Photo: Imaxtree
Even the most Instafamous MUA in the world is beholden to the necessity of a good primer. Your primer is the canvas on which you build your beauty. Without it, whatever you do next is doomed to fail.
But starting with a great base means more than creating a clean slate. Remember that your primer is applied over your entire face and neck. It’s the closest makeup to your skin and, depending on its ingredients, can work with or against your skin health.
This is why you should consider moving away from conventional primers and started embracing natural and organic primers in your own makeup routines. Not only will we tell you why we think this change is important, but we’re going to tell you all about some of the best natural and organic primers we’ve tried in the process.
Not sure where to start? Here are some of the best organic primers we’ve tried in our hunt for cleaner makeup.
12+ BEST CLEAN, NATURAL ORGANIC PRIMERS
Start your day or nighttime look off on the right foot with the best clean, organic primer, and natural primers. We’ve identified the best 12+ clean, natural and organic primers and detailed their unique benefits below.
Jane Iredale Smooth Affair $50
You’ll need no more than a pea-sized amount of this popular natural makeup primer to achieve an all-day look that won’t allow your makeup to smudge, run, or blend without your express permission. While it keeps your makeup in place with uncompromised hold, it also delivers nourishment in the form of green tea, and white tea extract. Not only will those hard-working ingredients revitalize the skin, they’ll also provide antioxidant protection against environmental aggressors.
Juice Beauty Phytopigments Illuminating Primer $36
Formulated to be the perfect complement to any foundation that follows, this certified organic primer is not only a fan-favorite but it regulates your skin’s oil production with glycerin – making it great for correcting sleek skin that tends to be overly shiny and oily. But because your face is typically one of the first places to start showing the sagging associated with aging, this primer is formulated with botanical juices, antioxidants, alkanes, and other anti-aging ingredients that illuminate the skin and restore radiance. You’ll find everything from coconut to hyaluronic acid in this carefully crafted anti-aging formula.
100% Pure Mattifying Primer $46.50
Instead of toxins that harm your skin, cause imbalance, and even clog pores, 100% Pure designs formulas using the healthiest of ingredients. In this plumping and hydrating natural primer, they’ve included collagen-boosting aloe to combat the visible signs of aging and seaweed to revitalize skin that’s lost elasticity. Use this very popular all-day primer for the perfect matte finish that also controls oil and provides a smooth base on which to build your look. Alternatively, for a more dewy look consider 100% Pure’s antioxidant-rich and silicone-free Luminous Primer ($39).
RMS Beauty Evolve Radiance Locking Primer $45
With over 700+ 5 star reviews, RMS Beauty’s Evolve Radiance Locking Primer, is fast becoming a cult-favorite. This clean gel-textured primer, housed in an innovative refillable package (points for sustainability), boasts a number of skin-beneficial ingredients including vegetable squalane that provides deep hydration for up to 24 hours, hyaluronic acid to boost skin’s moisture retention and eggplant fruit extract that contributes to flawless makeup application, Results from a consumer study speak volumes: 96% witnessed instant hydration lasting 24 hours, and 93% enjoyed makeup grip for 8 hours. Furthermore, 90% agreed on flawless makeup application and 87% experiencing comfort and hydration all day.
Ilia Beauty True Skin Radiant Priming Serum $52
Only minutes after applying 3-4 drops of this clean priming serum to your skin you’ll start to physically feel its effects. Your skin will almost immediately tighten, making it a lot easier to seamlessly apply the next stage in your makeup but also improving the overall appearance of your skin and its texture. Its other incredible ingredients you won’t necessarily feel, but you’ll definitely see. Hibiscus, aloe, and beta-glucan keep your skin moisturized regardless of what you apply next.
Saint Cosmetics Luxury Sun Ritual Sunscreen SPF 30 $38
Indulge in sun protection with Saint Jane Beauty’s popular Luxury Sun Ritual Sunscreen SPF 30. This mineral sunscreen offers a luxurious, clean formula that seamlessly blurs pores for a flawless complexion. Serving as your primer, pore minimizer, moisturizer, and SPF all in one, it simplifies your skincare routine while delivering effective sun protection. Inspired by the resilience of flower petals against environmental stressors, antioxidant-rich blooms like desert rose, hibiscus, and jasmine provide deep hydration and a sheer, invisible finish. With its innovative texture and potent botanical ingredients, this sunscreen not only shields your skin from the sun but also nourishes it, leaving you with a radiant, protected complexion.
Alima Pure Smooth + Prime $46
To achieve the ultimate in a smooth and silky finish, this natural primer utilizes olive oil, 3 variations of salvia sclarea water, and avocado oil. Perfect for use on oily skin thanks to a semi-matte finish that minimizes oil and shine, it’s effective and compatible for use with pressed, powder, or liquid makeups that are built on top.
Exa Jump Start Smoothing Primer $34
More and more people are adopting a vegan diet and lifestyle and we always try to offer up at least one product for those readers. This time, we’re highlighting Exa’s best-selling Jump Start Smoothing Primer as our vegan candidate. It stands out not only as a vegan primer but also because of the all-star lineup of 97% natural, gluten-free ingredients you’ll find in the formula. And for something a little different, they’ve added positively charged quartz crystals said to extend the length of your makeup while bringing good vibes to your body and mind.
Alternatively consider Exa’s Splash Zone Primer ($34) is a versatile oil-free gel that acts as a primer, serum, or lightweight complexion tint when mixed with foundation. Enriched with Blue Spirulina, Prickly Pear extract, and Niacinamide, it hydrates, balances oil, and mattifies shine for a cool, calm, and matte complexion without greasiness.
Ayuna The Facial High $96
This is the Swiss Army Knife of primers because it’s partly a serum, partly a toner, partly a powder, and partly a lotion. It’s that multitasking that makes it the perfect pH balancing and hydrating toner for after a cleanse as well as the perfect priming treatment. It’s effective and gentle triple acid blend of raspberry vinegar, glutamic acid, and succinic acid has year-round, daily benefits for all skin types.
Grown Alchemist Anti-Pollution Primer $39
You could have the best skincare routine out there and the best cleansers, moisturizers, and serums. But if you haven’t matched what you use and how you use it to your particular environment, it could be all for naught. That’s why Alchemist developed their silicone-free, anti-pollution primer for those of us that live in big cities and neighborhoods where pollution is a big factor on the appearance and health of our skin. It contains Indian ginseng root extract that protects against everything from blue light emissions to environmental stressors, plus prebiotic peptides that strengthen our skin barrier function and its ability to ward off these stressors on its own.
Indie Lee Daily SPF 50 Primer $46
INDIE LEE’s clean beauty Daily SPF 50 Primer is a must-have for flawless skin prep. This SPF primer seamlessly melts into your skin, enveloping it in a golden veil of mineral-based SPF 50 (12% non-nano Zinc Oxide) while smoothing uneven skin tone. Enriched with holy-grail ingredient Niacinamide, it minimizes large pores and evens skin tone for a velvety finish, serving as an ideal last step in skincare and a perfect makeup base. Allantoin, Rosemary Leaf Extract, and Vitamin E Oil provide soothing moisture and antioxidant support. Skin is left, soft, smooth and radiant, with no white cast, ready for with makeup or sans.
INGREDIENTS YOU SHOULD AVOID
If you’ve been following The Youthist for a while now, you’ll know we’ve been on a bit of a clean streak, so to speak. We’ve done a lot of research into makeup formulas and decided that there’s something to be said for the clean skincare and makeup movement.
The skin is the largest organ of the body, and it absorbs absolutely everything you put on it, so you’d think that products made specifically for our skin would be safe. Well, think again. There are tons of ingredients out there that pose a risk to your skin’s health and your overall health in general.
There are ingredients that can cause skin sensitivity, inflammation, rashes, dryness, and breakouts, to be sure, but there are also ingredients that can mess with your hormones, your reproductive system, and your neurological system. There are even ingredients out there that are associated with organ toxicity and cancer.
So, what do you have to watch out for in conventional primers? There are some usual suspects that are commonly used in personal care products, skincare, and makeup. Things like parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and PEGs should be avoided in any primer (or any skincare or makeup product) you’re buying. But, in terms of primers, these are the more particular ingredients you’ll want to avoid:
- Dimethicone: used to provide a smooth application and finishing texture, this chemical is a skin irritant that can cause dryness, allergic reactions, and exacerbate acne.
- Siloxanes (D4 & D5): softening, smoothing, and moisturizing chemical ingredients, siloxanes can disrupt hormone function and cause liver damage.
- Alcohols: while alcohol-based primers tend to offer more longevity, they can severely dry out your skin and cause sensitivities such as burning, itching, and redness.
- Fragrance: there is absolutely no need for a primer to contain synthetic fragrance, which can contain 100s of toxic chemicals that companies don’t have to disclose thanks to patent laws that protect “trade secrets”.
- Preservatives: parabens and phthalates fall under this category of items that make your primer last longer but which have been found to be endocrine disruptors and potentially even carcinogenic.
For complete peace of mind that what you’re putting on your skin in Step 1 of your makeup routine is not harmful, you should be seeking out a natural and organic primer. The best organic primer and natural primer will be free of all of the above.
Instead, they’re packed with vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that are naturally or organically derived. Think plant-based oils, essential oils, wild-harvested botanicals, rich nut butter, and other ingredients that you can pronounce and recognize. By delivering these nutrients to your skin, you’re improving your canvas and making your primer more effective.
INGREDIENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN NATURAL & ORGANIC PRIMERS
Like we’ve already covered, your primer is the first piece of makeup to come in contact with your skin (after your skincare routine, of course). Because your skin acts like a sponge for what you put on it, you obviously want the makeup item that’s in closest contact with your skin to be filled with ingredients that nourish and nurture.
This is where natural and organic primers come in.
Natural and organic primers are clean makeup. Meaning that they aren’t formulated with the items listed above. Instead, they’re packed with vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that are naturally or organically derived.
When you look at the ingredients list of your primer, it should be (mostly) filled with ingredients that you can pronounce and recognize. Here are some of our personal favorite ingredients to look for in a natural or organic primer:
- Antioxidants that protect the skin from environmental aggressors (i.e., tea leaves, elderberry, raspberry, pomegranate, grape seed, Vitamin E)
- Hydrating ingredients that strengthen the skin barrier (i.e., hyaluronic acid, ceramides, niacinamide)
- Ingredients that lock moisture in to keep the skin from drying out and give your makeup all-day wear (i.e., shea butter, coconut butter, jojoba oil)
- Anti-aging ingredients that require prolonged contact with the skin and transform your primer into a skincare product (i.e., amino acids, peptides, seaweed)
- Skin-soothing ingredients (i.e., aloe, prebiotics/probiotics)
- Ingredients that work on skin tone and texture (i.e., vitamin A, gentle acids, calendula oil)
When you deliver these nutrients to your skin before you apply your makeup, your primer can improve your canvas more than just superficially. It’ll actually begin to change the structure of your skin, improve your skin’s health, and give you less to cover up and perfect with your makeup routine.
FINAL THOUGHTS
All good makeup tutorials start with a primer – and so should you. When your building, blending, and diffusing your makeups to create the perfect look, you need something that keeps it in place. And when you can find an organic or natural primer that does both that and promotes healthy, balanced skin, then you’ve got the best of both worlds.
