Category Archives: Eyeshadow Primer

Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Primer Review, Swatches, Photos

The final product (for now) in my new Wet n Wild 2013 / Fergie Centerstage product extravaganza is the Fergie eye primer (which you can now buy online). I’ve actually had a chance to test this out some, so this will be a review, though I will be sure to update it if my thoughts change after using it more.  My tube is labeled with the shade name “For My Primas” – I’m not sure if there are multiple shades available.

First, note that this – like most eye primers – does separate some in the tube (I always have this problem with Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and it’s the primary reason I stopped using it). You can massage the tube to try and get it to mix back together, but I usually just squeeze out a little until the consistency is better.  The Fergie eye primer had a little bit of separation at the beginning of the tube, but only a little.

Wet n Wild Fergie eye primer swatch

unblended, slightly blended, completely blended (and invisible!)

The texture of the Fergie eye primer is very familiar – it’s basically the same as all the eye primers I’ve tried, with perhaps a touch more silicone-y of a feel.  It’s very blendable, and disappears completely once blended in.

Here is the sheer purple shade from the Fergie eyeshadow palette I purchased. On the left is several (about 4) swipes without primer, on the right is 2-3 swipes over the Fergie primer.

Fergie Eye Primer Eyeshadow Swatch

no primer / primer

As you can see, the primer does a nice job intensifying color.  I wore the primer yesterday, and I didn’t have any problems with creasing or fading; I will continue to test it out over the next few weeks, and update this post if anything changes.

I also have a photo of the ingredients for those with sensitivities:

Wet n Wild Fergie Eye Primer Ingredients

click to enlarge

Overall, this eyeshadow primer seems like a fantastic affordable option (it was $5.49 at my Walgreens).  It does a good job intensifying color, and seems to wear well on me (though I don’t have oily lids).  I’m really happy to see more drugstore brands offering eyeshadow primers!

ELF $1 Eyeshadow Primer Review, Swatches, Photos

E.L.F. eyelid primer

E.L.F. eyelid primer

Given my success with NYX HD eyeshadow primer – it’s my daily eyeshadow primer now – I decided to try an even cheaper eyeshadow primer, the ELF (or is it E.L.F.?) $1 eyelid primer.  I have normal (non-oily) eyelids, so the most important purpose of eyeshadow primer for me is to intensify eyeshadow color; almost any primer is sufficient to prevent creasing.

To cut to the chase: the ELF primer failed completely to intensify eyeshadow colors, and I am pretty sure that it actually decreased the wear time of my eyeshadow.

First, the packaging: the ELF eyelid primer is in tube, with a doe-foot applicator. I’m fine with that style of packaging.  Squeeze tubes (like Too Faced Shadow Insurance) seem more hygienic, but I actually find the tube-with-doe-foot easier to use, because it’s easier to control how much I use.  I usually lightly tap the applicator to my eyelid, which applies a tiny little drop – then I blend out with my fingers.

ELF eyelid primer, swatch

heavy swatch // mostly blended swatch

When I first swatched the ELF primer, I was taken aback –  texture of the ELf primer was lightly grainy, a little bit separated with some very small chunks. Ew.  The color was fine – it’s similar to my skintone, and blends out to be almost invisible.

Next, to test out how the primer intensifies eyeshadows, I took a shimmery eyeshadow with sheer to medium pigmentation (NARS Lhasa), and swatched it four ways; alone, over Too Faced Shadow Insurance, over NYX HD eyeshadow primer, and over the ELF $1 eyelid primer.

eyeshadow primer comparisons

eyeshadow primer comparisons

As you can see, TFSI and the NYX primer intensified the eyeshadow significantly; the ELF swatch is slightly more intense than the “no primer” swatch, but significantly less intense than the other two primers.

So, I thought I would swatch a fairly sheer, matte shadow over the same primers to see how it performed.  This is the red side of the NYC halloween Devilish Duo.

eyeshadow primer comparisons

more eyeshadow primer comparisons

Again, Too Faced Shadow Insurance and NYX HD primer intensified the shadow beautifully. The NYX application looks a little less smooth than the TFSI one.   However, the ELF eyelid primer did not intensify the eyeshadow at all – it looks identical to the sheer application that you get without any primer at all.

So – ELF eyelid primer is a poor choice for intensifying eyeshadows. But how does it perform at preventing creasing?

As I said, I rarely have any creasing – my eyelids just aren’t oily.  But, on the day I tested out the ELF primer, my eyeshadow didn’t just crease. When I checked back after two hours, it was about 50% missing – it had just disappeared entirely.  I had put ELF primer on one eye and NYX HD primer on the other eye, and the NYX eye still looked perfect.  So, I’m comfortable in stating that the ELF primer is terrible at extending eyeshadow wear as well.

One last note: I don’t hate ELF – I have several ELF brushes I use regularly (in general, the studio line is soft and well made), and I’ve tried several other products that were nice quality as well.   ELF does a great job of making affordable, good quality products overall – but like every brand, they have some hits, and some total misses – and the eyelid primer is a total miss.

NYX HD Eyeshadow Primer Review, Swatches, Photos and Comparison

Eyeshadow primer is one of my absolute must-have items; in addition to extending the wear of my eyeshadow, I love how it makes my eyeshadow more vibrant!  For the last year or so, I’ve been using Too Faced Shadow Insurance, but I’ve grown quite frustrated with how it separates – it often comes out of the tube with a little bit of liquid.  I’ve heard good things about NYX HD Eyeshadow Primer, so the last time I was at Ulta I bought a tube to test out.

The one major downside of the NYX primer is the packaging; I feel like the tube with the doe-foot applicator is a lot less sanitary than the squeeze tube TFSI uses.  However, that’s not a dealbreaker for me.

NYX HD e/s primer – unblended and blended

I really like the consistency of the NYX HD eyeshadow primer – it’s very smooth, and there’s no separation like there is with TFSI.   It is creamy, weightless, and blends easily into my skin.

I wanted to see if there was a difference in the vibrancy of eyeshadow over different eyeshadow primers.  Below, I’ve swatched NARS Lhasa eyeshadow over (from left to right), bare skin, TFSI, NYX HD eyeshadow primer, and Urban Decay Primer Potion (original formula; I had a sample).  The below pictures were taken at night and are not very color accurate, but work for comparison purposes.

Eyeshadow primer comparison – with flash

Eyeshadow Primer comparison – without flash

As you can see, using any of the three primers really helps the eyeshadow adhere.  The UD primer may have a slight edge, but it’s a very close call; all three perform very well.

Of course, I tested out the NYX primer on my eyelids as well as my arm!  I’ve worn the NYX HD eyeshadow primer six or so times now, including one day where I was outside in the sun for several hours.  I experienced no creasing or fading at all; my eyeshadow lasted perfectly, just like it does with TFSI. Note that I have normal to dry skin, and rarely have any problems with creasing or fading (unless I neglect to wear primer at all).

Overall, I’m really happy with the NYX primer.  It performs just as well as the more expensive eyeshadow primers on me, and it’s only $7 (and frequently on sale!) at Ulta.

What eyeshadow primer are you currently using?

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This post is from Project Swatch. All rights reserved.

Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxie vs. Darling Girl Glitter Glue: Comparison & Wear Test

I not-so-recently-anymore placed an order with Fyrinnae – I really wanted to try out one of their Center State Highligher (review upcoming), but decided that while I was ordering, I should try out the famous Pixie Epoxie as well. As I already own Darling Girl Glitter Glue, I thought it would be interesting to do a head-to-head comparison and wear test.

 I applied similarly sized bits of the product to the back of my hand. The Darling Girl Glitter Glue looks a little bit milky, and the Fyrinne Pixie Epoxie is clear.

(I apologize for the quality of the photos in this post; I took these at night, so that I could sleep with the eyeshadow on my hand)

Then, I applied Shiro Cosmetics Master Sword loose eyeshadow.  It looked identical at first; the shadow adhered well to both bases.

I gently wiped my hand off with a tissue, and you can see why you need a sticky base – the shadow that was on bare skin came off completely, while the shadow on the two sticky bases adhered very well.

Then, I went about my evening. An hour or two later, I noticed that the Pixie Epoxie eyeshadow was holding up better than the Glitter Glue eyeshadow.

The next morning, the eyeshadow over the Darling Girl Glitter Glue was totally gone, but the eyeshadow over the  Pixie Epoxie was still there – albeit faintly.

So, this one wear test showed that the Pixie Epoxie was superior to Darling Girl Glitter Glue.

But, since I’ve used Darling Girl Glitter Glue many times in the past with no problems at all, I decided to do a “real world” wear test” – I applied one primer to each eye, then Fyrinnae Polar Bear loose eyeshadow to both.   The eyeshadow applied beautifully to both eyes, with minimal fallout. It lasted perfectly all day, and at the end of my 12-hour day, my eyeshadow looked freshly-applied on both of my eyes.

So, if you’re deciding between Pixie Epoxie and Darling Girl Glitter Glue, I don’t really think it matters which one you choose – both are truly excellent products, and I’ve received excellent customer service from both companies.  Darling Girl shipped out my products well within the stated turnaround time, and Fyrinnae actually shipped out the products much faster than the turnaround time.  One nice thing about the Pixie Epoxie is that you can order a sample size (which, since so little is needed per application, will last most people a very, very long time).  I personally find Fyrinnae’s site a little easier to navigate – but unfortunately, Fyrinnae occasionally shuts down temporarily.

The bottom line?  Both products are excellent, and you can’t go wrong!

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This post is from Project Swatch. All rights reserved.