EYE PRIMERS: SAVE OR SPLURGE

I have really oily eyelids and, like a lot of people I’m sure, I can’t get eyeshadow to last until the end of the day. It always ends up completely bunched into a few measly lines and it’s only gotten worse since we’ve hit the heat of summer. So over the past couple years I’ve tried a few different things to help with the longevity.

First off I’ve tried long wearing cream eyeshadows. I know a lot of people say that a good cream eyeshadow acts as a base and will keep whatever eyeshadow you layer on top of it in place all day. I’m sure that that works a treat for a lot of people, but unfortunately for my grease monkeys it’s not enough. Not even my Estee Lauder Shadow Paint stays put and that stuff is like a rock once it sets. 

So the first actual eyeshadow primer that I purchased back in the day was the Elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer. It goes on smoothly and it evens out the colour of the eyelids a bit and well... I was hopeful. But alas, it’s a no again. I didn’t find that it increased the wear time of my eyeshadow noticeably and at the end of the day I had the same bunched up eyeshadow.

Then I figured it was time to try NYX’s HD Eyeshadow Base. It’s highly rated on Makeupalley and I’ve got faith in NYX. I was surprised when I gave it a go though. When you apply it and leave it for a bit (before applying eyeshadow) it creases. I’m fairly careful not to apply too much so I think that the creasing must be happening because it takes ages to set. In terms of performance over the day it seems just about on par with the Elf one – not enough for my lids.

That’s when I caved and bought the Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. It’s transparent, it applies smoothly and sets quickly. Annnnddd yes. Yes it actually works. Result! For the first time ever my eyeshadow made it through untarnished to the end of the (hot) day.

So save of splurge? Well I’d say if your eyelids don’t get too oily it might be worth giving the Elf one a go as it costs all of $3.00/$4.00. Not exactly a risk there. From what I’ve read it’s worked for a lot of people. But if you’re like me and your eyelids resemble the likes of a frying pan that’s just been used to cook an English breakfast then I would highly recommend splurging. I know $29 (Canadian) seems like a lot to spend on an eye primer, but ultimately if it means that you can finally wear eyeshadow throughout the day then this is one of the few times that I would actually condone spending a bit more.