Sennen Prickett
Whether you're looking to boost the volume of your eyelashes or simply want to encourage your mascara to last for an entire day's wear, without smudging or flaking, let us introduce you to the best lash primers.
The best eyelash primers are the extra step in your makeup routine which many of us can overlook as unnecessary or a waste of time. However, these clever formulas work their magic to create an almost-sticky base layer for your best mascara to grip onto. This helps elevates the results of your go-to mascara, whether that be adding length or giving your lashes a fuller appearance.
With many options available on the market, arriving in an array of colourful hues and targeting a plethora of eyelash concerns, we've made it our task to hunt down the very best worth adding to your basket. Enter, our beauty editor's eight top tried and tested lash primers.
The 8 best lash primers, tested by our Beauty Editor
RRP: £12.99 | Shade: Black | Key Ingredients: Ceramide and vitamin B5
Formulated to take the iconic Sky High Mascara to even dizzier heights, this serum-infused primer is designed to lengthen and volumise lashes at the same time as nourishing them – which is why it contains skincare-worthy ingredients like ceramides and vitamin B5. At first look, it’s quite hard to see how this differs from your average mascara. It’s so similar to Maybelline’s Sky High Mascara that it even has the same brush. Said brush is cone-shaped, silicone, and covered in short bristles.
When I applied the primer to my lashes, I was so chuffed with the results that it almost felt like it would ruin them to layer mascara over the top. They looked longer and fuller, with much more definition. It's also black, which means it doesn't need covering up with mascara if you don't want to. So, if you want to lengthen and care for your lashes, this is the primer (or maybe even mascara) for you.
Buy if: Your priorities are fuller, longer-looking lashes
RRP: £12.99 | Shade: Blue | Key Ingredients: Panthenol, jojoba seed oil, castor oil
Ok, if you’re new to lash primers then this does feel a bit like jumping in the deep end. Firstly, it’s blue, which if you’re a 90s kid will spark nostalgia for the best blue mascaras, and secondly, the brush is huge. It’s a big chunky silicone cone that’s peppered with very short, spikey-looking bristles. But, this makes it a brilliant lash primer for those wanting volumised, fuller-looking lashes.
It was good at separating my lashes (presumably because the bristles are so tightly packed) and when I topped it with mascara my lashes looked far thicker at the root. So thick in fact that I didn’t need to add my best eyeliner. You could still see a hint of blue through my mascara in certain lights, so if you're not a fan of coloured mascaras, you'll just need to ensure you apply an extra layer of mascara on top.
Buy if: You're looking to boost the volume of your lashes
RRP: £12 | Shade: Blue | Key Ingredients: Rice bran wax, soy protein, wheat protein
If I’m honest, I didn’t expect to like this – let alone love it. The name implies very serious volume and, combined with the images of slightly spidery lashes on their website, I assumed it would leave my lashes so loaded with product that I’d need to do warm-ups before blinking. The colour is a very intense Smurf blue that (if you were a braver person than me) looks very striking on the lashes.
The long, cone-shaped brush boasts the kind of fluffy, Christmas-tree-like bristles that make it easy to extend your lashes, and made mine look extra long and super separated. The narrow end of the brush meant I could get right into the corners too, which I always think makes my eyes look wide awake. Topped with mascara it was almost as if I’d been to the salon for lash extensions.
Buy if: You like the lengthened, separated lash look
RRP: £12.99 | Shade: White | Key Ingredients: Jojoba oil and vitamins
A big selling point of the L'Oreal Paris Paradise Mascara Primer is not just that it makes your lashes look longer and fuller, but that it cares for them too. There’s a slight stickiness to the formula (which is almost like a serum in texture) and it’s formulated with jojoba oil to nourish. The brush is fluffy and nice to use, with bristles long enough to let you really get in between your lashes.
It deposits a lot of product in every swipe, so it doesn’t take very much effort at all to add a very impressive amount of oomph to the lashes (the kind you'd expect with one of the best volumising mascaras). I did find that it was slightly clumpy, which won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but I was impressed at how easy the white was to cover given the thickness of the formula. All-in-all I’d say a good option for a night out if you haven’t got the patience for a pair of the best false eyelashes.
Buy if: You're on the hunt for a formula that not only boosts the fullness of your lashes, but also nourishes them
RRP: £22 | Shade: White | Key Ingredients: Panthenol, glycerin
When I applied this initially I was a bit underwhelmed. It felt more like one of the best eyelash grower serums (no bad thing, but not what I’m looking for here) than a lash primer. The shade is white, but it’s sheerer and far less pigmented than some of the others on this list, so you can barely see where you’ve applied it. Some reviews I have read say that this makes for a great natural-looking mascara for anyone with blonde or grey lashes. As mine are brown, I can’t confirm this, but I can see that it has the potential to work.
I followed with mascara, and that was when the magic happened. My mascara glided on so smoothly that just a few sweeps made for beautifully lengthened and thicker-looking lashes. There were no clumps and no flaking, and everything stayed perfectly in place all day without feeling brittle or heavy.
Buy if: You want to extend the wear-time of your mascara
RRP: £24 | Shade: Brown | Key Ingredients: Pro-vitamin B5
This is one of the only primers on this list that can be worn without mascara. Instead of white or blue, it’s a subtle brown shade, which will not only suit everyone from blondes through to brunettes but also makes for a softer alternative to classic black. So if you're a fan of the best brown mascaras and a natural makeup look, this is the primer for you.
The brush is a long, silicone one with bristles studded along the sides and on the tip for teasing out the inner corners of your lashes. It’s very flexible too (so much so I initially thought the top wasn’t properly attached) which allows it to move with your lashes with ease. The primer alone really elongated my lashes and fanned them out. My lashes did cluster together a little when topped with mascara, but they had more impact than they normally do.
Buy if: A natural finish is your go-to look or you're looking for a lash primer you can wear without mascara
RRP: £27 | Shade: White | Key Ingredients: Castor seed oil, vitamin E and pro-vitamin B5
My lashes are stubbornly straight so I’m always in the market for something that will give them a bit of a lift – and make me look more awake in the process. The design of this brush (curved on one side with silicone bristles) makes it easy to get right into the root, which gave me a head start on that coveted lift before I got to mascara. It also meant I didn't have to use quite as much mascara, as I only needed one coat to get the effect I'd normally get from three.
Another big plus is that this dramatically reduces smudging, making it a must-try for anyone prone to panda eyes due to allergies or rubbing. Even if it’s not something you use all year round, it’s a good one to employ when summer arrives or for a big night out when you don't want to risk an unfortunate makeup mishap.
Buy if: Your lashes are in need of a lift or you struggle with smudging mascara
RRP: £21 | Shade: White | Key Ingredients: Panthenol and vitamin E
Urban Decay are the experts when it comes to primers. Their All Nighter keeps foundation in place like nothing else I’ve ever tried and their Lash Potion eyeshadow primer has been a staple in my makeup bag for years. It’s no surprise then that this would make our list of the best lash primers.
It’s quite thick, which will either pique your interest or put you off, depending on whether you’re someone who prefers a natural finish or a false-lash effect. I'd suggest applying sparingly to begin with, you can always add more after it's had a minute or two to dry. Like others on this list, it's white, so needs a good coating of mascara to cover up. The only downside is that I found it was a bit heavy, so if you're not blessed with lifted lashes then use your eyelash curlers and the best mascara for straight lashes to counteract.
Buy if: You want to give your eyelashes an oomph of drama
How we tested the best lash primers
If we’re honest, an eyelash primer isn't something our beauty team has used since the double-ended mascaras of the 2000s, so we had a bit of catching up to do. To bring you a reliable roundup of the best lash primers we tested products over a range of prices from high-street to high-end, wearing them for an entire day to visually assess their full results - including longevity and smudging.
As for the visibility underneath mascara, we took notes of the results in an array of different lighting, including inside under artificial light and outside in the daylight. Almost all are designed to be topped with mascara, and to keep things fair, we made sure this was the same one every time (one of the best Lancôme mascaras, to be exact). To make our list, these are the boxes our best lash primers had to tick:
- Clump-free: Getting your mascara to go on smoothly can be difficult enough at the best of times – especially when you’re nearing the end of the tube. A good lash primer won’t add any bobbles or bumps into the mix.
- Easy to apply: A lash primer should be easy to brush on so as not to take up too much time in your routine.
- Not visible through mascara: No one wants to see the white colour of a lash primer frosting your lashes throughout the day. They’re designed to be heard but not seen.
- Ability to volumise or lengthen: An eyelash primer is an extra step in your routine, so to make sure it’s earning its keep in your makeup bag it needs to be delivering what it promised to do. All the lash primers here made a visible difference in how full and long our lashes looked.
How to choose the best lash primer
Spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing the best lash primer? These are the factors to base your decision on:
- Price: Price is always important. If you’re not convinced you need a lash primer, try a cheaper option and see how you get on with it. If you like the concept but feel the formula or finish could be improved, you can always upgrade to a fancier one.
- Formula: A good lash primer will apply smoothly and cling to your lashes like a koala to “build the bulk in lashes to either add length or volume,” according to makeup artist Ruby Hammer MBE. If it doesn’t have enough grip or fibres within the formulation, it won’t do either.
- Extra ingredients: Some lash primers have the added benefit of conditioning ingredients, such as castor oil, jojoba oil and vitamins E and B5, that can work to strengthen, hydrates and thicken your natural lashes. A welcome addition if you’re committed to the health of your lashes or worried about them becoming brittle. They won't make as much of an impact as a dedicated lash serum though, so don't get too hung up on whether they have them or not.
- Can it be worn without mascara? “Many primers have a white colouring to them, so then you need the mascara to coat the lashes in either black/brown depending on your choice, otherwise you look like you have lash dandruff,” says Hammer. Some are brown though, which means you could technically wear them without mascara for a more natural look.
Your best lash primer FAQs, answered
What is the best lash primer?
Naturally, when it comes to picking the best of anything, it depends solely upon your own personal preferences, needs and opinions - and it's no different for lash primers. That said, we've curated an edit of some of the best formulas on the market, each targeted to suit an array of lash wants and needs.
We hailed Maybelline's Sky High Lash Sensational Tinted Primer as the best overall buy, thanks to its ability to unlock longer, fuller-looking lashes - whilst boasting nourishing benefits, too. However, for those looking to target a specific lash concern, such as wanting to add some oomph to their lashes, we declared Max Factor's False Lash Effect Primer the best for boosting volume. Whilst, Morphe's The Big Prime Lash Primer earned the title as best for lengthening.
How do lash primers work?
Lash primers are designed to be applied prior to mascara, working to enhance the appearance of your lashes and boost the performance of mascara. It works by coating the natural lashes with its formula that creates a perfect base for the mascara to stick to. Much like mascara, they can do an array of jobs such as work to lengthen, volumise or give the eyelashes a fuller appearance - while also helping to prevent your mascara from smudging. Although lash primers used to be typically white in hue, there are now many buys available on the market that boast a tinted formula.
Do you let lash primer dry before applying mascara?
In order to achieve the best results, you'll need to give your lash primer a chance to dry down before applying your first coat of mascara. This will allow you to reap all the benefits of the priming formula, without causing the hues of each product to mix - especially if you've opted for a white formula.
