Is eyeshadow primer necessary? Sometimes? All the time?
No, definitely not. There are a surprising number of formulas on the market that can actually be worn on their own, though if you have really oily lids, you will likely find that primer is necessary. It’s one of those, “it can’t hurt” steps to me. It’s a precautionary measure that next to never hurts your eyeshadow application.
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I have really annoying, oily lids. Without eyeshadow primer, my eyeshadow creases within an hour. I WISH someone had told me about eyeshadow primer sooner, because I thought it did that for everyone!
It is for me and my oily eyelids!
For me, it’s necessary – because I do have extremely oily lids. The thing that stuck the best, without primer, was a MAC Paint Pot – and that lasted just over an hour before it started to crease. Anything else is lucky if it lasts thirty minutes w/o a primer beneath it!! (I even applied a little too much UDPP once, on my right eyelid; and by mid-day the left lid was still smooth while the right lid, the primer itself had creased a bit.)
Completely and utterly 100% necessary for me. Yes, I do have very oily lids
Definitely for me, my eyelids are just too oily.
Necessary. I have oily as hell AND hooded lids. *ALL* eye shadow is pointless to apply on me unless I have a primer on first, and even that doesn’t prevent fading/creasing fully.
@Miss J Same for me!
@Miss J I feel your pain. >:
TOT! I love Urban Decay’s version. It allows my color to go on true to shade, as well as, prolong the life of the shade.
I don’t think it’s necessary. Just use high quality makeup! In my opinion that should be sufficient. That’s what touchups are for! 🙂
@Pinkie Pie Style I have to disagree. High quality make-up does not mean the best or better and if you are having to do touch-ups with high quality make-up, it is not that high quality.
@Pinkie Pie Style Your opinion is incorrect. It seems to be based on your own experience, and judging solely from the comments below yours, it is obvious that your experience is vastly different from that of others.Everyone’s skin is different. Some would absolutely need a primer, even with high quality crease-resistant waterproof eye makeup to avoid creasing within 30 minutes, when others can wear the cheapest drugstore crappiest formulas on the planet and still have flawless eye make-up in the evening.
@Pinkie Pie Style I would have said the same until my experience just the other day! And who has time for touch-ups? Far more logical if you can find a product that is quick and easy to use and eliminates the need for touch-ups because of some of us can’t just dip out to the ladies’ room whenever to have a quick check of our makeup. I was honestly surprised after my experience with forgetting primer on Saturday – what a difference it made to how my shadow “showed up”.
@Pinkie Pie Style Seriously? I don’t know what you consider high quality makeup, but I have Guerlain, Chanel, Dior and Burberry just to mention a few high-end ones, and they all crease on me within 30 minutes without a primer. I’ve tried all brands that has been reviewed on this site except Armani EtK (3 on the way in the mail now) and EVERY SINGLE ONE creases. Yes, high quality shadows last longer than poor quality drugstore shadows, but for some people primer is still a necessity. Primer prolongs the wear of shadows regardless of their quality.
For me it is an absolute MUST! My eyelids are hooded and a touch oily so I’m crease city if I don’t wear a primer. I personally think that primer should be an essential step when it comes to eye makeup because it really does boost the color of whatever eyeshadows you put on.
I don’t find my lids are that oily, but something about their shape makes anything outside of a few cream products prone to creasing on me! Before I got introduced to eyeshadow primer, I wore a lot of cream shadows, and finding ones that worked were a bit trial and error. I think about the only thing I have now that I know I can wear primerless without creasing are the Maybelline Color Tattoos and my old standby cream shadow–wish I could remember the line name, I found a couple recently at dollar tree and snatched em up.
I didn’t think it was necessary until i tried the one from NARS. It does make huge difference. I also have very oily eyelids.
Oily Hooded Eyelided Temptalia readers UNITE!! Hell yes, that eye spackle is a definite must.. and I agree with Carly M..it does boost colour. I decided yesterday to forgo the primer and I had used a dark shadow as an eyeliner.. it didn’t take long before I was wearing it just above my crease. By the end of the day after using my pinky finger to kinda rub it off countless times, I decided I wouldn’t ‘forget’ again! Bah!
wwendalynne Completely agree…my oily hooded eyes can’t be without primer when I do makeup!
I don’t think it is necessary for everyone … though for me it is. I not only have hooded eyelids but hella oily too. If I wear a barely there eyeshadow I can skip the primer but I rarely do that. I like UDPP. I am still searching for my HG! Eyeshadow gunked in the crease is so not sexy. LOL!My face is oily, so I use eyeshadow primer on my brows too and it keeps the powder set on my brows!
While I have no issues with creasing, oiliness, etc, I think a base of some sort is a necessity for any shadow to perform at it’s full capacity. I mainly use a primer, as it is most convenient, however, I’ve also used gel liner, Paint Pots, concealer, cream bases, etc. If I’m just doing liner or a soft wash of a matte neutral, I’ll omit the primer or base, though.
Yes! Definitely yes! There is no point in eyeshadow without primer for me.
For me, eye primer is necessary for all eyeshadow because I have oily eyelids and can’t afford $20+ eyeshadow unless I save up for it.
CaliRogue Even $20 + eyeshadows can crease, and it’s even worse in muggy, hot weather. So don’t feel you will necessarily be getting “non-creasing/long-lasting” shadows only if you pay more for them.
Mariella You’re right. I just feel out of place because I haven’t experienced epic Armani eyeshadows and whatnot. It is rather warm where I am, so I’ll just have to look for “long-wearing” in reviews.
I wouldn’t say it’s absolutely necessary, but I agree with others here that it can make a huge difference in regards to longevity and creasing for people with hooded eyes. I still have issues with transfer and creasing occasionally, but not quite as much when I use a primer. Even laying down a layer of concealer gives me better wear.
yes! without one it will only look alright for about half an hour..
For me, it helps; although I still haven’t found a product that doesn’t crease on my (hooded, very oily, in tropical climate) eyes. Even Armani’s Eyes to Kill crease on me in a few hours, and that’s over two different primers+translucent powder. >:
Not at all, but it depends on your skin and how early in the morning you apply your shadow. In the winter I don’t really need it but in the summer, if I want my eyeshadow not to crease after 5 hours I need to use it. As to wether you need “high quality” makeup, thats nonsense, my favorite day-to-day eyeshadow is Safari by chanel and that creases too in the summer without primer.
A few days ago, I might have said “not necessarily” but on Saturday, I was putting on makeup to go out for dinner. We’d been painting most of the day and I’d just had a shower and was starting with a clean face and in my rush to be ready, I completely forgot to put on primer or a base (I usually use either Urban Decay Primer Potion or MAC Painterly). I couldn’t figure out why my Stila Grace eyeshadow – usually not a problem – just wasn’t showing up and then it suddenly hit me that I’d forgot to put on primer. When I wear a primer, I know my shadow will last 12+ hours without creasing and for me, especially in the humid summer heat, that is the primary reason I wear it but I was truly surprised at what a difference it made in how well at least this particular shadow showed up. Whatever “quality” shadow I’m wearing, I count on a good primer to make the shadow last without me even having to think about it or check it during the day.
For me it is necessary because I have oily lids and if I dont use a primer then my eyeshadow creases within the hour
I don’t think it’s necessary but it helps when the eyeshadow texture is bad or simply difficult to work out. I sometimes use a primer but most of the time ( 9 times / 10 ) I don’t.
If I don’t use any eyeshadow primer, my eyeshadow will crease in 2 hours! Indeed I need to use an eyeshadow primer plus some cream long lasting eyeshadow like MAC paint pots or maybelline color tatoo eyeshadow before put the powder eyeshadow. When I do this my eyeshadow stays for 12 hours. When I put only eyeshadow primer, it stays for about only 6 hours.
i don’t use primer religiously, but I do use it when i want colors to POP instead of being more subtle.
No, not for everyone but I think how necessary it is depends on how well e/s lasts on you. I have oily skin, but so far with UD and MAC e/s I’ve had no trouble getting them to last at least 8 hours (it almost always lasts longer than that for me) without creasing. If my shadow can last that long without creasing then I consider primer to be an unnecessary expense. If I couldn’t get at least 8 hours of wear then I might consider looking into primers.
For me yes because I want my makeup to last a FUll day. Whether I use a primer or a product like a paint pot as a base.
I actually seem to have miracle eyelids, because nothing ever creases on me, even without primer. Well, except a a glittery loose eyeshadow I tried once. That one definitely needed it. I generally use primer to boost the color of eyeshadows with bad color pay off, rather than to extend wear.
Xero Lol, you’re like my sister. She has miracle lids too. I’m jealous with my super oily hooded everything-creases-on-me-within-30-minutes eyelids. 😛
I’m the same, but I still love primer, anyway. Noone would dare paint their car or walls without a primer, and I view makeup the same way.
Yeah, I’m on team hooded eyes too. My eyelids are so heavy and hooded, nothing lasts without primer. Even eyeliner will rub off on my upper lid (my hoods rest on my eyelashes). Like someone else mentioned, I wish I had learned about primer years ago, I’d almost given up on eye make-up completely until I discovered UDPP.
@t_violet i agree. i think it really does depend on the shape of u’r eye, & if u have oily lids. i too have hooded eyes,so it’s like ‘oil-slick city’, & can’t do without primer. even if i just want a wash of color. i love UDPP. Have u tried the one in EDEN ? I still tend 2 crease with the original UDPP, after a few hours, but with the EDEN, my e/s really lasts ( 18 Hrs once !! i was soooo impressed )
I use eye shadow primer everyday. I also have slightly hooded eyes and my eye lids are so incredibly oily. I am a primer junkie and I’ve found that for my eyes UDPP is the best for me. But I also love primers in general (face, lash, lip). They really do work for me.
Yes its necessary. There are some times that if you use a lightweight makeup look for the day probably its not that necessary but for me it tends to crease when you dont apply a primer. I didnt ever know that it existed lol. I didnt know for what i could use the paintpots from Mac. And now ive been oriented and trying out different primers and i totally need to always apply primer and even for my face. It all depends as well the texture of the eyeshadows if you dont want to use primers, loreal infallible are really good.
Absolutely necessary. Without primer I might as well not put eyeshadow on. It was amazing the first time I used it, because my eyeshadow would be gone or creased after about 4 hours into my day. Now it looks the same at night as it did when I put it on. Love eyeshadow primer, and is as essential as lip balm or mascara!
Absolutely! I have really oily skin, and my lids are no exception. If I don’t use a primer, I may as well not even waste my time applying eye makeup. I also disagree that it wouldn’t be an issue if I only used expensive brands. I’ve got everything from Wet N Wild to Armani ETK in my collection, and they will all turn to sludge within a few hours if I don’t use a primer. I eventually get creasing even with a primer. I currently use the original Urban Decay Primer Potion (the shimmery UD primer formulas tend to be ineffective on me) with Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy layered on top before applying shadow.
For me, an absolute necessity. Not because of oily lids but because the heat and humidity here will fade 90% of the eyeshadows I own within 2 hours. Hell, even *with* some primers, my eyeshadows will fade because for me, not all primers are created equal. Namely, UDPP which just can’t survive the Houston weather and, according to some people on Makeupalley, I’m not the only one with that experience. The only eyeshadow that may be an exception is MUFE Aqua Creams, but even they POP more with primer. So, between the humidity and my desire to have the colours be at their most vibrant or intense, eyeshadow primer is a necessity. “Welcome to the Jungle”….
Kafka As a Louisiana neighbor, I also agree that the heat and humidity takes a toll on your makeup! Have you found anything more effective at combating the weather?
@Diana The only thing that works for me is NARS’ Smudgeproof. I researched a number of diff. eyeshadow primers after the UDPP made even the brightest colours fade within a short while and that’s when I came across 2 comments on MUA from Houston ladies saying that UDPP just could not withstand the humidity here. They said only the NARS lasted on them. They were right. At one point, I’d almost run out and decided to try to use up what I had left of UDPP for my experiments/playing around times. I thought, “I’ll save the NARS for going out because the UDPP can’t have been *that* bad. I must have been imagining it.” Nope, it really was. The darkest, most intense, highly pigmented eyeshadow became this thin, faded, sheer shadow of itself within two hours! Plus what I’ve realised, on my 42 year old lids, the UDPP gives me a crepe-y look! (One of the Houston ladies on MUA said that too, btw! I had thought it was just me!) xAmyx here told me that UDPP changed its formulation and added lanolin. I don’t know what the impact of the lanolin is or if that’s the reason why it’s not so effective, but I’m avoiding it from here on out.
Kafka I may have to give the NARS version a try in the future. The original UDPP formula layered with Fryinnae Pixie Epoxy works pretty well for me, but any of the other UDPP formulas don’t hold up for me either. Not sure about the impact of lanolin either…I know it’s used in various skin care products, and a quick Google search also brought up water-repellent properties, but I don’t know how either of those can affect the ability of eyelid primer.
I absolutely need eye primer, my skin is super oily and my eyelids/around my nose are even worse than the rest of my face. I’m currently stuck because UDPP used to work brilliantly on me and no longer does, TFSI doesn’t work and nor does ELF. I’m trying a sample of NARS but it still isn’t perfect. Shame I can’t find a primer that works on my skin also. I’ve tried everything.
For me a eye primer is necessary, I have oily skin and no eyeshadows will stay put on my eyelids and it will crease like hell without a primer. My HG eyelid primer of the moment is UDPP, I can just not live without it !
Eyeshadow without primer don´t work for me. I have oily eyelids and after one hour each eyeshadow beginns to fade away. I dont´find the best primer for me till know. I try al lot TFSI, Artdeco, San Soucis, my last one UDPP is the worst of all. After 2 or 3 hours my eyeshadow would be gone or creased. And im wondering why some colours have such a bad payoff. I think it must be the UDPP, because they work better and brightner with Artdeco Base. Now i will try out nars smudge proof eyeshadow base, i really hope it will work one my and i can wear eyeshadow for 8 hours and longer without creasing and fading away.
lilly04 Same thing happened to me with UDPP. Adding insult to injury, it gave me crepe-y eyelids too! Ugh.
lilly04 have you tried lime crime eyeshadow helper my sister, she is a makeup artist she does mostly weddings, she uses that on all of her clients and it seems to work the best for everyone.
MeganBowen thanks for the information Megan. I don´t know the lime crime eyeshadow helper. I will try it out. 🙂
Eyeshadow primer is a must for me. I have this weird combination skin, mostly dry, but my eyelids are so oily that without a primer everything just sort of becomes a muddy mess.
I can’t remember the last time I didn’t use an eyeshadow primer! I have oily lids, so it’s basically an everyday precaution for me. I recently switched from UDPP to NARS because I got a sample of the NARS and absolutely adored it — my makeup literally does not move. Switched and haven’t regretted it once!
Definitely necessary for me – very heavily hooded lids that are oily. I also need my makeup to last all day and tend to wear pretty heavy smokey dark looks a lot.
I’ve used eyelid primer for a number of years now and find it makes a big difference on the staying power of my eye makeup. My fav is UDPP in the squeeze tube. I didn’t care for the rabbit’s foot applicator they initially used b/c of contamination. I also like NARs but use UD more often. I live near Cleveland OH near lake eary and our weather can only be described as schizophrenic. We have hot muggy days and dry very cold days with high winds off the lake (We actually have more wind than Chicago) but I don’t have a problem with creasing. I do have hooded lids and find the application to be much easier and blending is also easier. I have been to Dallas and found it to be incredibly hot and human. It wasn’t a pleasure trip as I went down to see my dying sister and spent virtually all the time in the hospital.Nars
one day that i was getting ready to go out i had totally forgotten that i had ran out of primer and for some odd reason i though lipgloss would do the job… and it did and ive used that as my go to emergency primer
what kinda lip gloss?
Yep, i hear that lipgloss works, but i dont think it’s that safe to use on eyes. I use color corrector instead of primer sometimes, like Benefit Lemon Aid.
It sounds like an extra step that you can skip, and I did for a long time. But the first time I used primer, and saw that my eyeshadow hadn’t creased ALL day- I was blown away! I never skip primer.
I agree with Andrea, especially since I have oily skin
I think it’s 100% necessary. It makes such an amazing difference!
It’s 100% necessary in my routine unless I’m using just a cream quickly.
Agree with Gina^^^ If I don’t use it the colour just does not pop or apply evenly.
I use Urban Decay primer and my e/s lasts all day even thru my workout!
Primer is totally necessary for me… my shadow always creases without it – yet never creases with it! (I also use UDPP). My lids are just too oily for eyeshadow to survive on lol.
For me it is! I have pretty oily lids so.., TFSI hardly ever fails me… I prefer it over UDPP (it dries my lids so badly). i rock eye primer everytime I do my eye makeup
Yes. Absolutely.
For me, it’s optional. It helps with trying to use up cheap drugstore shadow that doesn’t have much staying power otherwise, but when I use my favorite, good shadow (big UD fan), they seem to stay put with or without it. I use primer the most on hot summer days, nights out or special occasions, but I’ve skipped it with no terrible consequences.
Primer can’t be called truly required but it makes such a difference and I use it all the time: assuming I’m wearing make up
I stopped wearing it altogether. I have really dry skin so I don’t *need* it – anything I apply lasts 10+ hours without fading/migrating anyway. The only thing primer does to me is make it nearly impossible to blend colours properly
Ive been testing makeup on myself for quite a while now and I have become accustomed to using the urban decay primer potion as it has been highly recommended by many People I know. But for some reason even with this primer on my lids seem to look faded out by the time I have finished applying my makeup on., eventhough I am using highly pigmented products from MAC and some other high street lines too. So to be honest I have not seen much difference between applying or not applying eyeshaow primer on my eyes 🙁 sad times.