Two beauty editors agree that the key to glowing skin is an illuminating primer—and these 9 are the best

There's one thing that everyone wants as we enter spring and journey towards summer—glowing skin. And having spoken to many a make-up artist about how to achieve an expensive-looking complexion, there's one thing that they always recommend using and that's a decent make-up primer. More specifically for dull skin, illuminating primers are often moisturising and help to add radiance and glow to your complexion—perfect for keeping in your make-up bag when your skin is looking less than glowy.

It’s important to note that the best primers usually serve different purposes—they can have multiple benefits but, first and foremost, illuminating primers are designed to give the skin a glowy appearance, rather than, say, grip your make-up or blur the look of pores. So if you’re heading out and want to improve your glowy make-up’s longevity, too, it’s worth layering over one of the best setting sprays to lock it in place.

However, there are so many illuminating primers on the market right now that whether you have oily skin or dry, want to wear it alone or layer beneath foundation, these are the very best that we've tried to achieve that coveted healthy glow.

The best illuminating primers to brighten spring skin

1. e.l.f. Halo Glow Liquid Filter

The best e.l.f. products are the talk of TikTok and, though it only launched in 2022, this is one of the brand’s best-sellers. It imparts a lovely healthy glow that works well under make-up or on its own—and, as with every e.l.f. product, it’s very reasonably priced. 

2. Sculpted by Aimee Beauty Base 

If you’ve never tried Sculpted by Aimee (the brand makes one of my favourite foundations and mascaras of all time), I wholeheartedly recommend you do so. Packed with light-reflecting particles, Beauty Base is a great first step if you want to ensure your skin looks glowy. As well as the original formula, there are also two pearlescent options in pink and gold shades for even more of a glow. 

3. MAC Studio Radiance Primer

MAC makes great primers and the aptly named Studio Radiance is its most illuminating. The formula is loaded with ingredients to nourish the skin—hyaluronic acid and vitamin E for example—and it’s got this lovely buttery consistency that sinks into the skin with ease. Not only that, but it can give your skin a healthy, luminous glow for as long as eight hours.

4. Beauty Pie Wonderfilter Brightening Primer

This is a lovely primer; extremely lightweight and hydrating, leaving skin soft as well as glowy, plus it has a nice subtle blurring effect for a smoother look. The only downside is that it is on the expensive side if you don’t have a Beauty Pie membership.

5. Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter

A real beauty icon, one of Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filters sells every two minutes. It’s another one that’s multi-use, working well as a radiance-boosting primer or over foundation as a subtle highlighter—or it can be worn alone for a very lightweight, glowy base.

6. Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Illuminating Primer 

Fun beauty fact: Laura Mercier actually released the first primers to market back in 1996, and they’re kind of regarded as an iconic product. A few years ago they had a bit of a makeover to become the Pure Canvas range, but this is the radiance-boosting one, a glowy formula with light-reflecting crushed pearl pigments that makes the perfect base for foundation. 

7. Vieve Skin Nova

“Primer used to be something that I only reached for on very special occasions, like attending a friend's wedding. I considered it to be an unnecessary extra step when I didn’t really need my make-up to last longer than a work day anyway. So it blows my mind that there is now a make-up primer that I use religiously every single day, and it comes in the form of Vieve’s Skin Nova. Thankfully, launched just months before my second child was born in 2022 this has become a staple in my make-up bag thanks to the fact that I now look absolutely knackered most days and require something that is going to help me look alive without adding time to my routine. This is a sensational product in that it manages to hydrate, smooth and brighten skin without adding any obvious cakiness or coverage. It’s a sheer, dewy delight that makes my bare skin actually look decent, but manages to make any base product that I apply on top look all the more glowy and gorgeous. Truly, I could not be without this.” — Mica Ricketts, Freelance Beauty Editor and Marie Claire Contributor

8. Milk Makeup Hydro Grip + Glow Primer

“I’m a huge fan of Milk Makeup primers, but tend to reach for them when I want my make-up to last for hours and hours rather than when I want luminosity. So I was over the moon when they launched a glowy version of their iconic Hydro Grip primer, which is regarded so highly by me and the beauty industry as a whole for really locking make-up in place all day. This one has that same incredible longevity—the texture when it goes on in slightly tacky but it’s this which enables it to really grip onto any make-up that you apply on top and keep it in place—but with the added bonus of a gold, shimmery glow. The result is make-up that not only looks more radiant and bright, but lasts for hours too. Brilliant for oily skin or anyone that just can’t be bothered with touching up their face throughout the day.” — Mica Ricketts, Freelance Beauty Editor and Marie Claire Contributor

9. Dr Hauschka Illuminating Fluid

“Described as a liquid highlighter, I wasn’t sure whether this product from Dr Hauschka would actually work as a primer despite its claims to be multipurpose. However, if you like your highlighter to be natural rather than impersonating a disco ball then this is a great option. Formulated with mineral pigments and medicinal plant extracts that imbue skin with a subtle radiance, the liquid formulation means that it works just as well applied alone as a luminous base as it does mixed in with your favourite foundations to give them a boost of radiance. There is a subtle shimmer throughout, but unless you pile it on the effect is that you have a lit-from-within glow rather than that you’ve been playing with glitter.” — Mica Ricketts, Freelance Beauty Editor and Marie Claire Contributor