Eyeshadow Primer Is Your Secret Weapon for a Bold, Budge-Free Look
Eyeshadow Primer Is Your Secret Weapon for a Bold, Budge-Free Look
In this day and age of glitter eyeshadow and high-def, Instagram-worthy makeup, ensuring your eyeshadow game stays on point is crucial. And between sun exposure, sweat streaks, facial sunscreen, squinting, and itchy eyes (hello, allergy season!), colorful lids can dull down — or smear, crease, or flake — quicker than you can say Euphoria. Thankfully, there is literally a product invented to prevent all of the above, something that makes your shadow color pop and last longer than ever.
Enter eyeshadow primer. If you’re at all familiar with face primer, eye primer follows a similar concept of prepping and providing the skin on your eyelids with a grippier base, so eye makeup, like shadow, concealer, and eyeliner, adheres better than it does on bare lids. Its job is twofold: One, to absorb excess oil on the lids that would otherwise make eye makeup crease, and two, to even out your eye skintone to further enhance color.
The Best Eyeshadow Primers
- Best Overall: Urban Decay Original Eyeshadow Primer Potion
- Runner-Up: Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Eyeshadow Primer
- Best Budget: NYX Professional Makeup HD Eyeshadow Base Concentrated Eye Primer
- Highly Rated on Amazon: Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Eye Shadow Primer
- Best Splurge: Hourglass Veil Eye Primer
- Most Lightweight: MILK MAKEUP Hydro Grip Eyeshadow and Concealer Primer
- Best for Monolids: NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
- Longest-Lasting: Too Faced Shadow Insurance 24-Hour Eyeshadow Primer
- Best for Dry Lids: Rare Beauty Weightless Eyeshadow Primer
- Best Studio-Worthy: MAC Prep + Prime 24 Hour Extend Eye Base
What to Consider
Eyeshadow primer formulations are pretty straightforward, with only a few points to keep in mind depending on your skin type and needs:
- Longevity: Waterproof? 24-hour staying power? Many products claim they can keep eye makeup budge-proof for the entire day, with some also touting water-resistant wear. Primers use polymers to create a film-like surface on the lids that resists moisture, which can be drying when formulated incorrectly. Conduct a patch test before use to ensure your eye primer has an adequate amount of slip — not sticky, slimy, or shiny, but with a silicone-like feel — and also that it doesn’t cause any allergies!
- Color: Some eyeshadow primers come in a blendable, yellow-tinted color that helps neutralize any ashiness or darkness in the eye area. Others are fully transparent. If you’re aiming to color-correct, a tinted primer is best; otherwise, clear options are virtually universal.
- Add-Ons: To combat any drying effect in their formulations, many primers now include a handful of moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid and vitamin E, as well as antioxidants for anti-aging. Primers that have these are often marketed as one-stop solutions, i.e., an eye cream and primer in one, and can be handy if you’re looking for a product that multitasks.
More than just another extra step, eyeshadow primer prolongs the wear of your regular shadow and improves color payoff — resulting in a brighter, more pigmented, crease-free look. Have one in your arsenal, and you’re on your way to a touch-up-free life.
Between sun exposure, sweat streaks, squinting and itchy eyes, colorful lids dull down fast. Invest in one of these long wear primers that sustain eyeshadow shades around the clock.
