Raise your hand if you're already spending $30 or more on your foundation. Now put your hand down if you'd like every single drop of that luxe foundation to last. For that, you need a primer. Any decent makeup primer will prep skin, smooth pores, and create a long-lasting glow, but it's nice to save money where you can in your beauty routine—and primer is one place where the budget-friendly options are just as good. Below, the best drugstore makeup primers (most under $15!) for a flawless complexion and a very happy wallet.
Seeing how smooth and flawless your skin looks after one layer of this soft, flexible primer will have you buying back-ups so you never run out. Get it in clear, or color-correcting green and purple.
Dewy primers amplify your hard-won glass skin instead of covering up the bouncy shine with a matte finish, and we love that this one's only $12. You can wear it on top of your skincare for extra glow, or as a traditional foundation primer.
Skincare meets primer with Pacifica's oil-controlling formula, which features bentonite clay, wild cherry extract, and vitamin E. As you can probably guess, this one's for the oily and combination skin types—use it around your T-zone to keep makeup from sliding away.
At just $8 a pop, this accessible putty primer fills in any texture, pores, or marks anywhere on your face, making you look, well, totally poreless.
Yup, The Ordinary makes makeup products too, and they're good. Don't let the silicone in the title scare you off, either—that's the ingredient that makes your skin look Photoshop-level smooth.
This silicone and oil- free primer uses micronized bamboo powder to blur imperfections and leave skin looking matte all day. With no added dyes or fragrances, it's great for sensitive skin, too.
L'Oréal Paris Magic Perfecting Base
$13 AT L'OREAL
Just like magic, L'Oréal's primer covers pores and any fine lines with a matte, smooth-as-silk finish. You only need a little bit, too, before you start seeing a blurred-out look.
There's a CoverGirl TruBlend primer for any skin type or issue, trust us: green for color-neutralizing, peach for illuminating, a basic clear for skin-smoothing—y
Pro tip: Lighter-weight primers are fantastic for dry, flaky skin and oily types. You're able to smooth a feather-light base for foundation all over, then target areas where you need extra coverage.
This classic has managed to score 4.4-star rating from more than 15,000 thousand reviews on Amazon. Combine that with its price tag and it's well worth a try if you're after a matte, poreless finish.