Benefit Stay Don't Stray in Medium/Deep Review, Photos, Swatches
Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Medium/Deep
Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Medium/Deep
Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Medium/Deep ($26.00 for 0.33 fl. oz.) is a liquid product that can be used an eyeshadow base to keep eyeshadow in place and keep the color looking true as well as to keep concealer in place. I reviewed the formula when it originally debuted, and as I said then and can reiterate now: it is a fantastic product. The major downside was the packaging, which Benefit had used a pump-type dispenser that dispensed far and away too much product. Like the amount you’d need to cover your face, rather than just underneath your eye or on the lid.
In January (yes, of 2013), Benefit will debut new packaging and a new shade in Medium/Deep, which is about the color of NC35/NC40 I’d say. My arm is right around NC20, while my face around NC25/NC30. There’s a definite warm tone to the Medium/Deep shade (the original shade is closer to neutral). The finish was completely matte. It is a liquid, but it has a very thin, lightweight consistency that spreads easily, evenly, and dries down quickly.
It worked well at keeping crease-prone eyeshadows on the lid and prevented the creasing. When I layered it under my concealer, it also helped prolong the wear by another hour or so. On me, this was a bit too dark to use underneath my eye–mixed with the original shade, and it was a better match.
The new packaging features a twist-open cap with a doe-foot applicator attached to it. For me, it’s a major improvement over the pump. After trying and using primers that come in a tube, I’m not in love with them. I find that the product separates or will squirt out (causing waste). I’m not convinced doe-foot applicators are the very best, but it’s the type of applicator I’ve have liked the most from what I’ve used so far. Tubes are just slightly under them in my experience. I like both, not sold on either, but huge, huge improvement from the pump system they had before. I also appreciate when a brand listens to their customer base–both by creating a darker shade and tackling problematic packaging.
Medium/Deep
PPermanent. $26.00.
Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Medium/Deep
Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Medium/Deep
Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Medium/Deep
Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Medium/Deep
Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Medium/Deep
Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Medium/Deep
Hey Christine, I love your reviews and everything about this site. So, finally I reviewed it on my blog 🙂
Keep rocking the makeup world!
I’m pretty excited by this. The original Stay Don’t Stray was the first eye primer I ever used. After one try, I returned it because it was too light. I’ve been having some issues with UDPP looking a little ashy on me. Perhaps this will work. I’ll definitely need to try this in person.
Ooh, I likey a lot-y!
Super excited about the new packaging… although I probably won’t finish the bottle I currently have for another year or so! Geez!
completely fabulous product.. I only ditched it when I got caught up in the pump debacle so it is good to see they have resolved the issue.
This was the first high-end makeup product I had ever bought (in the pump packaging) and it really turned me off of making investments in makeup. At the time, it cost me more than $30 (in Canada) but it was the only eye primer option where I lived. I was disappointed by how thick it was, and how yellow it appeared on my lids. I’m so happy to see that they repackaged because I think that I wouldn’t have had those problems if I could have had more control over how much I could apply. It also makes me wonder how much thought goes into packaging – why eye primer was ever packaged in a pump is strange idea to me haha.
I think the idea was to make it easier to get every last bit out and minimize contamination/keep it hygienic for longer, but in practice, it just dispensed wayyyy too much.
Do you prefer this to Nars’s eyeshadow primer?
I prefer the ones that go on nearly invisible, so I prefer NARS. They last the same on me, I just prefer invisible.
This was the first eye primer I’ve used and it was a complete dissappointment. I know many people out there love this product, but I must say it was the worst makeup purchase I’ve ever made. It felt heavy and it creased my eyeshadows. In fact, they lasted longer on bare eyelids than using this.
The pump has terrible as well, so I’m glad they changed the packaging. I wished it worked for me since the idea was great, but seems I will have to keep up with my Nars primer -the one that has worked best for me.
Can’t agree more on the heavy texture, increased creasing and the terrible pump 🙁 and on top of that glad to have found a fellow nars primer lover! It’s as if I’d written the comment myself!
I totally agree, too… It’s heavy, it separates (like, the first 2-3 pumps being pure OIL every time!), it creases like crazy (I don’t have oily lids at all)… And on top of it it’s pretty expensive! Too bad NARS is not available in my country… Maybe I should give UDPP or TFSI a try.
I’ve tried UDPP and TFSI too… I would go for TFSI. It’s the 3rd place in my eye primer list. The 2nd place is Bobbi Brown cream eyeshadows, maybe you can give that one a try… the shade I use is Bone.
I agree with you on doe foot applicators vs. tubes. I have one more old school UDPP and after that runs out, I think I’ll give this one a try. I haven’t liked ANY primers in tubes.
The biggest problem with UDPP was the bottle shape, I think – because it was hard to maneuver the wand around the curves, so product would be hidden and pressed up into areas you couldn’t get to.
I saw a makeup blog where the person cut up UDPP bottle and there was so much product left in there and wasn’t coming out .
Was that with the genie bottle? Because that was pretty common, as a result of the curves of the bottle!
okay guys before you toss this product away please read this.
Ngl on me it’s a terrible primer. It’s thick and heavy and creases. It doesn’t help at all.
BUT because it is tinted, I use it as a concealer. Underneath my eyes as well as over blemishes (and I have very discolored skin with acne scars and blemised). It’s AMAZING!!! It covers very very well and stays on the whole entire day- plus, it blends beautifully and looks like I’m not wearing any cakey foundation, it just blends into my skin. This is what I used the whole entire summer and it is my go to must have product.
So before you toss it out, try using it like this. 🙂
Chiming in to say SAME HERE! As a primer, it’s a no-go…but using it for my blemishes? Perfection. It’s just liquidy/creamy enough to blend well but thick enough to provide precise coverage. It’s also buildable to a fair extent without being cakey. Honestly, I’ve repurchased this product even with the difficult pump because it’s my favorite concealer.
It’s also great for correcting the color of my lower eyelids when they’re dark and puffy.
Definitely worth your consideration for concealing purposes. (And I’m a little surprised they haven’t pushed it for such!)
This primer doesn’t look bad at all! I was expecting something thicker and creamier (like the Smashbox one–which I didn’t like at all). I usually don’t like opaque colored primers and much prefer ones that dry clear (like Nars’) but it certainly seems like this one has a thin enough consistency to where it won’t cake up or look heavy.
I have a small sample of the original shade, which has a doe foot applicator and works REALLY well for dabbing the tiny amount you need for this product, so I’m REALLY pleased they’re changing it! This doesn’t work perfectly for me, but it does extend the wear of my shadow much more than bare lids – I have REALLY oily eyelids.
I do love how this product evens out my eyelids, I have sallow skin right the way around my eyes. It also helps with my dark circles, so that’s a plus.
I also find it work great as an under eye concealer. works great with my coloring for that. i never wore mac, so don’t know what I’d wear to compare coloring, but I’m a light/fair kinda gal and the slightly yellow tint helps cover some dark areas under the eyes. and it doesn’t really crease all that much either. just heard about all the bad reviews of the pump of the full size so i tried to find try me kits to get the doe foot applicator of the deluxe size. glad to hear they are changing the packaging.
Christine I know that you don’t review elf products but I think that they have the best eyelid primer out there. Plus it costs, what? 2$? I experience very minimal creasing with it after 8 hours wear and it has a doe foot applicator. I cannot imagine spending 26$ on the UDPP or Stay Don’t Stray :-/
I have no creasing with this product along with other high-end primers (original UDPP does crease on me slightly after eight hours, though Eden does not) after eight hours (or even 10-12 hours), so depending on how long you wear your makeup for or how much you care about creasing, even minimal creasing after eight hours might merit getting a primer that holds it truly all day. For budget-friendly primers, I like NYX and L’Oreal. Milani’s Shadow Eyez also work well as bases!
I have a couple of samples size bottles of this that I got at Sephora a while back (in the lighter shade), and they’re packaged just like this. I’d always assumed that was the case, as I have so many other primers I prefer, I never looked to buy this in the full-size.
I really prefer tubes, but to mitigate contamination, I scrape the product onto a sanitized metal spatula, then use either my finger or a brush to apply (I do this with *all* products where the applicator “lives” in the packaging-except mascara). It takes an extra few seconds, but I feel alot more comfortable.
That’s good that they made this in a different shade, but I’m sorry, this is the worse eye primer I have ever used so far. I have tried this one, NARS, Lorac, paint pots from MAC, UDPP in Original and Sin, and Too Faced and this one was terrible. If it worked for you that’s great, but I had gotten a sample of this and I found it to be better as a quick concealer for underneath my eyes. I don’t think I had enough of a sample from NARS and Lorac to see if I truly liked them, because of that, so far I like Too Faced original the best (I feel like when UDPP changed packaging the formula changed, but maybe that’s in my head).
I’m curious what were the problems with it in your experience. You said it was the worst but weren’t specific which certainly raised my curiosity!