When asked what I consider the most important product in my summer beauty bag, I reply that a good age-defying primer is a summer essential for beautiful skin. Get the right primer, and it will be your go-to secret weapon in your makeup arsenal for years to come. However, nab the wrong primer – and, oh boy – you’ll need to sound the retreat in record time. Previous experience tells me you have about a 20-minute window before your product turns on you, amplifying all you wish to conceal!

Fear not, my friends, fear not.  Team L A Beauty has an exclusive list of age-defying beauty heroes guaranteed to keep summer-induced makeup slippage at bay while effectively thwarting the telltale signs of skin aging. Yes, when it comes to pore-blurring, makeup-gripping, plumping, and smoothing beauty powers, the following primers are going to illuminate your life (and your face)! Heads up – Iconic and Valentino are my personal faves.

1. Age-Defying Primer For Dry Skin, Ages 35+ Years: Futurist Peptide Power Serum Primer, Estee Lauder, £40 (27 ml), www.esteelauder.co.uk

First off, this super-lightweight serum primer is just the ticket for summer (including the UK this year, it seems). Rivalling heat worthy of Death Valley temperatures, I need something that feels like nothing – and yet does a jazz hands dance all over those pesky age-related issues where other primers fall short. Welcome to the rest of my life, Estee Lauder. Boasting age-defying ingredients like peptides that actually work, and delivered in a makeup-gripping base together with light reflecting particles, you can rest assured your visage will be the pinnacle of luminosity all summer long.

Who Would Benefit The Most?

Any dry skin types, aged 35+ years and in need of a primer that packs a mighty skincare punch, whilst simultaneously ensuring makeup stays firmly in place would fall head-over-heels in love with Estee’s Peptide Power Serum. Basically anyone with a desire to have zero connection with words like, ‘dull, hyperpigmentation, lines, pores and sagging’ would welcome the benefits of this bottle of liquid gold.

Advantages (Best Bits)

1. Includes proven youth-enhancing peptides that team up with hyaluronic acid to deliver optimal age-defying skincare your face will adore!
2. Super-lightweight formula featuring light-reflecting particles that effectively blur all skin concerns, revealing ultimate luminosity.
3. Keeps makeup in place for hours – even when it’s so hot you can literally feel pearls of icky sweat rolling down your spine. Ugh.
4. Enables a beautiful blank canvas for makeup, as well as providing a perfect no-makeup look if desired.

Disadvantages

1. The only one I can think of is the obvious one – its name is a bit of a mouthful.

Other Stockists include Boots, Look Fantastic

2. Best for Youthful Luminosity: Iconic London Underglow Blurring Primer, £25, www.iconiclondoninc.com

Iconic London burst onto the world’s beauty stage several years ago and team L A Beauty fell head-over-heels in love. This brand certainly is iconic. Being huge fans of their award-winning contour palette and highlighter, we couldn’t wait to try their primer. And – WOW!. 

Anyone in need of that extra blurring action and to-die-for luminosity, check this Underglow Primer. Meet the skincare-primer hybrid, guaranteed to provide top-tier skincare and skin radiance like never seen before, we know anyone who tries Iconic’s beloved primer will love this like we do. 

Also, Iconic offer their pore minimising primer with subtle mattifying qualities for anyone struggling witht hose unsightly large pores *that seem to only expand under the summer sun).Why fo they do that? Nevermind – it doesn’t matter why, where, or how, when you have this little kitty in your skincare/makeup arsenal. Yay! Thank you Iconic London, pore shrinkage is so important. 

3. Fave Primer for Over 40: Tatcha The Silk Canvas, Filter Finish Makeup Primer, £51 (27g), www.tatcha.co.uk

When in situations of extreme heat and suffering from the effects of slippery AF makeup, don’t go nude – grab this Tatcha balm and watch a makeup miracle unfold.

Once you have used this primer, words like ‘velvety’, ‘pressed silk shields’, and ‘skin-perfecting’ will be well understood. The Silk Canvas Primer is exactly what it sounds like and is arguably one of the pinnacle primers ever made. Seriously, do not doubt my words. The Japanese skincare ingredients contain superfoods that team up to bring a powerhouse kick of love, protection and ultimate TLC to your maturing skin types. It is worth using for that alone. 

The Silk Canvas provides blurring, priming, and skin-toning support like you wouldn’t believe; it delivers enviable luminosity and the reassurance of a long-lasting, stay-put makeup look. No fear of stepping out for a walk in the park in this newfound Dubai-like heatwave, and resembling AC/DC by the time you get to the pond. Oh no, not with Tatcha. This primer is our number one choice for those over 40 years old, in need of an all-singing, all-dancing primer to keep you looking great and feeling confident. Now, if only there were a world where the body-blurring butters were a tenth as reliable…

4. Best Age-Defying, Dark Spot Primer: REFY Glow and Sculpt Face Serum Primer, £24 (40ml), www,refybeauty.com

Looking for a kickass brightening primer that emulates the beloved glass skin trend? Check out this one by Remy. Not only does it offer next-level luminosity, but it comes with its own facial roller too! Containing the hero ingredient Niacinamide, this primer certainly delivers on its brightening promises. Watch out, shadows, dark spots – we’ll have no more of you, thank you very much. 

Better yet, the Remy Glow and Sculpt Face Serum Primer is perfect for dry skin types and claims to provide 8 hours of unwavering staying power.  We tried this and secured 5 hours before makeup began to slide – but that is still pretty impressive for mature skin types tackling heat that leaves you feeling like the melting witch in the Wizard of Oz.

5. Award-Winning Mineral Primer for Redness: Hourglass Mineral Veil, £55 (30ml), www.hourglasscosmetics.co.uk

When it comes to your visage, Picture Hourglass’s award-winning primer as the go-to for ultimate artistic excellence. Lightweight,oil-free and velvety, the application glides on like a ‘veil’ (as the name suggests). This primer makes all the difference, creating the perfect scene for impeccable makeup. Almost erasing fine lines, pores, and imperfections, the mineral-based wonder product sets the highest standards and keeps them in place for hours to come.

Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer is suitable for all skin types and offers mineral-based SPF 15.

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