to reduce shine for a fresh matte look. This Pore Eclipse Mattifying + Blurring Primer is 90% natural and free of silicone, with a subtle scent of orange blossom and chamomile for a soothing touch. It is also non-comedogenic to prevent breakouts and dries to a translucent filtered finish on the skin with blurring microspheres to


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