Rare Beauty

Rare Beauty Always an Optimist Pore Diffusing Primer.

Primer

About this product

A powder primer designed to diffuse the appearance of pores and create a smooth, mattified base for makeup application.

Full ingredients

Water/Aqua/Eau, Dimethicone, Methyl Trimethicone, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Silica, Propanediol, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Eclipta Prostrata Extract, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Fragrance/Parfum, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Sodium Citrate, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Gardenia Florida Fruit Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Nymphaea Odorata Root Extract, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Tocopherol

Guru Score

80%

Yay

4 experts · Moderate agreement

What the gurus are saying

This primer earns praise for its unusual dry-touch texture that feels silky on skin and delivers a smooth, mattified finish. Those with blemishes or significant texture want something more coverage-focused, and one creator notes she prefers a sunscreen-primer hybrid instead, but the price point and general performance win over most who try it.

Synthesized from 4 expert reviews · most recent take May 2026

What they liked

Smooths and mattifies without stickiness
Helps control oils in the T-zone
Dry-touch texture

What they flagged

Doesn't cover scars or uneven texture well

Best for

Oily skin

Type

PrimerPowder

Key actives

Hyaluronic acidVitamin E

Formula notes

Contains fragranceNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Ulta → Amazon → Google →

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What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

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Dr. Sam Ellis

898k subs

✓Yay

"If you like more of a liquidy texture for your primer, Rare Beauty has a pore minimizing primer that is also fantastic and similarly to this one."

Allie Glines

829k subs

✓Yay

"This actually wasn't on the list but I like this product so much that I'm going to use it. The pore diffusing primer from Rare Beauty, I'm just going to go ahead and apply that through the T-Zone. I just feel like it really helps smooth and mattify. It helps with the oils, actually for me anyway I've noticed. So I'm just going to smooth that through the T-Zone before we go into foundation."

The Budget Dermatologist

724k subs

✓Yay

"I am using the Rare Beauty Illuminating Primer, and this is my newest Sephora buy and I absolutely love it. [...] A primer is going to really fill in the fine lines on your skin and help plump them up so that the makeup wears more nicely and doesn't quite settle into the lines as much. [...] It could also add hydration to the skin."

Cassandra Bankson

2.46M subs

✓Mixed

"It's not sticky, it's almost dry touch, but it almost feels like Vaseline as it goes onto the skin. I wouldn't say that it covers scars or texture very well, which is why I like the CeraVe one better for my blemished and scarred skin, but this is actually a decent one and the price is not horrible. Now for me, is this primer good? Sure. But is it absolutely wonderful, magnificent? No, not for me. I would prefer a sunscreen that kind of doubles up as a primer."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is Rare Beauty Always an Optimist Pore Diffusing Primer?

A powder primer designed to diffuse the appearance of pores and create a smooth, mattified base for makeup application.

Is Rare Beauty Always an Optimist Pore Diffusing Primer worth it?

Mostly yes. 3 of the 4 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 80%.

What is Rare Beauty Always an Optimist Pore Diffusing Primer's Guru Score?

Rare Beauty Always an Optimist Pore Diffusing Primer holds a Guru Score of 80%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 4 expert reviewers we have collected.