The One Product You Should Be Using if You’re Not Already

Sometimes it can be hard to navigate through all of the skin care and cosmetic products out there. We all want to achieve our best skin possible, but no one wants to apply ten different serums and creams before heading out for the day. There’s one skin care/cosmetic hybrid that you’ve probably heard of, but may not have tried, and that’s a primer. Most primers out there offer a color-correcting or makeup-staying-power benefit, but that’s where they stop. Colorescience primers live in a category all their own, addressing specific skin concerns, while also evening skin tone and making your makeup last all day. On top of all that, they include at least SPF 20 to give you your first layer of sunscreen for the day. It was no wonder InStyle Magazine awarded them as a Best Beauty Buy in 2014. If you decide to wear nothing else, these primers offer skin care treatment, sunscreen and flawless coverage in one simple step. Find your specific skin concern and a primer to match below.

Oily, Acne-Prone Skin: Skin Mattifying Face Primer SPF 20 Sunscreen

Most of us have experienced acne at one point or another and know how hard it can be to conceal without looking cakey. How many times have you tried to cover a pimple with foundation only to have it slide right off because your skin is too oily? This primer goes on before your makeup, giving you immediate shine-control and blurs the look of imperfections. You also won’t have to worry about that 3 PM oil-slick on your T-zone.

“Not a traditional primer, it offers so much more. It will help keep your makeup on all day long, but you’re also incorporating an SPF 20 for sun protection, color correction, and mattifying ingredients; which include salicylic acid and hydrolyzed rice protein to help keep oil and blemishes at bay. It’s really a powerhouse of primers.” – Kerrie Quinby, Director of Artistry at Colorescience

Dull Skin: Skin Brightening Face Primer SPF 20 Sunscreen

A better pick-me-up than your morning coffee, this primer provides an instant illuminating boost to your complexion. You can even apply it under your eyes for a more refreshed appearance. The soft yellow tint helps to warm up and brighten your complexion, cancelling out dullness.

“I’ve been wearing the Skin Brightening Primer every day for a couple of years. It is by far the best primer on the market. I wear it without foundation. It feels very smooth and silky going on and helps calm my fair, rosacea-prone skin. It wears well all day and best of all, the sunscreen really works,” says Lilly, a Colorescience user.

Skin Bronzing Face Primer SPF 20 Sunscreen

We all know by now that a sunless tan is the only way to go if you want to look bronze. Tanning your face with the sun, or worse a tanning bed, only increases your risk of premature wrinkles, discoloration and potentially skin cancer. The thing is, no one wants to end up looking like an Oompa Loompa. This primer offers an instant, sun-kissed and radiant tint that easily washes away when you cleanse.

“I am obsessed with this, and I’ll tell you why. When you put this on and then apply all your makeup, you’ll walk out looking like you spent all day at the beach. It’s gorgeous. It’s very natural, not like “I put on self-tanner bronze,” says YouTube vlogger Jamie Walsh.

Red or Sensitive Skin: Skin Calming Face Primer SPF 20 Sunscreen

Whether you’re experiencing redness and irritation from acne or rosacea or recently underwent a cosmetic procedure, this primer can offer skin comfort. Calming cactus extract is rich in antioxidants, minerals and vitamins that help to soothe skin. The universal golden-nude shade helps to neutralize redness.

“As for makeup, I have a blog and YouTube channel that require constant shooting and filming, so I need to be camera-ready. If I’m on a set or shooting for a brand or magazine, I don’t always have control over the cosmetics put on my skin. That's why I always use an antioxidant-rich primer before any makeup goes on—it creates a barrier between my face and the makeup so that my skin doesn’t directly absorb the ingredients in the makeup. My go-to: Skin Calming Face Primer with SPF 20 by Colorescience because I love that it has sun-damage protection in there too,” says Annie Lawless, Founder of Suja Juice.

Uneven Skin: Even Up Clinical Pigment Perfector SPF 50 Sunscreen

With our Even Up we’ve taken the concept of a primer even further, with a results-driven skin care treatment that provides both immediate and long-term benefits. The formula addresses the look of skin discoloration. It’s creamy, mineral tinted formula instantly diffuses the appearance of skin discoloration and evens skin tone, while our patent pending LUMIRA® skin-brightening UV complex uses four key ingredients to brighten the appearance of skin. The SPF 50 sun protection shields the skin from further discoloration caused by sun damage. In a clinical study, patients saw a 94% improvement in the appearance of age spots and pigmentation after just 12 weeks, with Even Up applied.

“This product does exactly what it says that it will do. It provides strong SPF protection, and evens skin tone and the surface of your skin. Pores look smaller and it brightens the skin. It does not provide significant color coverage, but that is not what it is designed for. Best of all for me was that it did not cause my skin to break out. It does not plug up my pores. If I had had this product 20 years ago, I would have worn my sunblock faithfully, because it is so light feeling,” says a Sephora.com customer.

Now that you know what makes our primers different, go ahead and choose the one tailored to your specific skin needs and wear it alone (perfect for the summer months) or under your foundation. You can even blend two together with your fingertips to create your own custom primer.