Best make-up primers for mature complexions

One of the few around that’s completely clear and colour-free, meaning it’s universally suited to every complexion tone, this primer from REN offers the perfect balance between keeping skin matte whilst softening the look of lines and wrinkles.

Four drops of the gloopy fluid are ample and easy to count too thanks to the pipette dropper, ensuring no wasteful overuse and a bottle that is as long-lasting as the primer will ensure your make-up is. The formula is silicone-free so absorbs quickly without giving you any time for ‘slip,’ but smooths on easily - almost like a serum - so the fast dry-down is a benefit rather than an issue. Pores disappear immediately and stay hidden all day, as skin texture looks smoother and plumper for hours too.

For complexions that will benefit from the subtle downplaying of dullness and lines, this blurring formula is fantastic. Beautifully lightweight and with a satin texture that’s easy to blend, two or three drops are recommended but I would add a couple more.

The immediate result is skin that feels fresh all day and looks glowing without being shiny or shimmery, plus the soft peachy-caramel tone gives an effect like a candlelit undercoat that helps minimise minor imperfections like pigmentation. Soft focus blurring powders give instant haziness to lines, wrinkles and pores too.

Longer term, vitamin C works its radiance and collagen-boosting magic as well as providing anti-ageing antioxidant protection, while a Japanese plant extract fends off damage believed to be caused by blue light from smart devices. Think of this as your most flattering filter in a bottle.

If eco-credentials are a priority, this primer can be refilled and is packed with raw, food-grade and organic ingredients, but free from parabens and sulphates. One or two pumps of the baby pink, refreshing gel will instantly minimise the look of pores as it adds a hint of lustre so it can give the complexion a perfecting pick-me-up if you want to go make-up free, or it will create a luminous base for foundation.

The formula contains “grip” technology that encourages make-up to adhere to it for longevity, balanced out with a pearlescent finish that gives skin a glow (also try it under a foundation that’s too matte to make it satiny). The gel texture, meanwhile, makes it ideal for mature complexions that are on the combination or oiler end of the spectrum, as well as for those having hot flushes as it feels wonderfully cool on the face.

Coming from a capsule cosmetics range specifically created for more mature skins but with a pro-ageing ethos, the first striking thing about the Studio 10 multitasking primer is the caramel tint, which easily blends into a sheer, soft shade to cover the spectrum of most complexion tones.

The hardworking, five-in-one formula has been thoughtfully put together, so it nourishes with a clever blend of hyaluronic acid molecules, perfect with toning and pore-minimising ingredients including rosemary leaf, protects with antioxidants and a sun filter, helps boost firming collagen and elastin fibre production over time. Finally, it primes by absorbing excess oil and using silica to smooth out texture.

Perfectly balanced to suit both drier and oilier complexions, it’s unquestionably a one-stop skin perfector in a tube.

The original Beauty Base primer by Irish make-up artist Aimee Connolly has inspired such ardent devotion that there are now five versions of it, including a rose gold finish and one for oil control. The Protect version has been juiced up with SPF50 to shield mature skin from the daily damage incurred (yes, even in winter) from daylight that accelerates all signs of ageing, from lines to pigmentation.

Rich and creamy, it’s ideal if your complexion is dry and needs to be plumped up with moisture - one pump of this fleshy pink primer is likely enough to do just that. With hydrating hyaluronic acid and rejuvenating peptides, the formula helps improve skin health as it gives your make-up more staying power. The hint of illumination will subtly shift any signs of dullness too.

A tiny pea-sized amount is enough of this light liquid to cover the entire face in a golden primer that dries in a flash. But don’t be fooled by the weightless feel – it has super-strength when it comes to giving make-up longevity and will render your foundation transfer-proof the entire day.

The shade of the primer will turn up brightness on dull complexions without appearing shimmery, while the flexible texture ensures it doesn’t sit in wrinkles or pores but rather gives them a softer finish. For added skincare benefits, think plumping sodium hyaluronate plus mega multitasker niacinamide to help calm, strengthen and even out tone.

Suited to all skin types, including sensitive, be sure to use over moisturiser if you’re on the drier side.

Almost jelly-like in consistency, this primer has been created for use down to the décolletage so it will instantly blur crêpey lines on the chest and neck as well as around the eyes. Lightweight and water-based, it’s ideal for helping oilier complexions hang on to make-up so it doesn’t slide off but drier skin will also benefit from the hit of hydration, meaning make-up won’t cake or flake off during the day.

The transparent gel glides on and settles quickly as the sheer rose tint makes skin look both brighter and more even in tone, boosted too by the addition of milk thistle extract, known to help take down redness and inflammation.

While this primer might actually look more like a liquid foundation as you drop it out of the pipette, the warm beige tone becomes sheer and ensures skin looks fresh and healthy as you blend it in. Although the finish is matte, there’s a gentle lustre to the serum-like fluid for a hint of sophisticated illumination that brightens the complexion as it creates a more even-toned result, while the coverage will give a soft focus finish to pores and lines on more mature skin.

A fine layer of the primer will gently hold on to your foundation throughout the day and help seal in hydration, as well as create a line of skincare defence against the sun’s ageing rays and damaging pollution.

For more mature complexions that need to counteract dullness that can come as the skin starts to renew itself more slowly, this clever primer is ideal. The triple-shade helix pumps out colours together into a lilac-grey shade you won’t expect to be skin-flattering but, worked between palms, it transforms into a sheer white serum with a golden glow.

The colour-correcting formula shimmers as it brightens, tones down mild redness and helps camouflage pigmentation too. It’s also hydrating so ideal if your skin is on the drier side and great for infusing radiance into a foundation that you’re finding too matte. There’s an added skincare element as well from a patented complex that helps tackle wrinkles, pores and age spots.

Drawing on the expertise of professional make-up artists, only a little pump of this primer is needed to provide ample, effective coverage and boost make-up longevity, as well as smooth out the skin’s surface so your foundation and concealer will glide on more easily. Translucent, oil-free and creating a velvety canvas once you’ve let it settle on the skin, it stops colour from sitting in pores, lines and wrinkles, and will help to minimise their appearance too. If you’re a fan of finishing powder, a dusting on top stays looking fresh rather than caking up.