Primer for dry skin

Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer has the best record for dry skin: 34 of 40 reviewers who brought it up said it feels comfortable and keeps makeup from clinging to dry patches. It is also sold on Amazon. Benefit POREfessional Primer has the weakest record here, at 9 of 31.

  • 268 store reviews counted
  • Ulta and Sephora shoppers
  • Aug 2018 to Sep 2026

Updated . How we count

Does it work on dry skin? What buyers said
  1. Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer 40 said either way
  2. Too Faced Hangover Primer 46 said either way
  3. Smashbox Photo Finish Primer 32 said either way
  4. Tatcha Silk Canvas Primer 21 said either way
  5. Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer 19 said either way
  6. Benefit POREfessional Primer 31 said either way

Share of reviewers who stated an outcome for dryness. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Best record Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer 34 of 40 say it works on dry skin Check price on Amazon
What stands out

Hydrating primers hold the first two places: reviewers call Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer hydrating in 46% of its reviews and Too Faced Hangover Primer in 35%. Makeup clinging to dry patches comes up in 37% of reviews for Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer and 30% for Benefit POREfessional Primer.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points buyers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1

Milk Makeup

Hydro Grip Primer

Best for extra hydration

34/40 say it works on dry skin

Hydration is the praise: 46% call it hydrating and 35% say makeup lasts longer over it. It does well at both stores, 15 of 15 at Ulta and 19 of 25 at Sephora, and 7% mention pilling.

What buyers praise

  • Hydrating 46%
  • Makeup lasts longer 35%
  • Blurs pores 4%
  • Good value 4%
  • Lightweight 4%

What buyers complain about

  • Drying 7%
  • Pills 7%
  • Breaks skin out 4%
  • No visible difference 4%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 15 of 15
  • Sephora 19 of 25
  • Brand site 10 of 11 shown, not counted
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Dry5 of 7
  • Combination5 of 6
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light6 of 8
  • Light-medium to medium4 of 4
2

Too Faced

Hangover Primer

37/46 say it works on dry skin

More reviewers weighed in on this one than any other primer here, 46 in all. 35% call it hydrating, and reviewers who list acne as a skin concern report 10 of 11. 11% saw no visible difference.

What buyers praise

  • Hydrating 35%
  • Makeup lasts longer 20%
  • Smooth base 11%

What buyers complain about

  • No visible difference 11%
  • Pills 7%
  • Drying 4%
  • Greasy or slippery 4%
  • Settles into pores 4%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 17 of 19
  • Sephora 20 of 27
  • Brand site 4 of 4 shown, not counted
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Dry11 of 15
  • Combination6 of 8
  • Normal3 of 3
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light14 of 16
  • Light-medium to medium5 of 8
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked10 of 11
3

Smashbox

Photo Finish Primer

Best for a smooth base

26/32 say it works on dry skin

Reviewers with dry skin report 9 of 9. 43% call it a smooth base and 36% say makeup lasts longer over it, but 14% say it feels greasy or slippery.

What buyers praise

  • Smooth base 43%
  • Makeup lasts longer 36%
  • Blurs pores 12%
  • Good value 5%
  • Lightweight 5%

What buyers complain about

  • Greasy or slippery 14%
  • No visible difference 10%
  • Drying 10%
  • Too expensive 7%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 6 of 8
  • Sephora 20 of 24
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Dry9 of 9
  • Combination5 of 7
  • Normal2 of 3
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light12 of 14
  • Light-medium to medium2 of 4
  • Medium-tan to tan3 of 3
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked6 of 7
4

Tatcha

Silk Canvas Primer

11/21 say it works on dry skin

Mixed on dry skin: reviewers with dry skin report 8 of 14. 31% call it a smooth base, but 21% say makeup still clings to dry patches.

What buyers praise

  • Smooth base 31%
  • Makeup lasts longer 7%
  • Hydrating 7%

What buyers complain about

  • No visible difference 10%
  • Too expensive 10%
  • Settles into pores 10%
  • Pills 7%
Where buyers said it
  • Sephora 11 of 21
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Dry8 of 14
  • Combination1 of 4
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked2 of 5

Share of 29 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

5

Hourglass

Veil Mineral Primer

9/19 say it works on dry skin

Results split by skin tone: 4 of 5 among Sephora reviewers with medium skin against 4 of 10 with fair-light skin. Makeup clinging to dry patches is the complaint, in 37% of its reviews.

What buyers praise

  • Smooth base 33%
  • Makeup lasts longer 20%
  • Blurs pores 13%
  • Controls oil 10%

What buyers complain about

  • Drying 20%
  • No visible difference 10%
  • Too expensive 10%
Where buyers said it
  • Sephora 9 of 19
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Combination4 of 10
  • Dry4 of 6
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light4 of 10
  • Light-medium to medium4 of 5
  • Medium-tan to tan1 of 4
Acne-prone reviewers
  • Said it worked2 of 5

Share of 30 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

6

Benefit

POREfessional Primer

Best for blurring pores

9/31 say it works on dry skin

Reviewers like it for blurring pores (23%), but dry skin is a poor match. 30% say makeup still clings to dry patches, 23% call it drying and 12% say it pills.

What buyers praise

  • Blurs pores 23%
  • Smooth base 16%
  • Controls oil 5%
  • Makeup lasts longer 4%

What buyers complain about

  • Drying 23%
  • Pills 12%
  • No visible difference 7%
  • Greasy or slippery 7%
  • Breaks skin out 5%
Where buyers said it
  • Ulta 4 of 13
  • Sephora 5 of 18
By skin type (Sephora reviewers)
  • Dry1 of 6
  • Combination2 of 5
By skin tone (Sephora reviewers)
  • Fair to light3 of 8
  • Light-medium to medium0 of 4

Share of 57 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 6 products ranked here carry 56,732 reviews at Ulta and Sephora. We searched them for dryness and read the newest matching reviews, up to 30 per product and store, posted between Aug 2018 and Sep 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Ulta also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. They run much more positive than store reviews of the same products (across 19 products with both, 76% of brand-site reviewers said the product solved the problem, against 55% of Ulta shoppers), so we show them on product cards but never count them.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

Skin type, skin tone and age splits use what reviewers chose on Sephora's review form (and age on Ulta's when given). We only show a split when enough reviewers fall on each side.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most reviewers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts and link to the product pages, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer Ulta and Sephora (46 reviews counted)
  2. Too Faced Hangover Primer Ulta (54 reviews counted)
  3. Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Ulta and Sephora (42 reviews counted)
  4. Tatcha Silk Canvas Primer Sephora (29 reviews counted)
  5. Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer Sephora (30 reviews counted)
  6. Benefit POREfessional Primer Ulta and Sephora (57 reviews counted)

People asking about it on Reddit

  1. What is a good primer to buy from sephora (dry skin)? r/Makeup, Jun 2023, 35 comments
  2. I don’t normally use primer and thought I’d maybe give it a try, any recommendations for dry skin? r/Sephora, Jan 2022, 38 comments
  3. If you have super dry skin... what's your #1 HG skincare item/primer that sinks in fast, works under SPF and works under most foundations/tints? r/Sephora, Aug 2024, 77 comments

Questions buyers ask

Which primer works for dry skin?

Reviewers give Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer the best record, at 34 of 40. Too Faced Hangover Primer follows at 37 of 46, with more reviewers weighing in than on any other primer here. Smashbox Photo Finish Primer comes next at 26 of 32.

Is there a primer for dry skin on Amazon?

The best pick sold on Amazon is Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer, at 34 of 40. Too Faced Hangover Primer and Smashbox Photo Finish Primer are also sold there, at 37 of 46 and 26 of 32. Benefit POREfessional Primer is not sold officially on Amazon.

Does Benefit POREfessional work on dry skin?

Usually not, by these reviews. 9 of 31 reviewers who brought up dry skin said it works, the weakest record here. 30% say makeup still clings to dry patches and 23% call it drying.

Does Tatcha Silk Canvas work for dry skin?

Results are mixed. Overall it is 11 of 21, and reviewers with dry skin report 8 of 14. 21% say makeup still clings to dry patches.

Related problems

Face primer Primer that doesn't pill Top pick: e.l.f. Power Grip Primer 222 buyer reports Foundation Foundation for dry skin Top pick: MAC Studio Radiance Face and Body 484 buyer reports Setting powder Setting powder for dry skin Top pick: Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder 291 buyer reports Tinted moisturizer Tinted moisturizer for dry skin Top pick: Hourglass Veil Hydrating Skin Tint 293 buyer reports

HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through "Check price on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.