Best Oil-Free Face Primers of 2025

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Oil-free face primers are a must-have for anyone who wants to achieve a flawless, long-lasting makeup look without clogging their pores or exacerbating oily skin. These primers are designed to smooth out the skin's texture, minimise the appearance of pores, and create a smooth, even base for foundation or other makeup products. They are perfect for those with combination or oily skin, as they help to control excess oil and shine throughout the day, leaving you with a matte finish that lasts for hours. With a variety of formulations available, including those with added skincare benefits, there is an oil-free face primer out there to suit every skin type and concern.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 9 Oil-Free Face Primers
PHOERA Matte Oil-Free Makeup Primer
The PHOERA Face Primer is designed to create a flawless base for your makeup, ensuring it lasts from day to night. By minimising pores, wrinkles, and fine lines, it helps even out your skin texture for a smooth finish. The refreshing and non-sticky formula hydrates and moisturises your skin, promoting a healthier appearance. By applying this primer before your foundation, you can enhance the longevity of your makeup and achieve a stunning look for any occasion.
e.l.f. Matte Putty Primer for Flawless Skin
The e.l.f. Matte Putty Primer is designed to deliver a perfect matte finish with its oil-free formula, which includes kaolin and white charcoal. The velvety texture glides effortlessly over your skin, smoothing out imperfections for a flawless, poreless appearance. By applying a thin layer to moisturised skin, you create an ideal base that enhances the grip of your makeup. Additionally, it is easy to carry and perfect for travel, ensuring you can maintain your look wherever you go.
HOPHAT Matte Oil-Free Makeup Primer
The HOPHAT Makeup Primer features a lightweight and silky texture that effortlessly glides over your skin, ensuring a smooth and even base for your makeup. It fills in pores and fine lines, helping to create a flawless finish while reducing redness and uneven pigmentation. Enriched with hydrating ingredients, it keeps your skin moisturised and soft, preventing any dryness. Additionally, its oil-controlling properties work to reduce shine, ensuring your makeup remains fresh and lasts throughout the day.
Glamza Phoera Pore Minimizing Face Primer
The Glamza Phoera Primer is designed to create a flawless makeup base that lasts from day to night. It is easy to apply, gliding smoothly onto the skin and blending seamlessly, ensuring an even skin tone. This primer is also cruelty-free and vegan, allowing you to enjoy animal-friendly makeup. Additionally, it provides added vitamins A and E, which help protect your skin from pollutants and fight premature ageing, making it a great choice for maintaining healthy skin.
Catrice The Mattifier Oil-Control Primer, Vegan and Waterproof
The Catrice The Mattifier Primer is designed to give you a flawless matte finish by absorbing excess oil throughout the day. With its nourishing formula, it is enriched with skin-loving ingredients that help to keep your skin healthy and hydrated. This product also works as a pore refining primer, minimising the appearance of pores for a smoother look. Additionally, its long-lasting wear ensures that your makeup stays put, allowing you to enjoy a fresh look without constant touch-ups.
DETVFO Long Lasting Oil-free Face Primer
The DETVFO Face Primer is designed to create a protective barrier on your skin, helping to shield it from cosmetics and UV damage. Its refreshing gel texture ensures that your pores remain unclogged while giving your skin a silky, smooth finish. This primer also offers a moisturising effect, allowing your makeup to glide on effortlessly for a flawless look. With its long-lasting formula, you can enjoy a matte finish all day, keeping shine at bay and enhancing your skin's natural beauty.
Revolution IRL Pore Blur Primer, Lightweight & Mattifying
The Revolution IRL Primer is a lightweight, blurring primer designed to minimise the appearance of pores and fine lines, giving you a flawless base for foundation. Enriched with Vitamin E, its silky smooth formula is oil-free, ensuring a comfortable wear throughout the day. This primer pairs perfectly with the Makeup Revolution IRL Filter Foundation and the IRL All Day Filter Fixing Spray, helping you achieve that sought-after real-life filter effect. Simply apply two pumps to clean skin for a beautifully blurred finish.
Glow Recipe Strawberry BHA Pore-Smooth Blur Drops
The Glow Recipe Blur Drops serve as a silicone-free blurring primer that instantly smooths your skin for a soft, satin finish. Formulated with salicylic acid, tapioca, rice, and strawberry enzyme, this serum effectively absorbs excess oil while promoting a glowing complexion. Its pore-blurring ingredients work to minimise the appearance of pores, allowing your skin to look clearer. With consistent use, you'll notice refined skin texture over time, making it an essential addition to your skincare routine.
ONEKLIK PHOERA Oil Control Face Primer
The ONEKLIK PHOERA Primer is designed to enhance your makeup experience. Its pore minimiser feature helps to fill in and reduce the appearance of pores, fine lines, and wrinkles, giving you a smoother canvas. The long-lasting formula ensures your makeup remains intact throughout the day. Additionally, this lightweight and oil-free primer effectively controls excess skin oil, allowing for a flawless finish. It also offers protection against environmental pollutants, safeguarding your skin from potential damage.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Why does primer make my face oily?
Specifically, many primers use silicones as their main ingredient in order to help fill in fine lines and pores and make your makeup stay on longer and look better. Unfortunately, those silicones that make primer so great can also make oily skin more prone to irritation and breakouts.
2. Does primer prevent oil?
If you have oily skin, you need a primer formula that can also effectively control excess oil, helping to keep you shine-free as well. A great mattifying primer will provide a flawless base, minimize the appearance of pores, and hydrate skin without clogging your pores or causing excess oil.
During our oil-free face primer research, we found 89 oil-free face primer products and shortlisted 9 quality products. We collected and analyzed 251,863 customer reviews through our big data system to write the oil-free face primers list. We found that most customers choose oil-free face primers with an average price of £6.49.
The oil-free face primers are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of oil-free face primers, including HOPHAT, e.l.f., Glamza, CATRICE, Junhe. The seller of top 1 product has received honest feedback from 342 consumers with an average rating of 4.9.

Charlotte Powell is a dermatologist and a licensed cosmetologist from Westminster, London. However, she was first a cosmetologist from London Beauty Training School. According to Charlotte, she needed better insight into the human skin, hence the dermatology degree. Long before she acquired her degree, she wrote and edited articles, eBooks, and editorials for companies and websites. Charlotte combines her skill and knowledge in providing DIY Beauty tips amongst other fashion related topics.