Picture your ideal version of a matte primer for oily skin. Your hypothetical dream product most likely staves off excess oil, doesn’t dry you out, helps your makeup application stay put, and as a bonus, blurs away the appearance of pores. It probably also looks awesome in your bathroom cabinet. Well, that sums up every requirement we had in mind (and subsequently achieved) while developing Pore Eclipse Mattifying Primer.
Our matte face primer for oily skin has a dreamy, lightweight, 90% natural water cream consistency that locks any makeup look in place all day, blurs pores, and keeps skin shine-free for up to 8 hours. Pore Eclipse is also infused with brightening niacinamide and smoothing bakuchiol to help minimize the appearance of pores and skin texture over time. Lentil extract joins them for incredible shine control and helps skin look velvety matte. We even sprinkled in some moonstone to help calm skin and add a touch of lunar magic. This blurring primer is a major overachiever, and we already know you’ll love it—especially if you have acne-prone skin.
“It's basically a makeup-skincare hybrid, which is really how we think of all our products,” says our Co-Founder and COO, Dianna Ruth. “If you're going to put something on your face and keep it on your face for eight hours, it needs to be doing something good for your skin.”
Read on to find out exactly what it can do—and how to use it to get that IRL soft-focus filtered look with a side of skincare benefits.
What is a mattifying primer?True to its name, a mattifying face primer has oil-controlling benefits to keep skin shine-free. It also has the additional benefits that come with any face primer (like our award-winning Hydro Grip Primer), such as making your skin texture look smoother and ensuring that your makeup looks fresh for hours. Matte primer for oily skin helps absorb sebum and oils that cause foundation to slide, crack, and crease. And just as its name implies, this face primer formula most definitely imparts a velvety, soft-focus matte finish rather than a dewy, glassy one. (That’s what Hydro Grip Primer is for.) What does a mattifying primer do?Think of Pore Eclipse Mattifying Primer as a skincare step, mattifying primer, pore-minimizing primer, and blurring primer in one. If you were a fan of our (now-discontinued) Milk Makeup Blur Stick, Pore Eclipse is our next-gen take on a similarly filtered finish. Where most matte primers for oily skin use silicone to blur pores and minimize shine, we wanted to find a more comfortable alternative that didn’t leave skin feeling like it’s covered in a thick, sweat-inducing mask on your face. Instead, we created a formula that feels super breathable and light—that’s also oil-free, paraben-free, and non-comedogenic, so it won’t clog your pores. After extensive research, we ended up finding a surprising hydrating-yet-priming ingredient trio that filled all of those needs: lentil extract, niacinamide, and bakuchiol. “Lentils are an amazing food power source,” says Dianna. “Lentil extract as a [cosmetic] ingredient acts like microfine particles that soak up oil all day long.” In Pore Eclipse, lentil extract (along with blurring microspheres) helps maintain a natural matte finish throughout the day without causing harsh dryness. We paired it with bakuchiol and niacinamide to give this matte primer for oily skin some longer-term benefits that take it from a primer to a true skincare step. “Both of those ingredients help minimize the look of large pores,” says Dianna. You’ve likely seen bakuchiol pop up on your FYP or Instagram feed over the past few years as it’s become an increasingly popular choice in clean, cruelty-free skincare. Reason being: Bakuchiol is a popular natural alternative to retinol, a topical vitamin A that helps smooth skin texture, treat breakouts, and minimize fine lines. Retinol can be overly harsh for some skin types to use, especially those with sensitive skin, but bakuchiol is gentler and better tolerated while delivering similar results. Niacinamide (vitamin B3) is also a hero ingredient in our Hydro Grip Primer and Hydro Grip Set + Refresh Spray. We love how it helps provide additional moisture for a fresh, dewy glow. This antioxidant-rich ingredient has also been shown to help improve skin texture overall, making it an obvious addition to Pore Eclipse Mattifying Primer. Lastly, we added moonstone, which rounds out the formula with a calming effect. The result: a face primer that isn’t only our best primer for oily skin, but it’s also great for anyone who wants to reap the benefits of smoother-looking skin over time. (However, if you prefer something better suited for dry skin or other skin types, try Hydro Grip instead. As always, we recommend those with sensitive skin to do some patch testing and consult your dermatologist before committing to your primer of choice.) How do I choose a primer for oily skin?When looking for a primer for oily skin to add to your makeup routine, a matte finish is the key to a shine-free effect that keeps excess oil at bay all day. It will probably do so via an absorbent ingredient, like silica, clay, or, in our case, lentil extract. You also want one with a transparent finish—no one likes a white cast over their skin. The best part of Pore Eclipse is no matter what foundation or concealer you put on top of it—matte finish, dewy, or otherwise—it still provides oil control. You can also use this face primer without base makeup when you simply want a low-key matte skin look. Because it’s spiked with so many skincare ingredients, you can basically consider Pore Eclipse Mattifying Primer an oil-controlling moisturizer. Be sure to look for face primers infused with nourishing ingredients, too, as hydration is essential for rebalancing oily, acne-prone skin. When reading ingredient lists, look for the likes of hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and niacinamide. |
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How to Use Matte Primer for Oily Skin
Because Pore Eclipse has a ton of skincare ingredients in it, we want you to think of it both as the last step of your skincare routine (after sunscreen, of course) and the first step of your makeup routine. Sara Wren, our Global Director of Artistry, likes to prime her skin when it's still slightly damp from our Vegan Milk Moisturizer. Then, she waits for them to dry down one minute before moving on to makeup application.
Our mattifying primer comes out of its matte black tube completely translucent and glides on with an invisible finish on all skin tones. Thanks to the water cream formulation, “The first thing people notice when they apply it is that it comes out very refreshing and cold,” says Dianna. “It blends out smooth and is very breathable.”
You can certainly apply Pore Eclipse as an all-over base layer, but it also works well with a more targeted application. “It’s basically like a blur tool for wherever you want on your face,” Sara says. Both Dianna and Sara recommend concentrating it on your T-zone if you get greasy there throughout the day. “Your T-zone tends to have large pores, produce more oil, and see more skin texture and breakouts,” Sara says. Adding Pore Eclipse specifically to this area gives skin an extra boost of skincare while smoothing out any blemishes or dry patches and filling in pores without clogging them.
As for the best products to pair our matte primer for oily skin with? Anything goes. “We tested it with liquid foundation, powder foundation, cream foundation, stick foundation, all the things,” says Dianna. “It plays nicely with all of them.” When layered over Pore Eclipse Mattifying Primer, our Flex Foundation Stick delivers medium to full coverage and a natural satin finish. A dewy formula, like our Sunshine Skin Tint SPF 30, maintains a more subtle glow while staying locked and keeping skin looking fresh even on the oiliest of T-zones. You can even apply our Bionic Glow Illuminator over the top of matte primer for oily skin for a filtered healthy glow.
“What’s great about Pore Eclipse Mattifying Primer is that it’s not drying,” says Sara. “It doesn’t go chalky on your skin. So you can use it with your highlighters, creams, and glowy makeup and still have that controlled dewy look.” Yup, that’s why it’s one of the best primers for oily skin.
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Meet the Experts:
Dianna Ruth (she/her) is the Co-Founder and COO at Milk Makeup. She’s launched thousands of makeup and skincare products, overseeing them from concept to development, garnering over 30 industry awards from institutions such as CEW, Allure, Self, and Cosmopolitan. With her extensive background in product development and her busy lifestyle as a mom of two, Dianna wields her extensive industry knowledge and ability to seek out the new, useful, and functional to create our revolutionary and highly innovative Milk Makeup products.
Sara Wren (she/her) is the Director of Artistry at Milk Makeup. In her role, she does all the makeup artistry and direction for our Milk Makeup global campaigns, educates the staff and field team on application methods, stars in the brand’s social media videos, and travels to different markets spreading Milk Makeup’s good vibes. When she’s not on set, Sara loves experimenting with DIY hair colors, eating tacos, watching basketball, and scouring for vintage cosmetics to add to her impressive collection.
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