Drier skin may need a moisture boost to keep makeup looking fresh, while oilier skin will need a bit of grip and absorption. Photograph: iStock

An extra layer on the skin in summer heat may seem counterintuitive, but nothing will keep make-up in place on a hot day like primer. It’s important to choose the right one for your needs and skin type. Drier skin may need a moisture boost to keep make-up looking fresh, while oilier skin will need a bit of grip and absorption.

Shiseido Future Solution LX Infinite Treatment Primer

Shiseido Future Solution LX Infinite Treatment Primer (€65 at cultbeauty.com) blends suncare with a priming make-up base. Just ensure you’re applying enough — to adequately protect face and neck, you’ll need enough sunscreen to draw a generous line from the base to fingertip of both your index and middle fingers. Once worked into the skin, this provides a glowing protective layer that has enough grip to hold make-up in place and keep it looking fresh. I like it best on mature skin — it has a lovely richness that makes skin look plumper and gives a touch of expensive-looking light reflection.

Tatcha The Liquid Silk Canvas Protective Primer

For the oiler (or sweatier) types who struggle with breakout shine during the summer, Tatcha The Liquid Silk Canvas Protective Primer (€56 at Space NK) is the solution. I fit in this category, but despite a tendency to shininess around the nose, chin and forehead in hot weather, I absolutely do not want a matt primer. I want light reflection where it’s most flattering — at the high points of the face like the top of cheekbones, cupid’s bow and bridge, but not sides of the nose. I wore this to a barbecue recently.

It was 29 degrees of slamming London heat and when I looked in the mirror after eight hours, my make-up had not migrated as it usually would. I did have some shine in the usual places after so long in the heat, but my make-up looked as though I had touched it up when really I’d just been sitting on the grass and eating beef ribs. This primer is going in my permanent make-up bag.

Benefit The Porefessional Lite Primer

If you have higher oil absorption needs, Benefit The Porefessional Lite Primer (from €15 at stockists nationwide) is a lovely iteration of the original, highly effective oil-absorbing primer. On very hot days I find the original too heavy, but this one is just as hard-working and feels significantly lighter on an overheated summer face. It combats sheen, gives much-needed grip and plays nicely with skincare and make-up.

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter

Not everyone wants oil absorption, however. Drier skin types need just the opposite. Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (€44 at Brown Thomas) isn’t a traditional primer as they’re generally understood. Rather than the traditional work of grip and lasting power, this gives intense glow and pleasingly blurs the skin for a truly filtered effect.

This will not give sufficient hold for oilier skin types in hot weather (though it can also go over a traditional primer or make-up like a highlighter), but it will be perfect for drier skin types in summer heat. It diffuses light over the skin and keeps foundation looking dewy and fresh.

Beauty Blender Bio Pure Blend & Cleanse Starter Set (€27 at beautybay.com)

Laura Kennedy, a contributor to The Irish Times, writes about beauty