I can’t tell you how long it took for a good eyeshadow primer to become available. My sister and I are both beauty lovers and we’d often meet at the “good” mall to shop. Back then we’d comb the mall for beauty beauties and spend hours at MAC, Nordstrom, and a Bendel that was heavenly to shop at. But no matter how much we searched we were always stymied when looking for an eyeshadow primer. We knew something had to exist that would hold our shadows on longer. Too bad we didn’t have the money to develop it ourselves.
Over the years though I have found some great primers and I now never wear powder eyeshadow without an eyeshadow primer. I have what you’d call normal lids, not too oily, not too dry. My absolute favorite has been Too Faced Shadow Insurance but I still tried as many primers as I could find. At $ 24 I don’t consider TF that expensive since I get about 4 months use out of one tube. But if I can find a less expensive one then why not?
I started reading about Covergirl’s Lid Lock Up and everyone seemed to love it. Prices seem to vary but it should cost you about $ 8.99. The first thing I noticed with Lid Lock Up is how quickly it dried. It starts off dry and ends up dry. It tugs a little on my lid with application but not when I’m wearing shadow.
Covergirl Lid Lock Up holds shadows well. I have only used a few eyeshadow brands with it but what I’ve noticed is there’s basically no fall out when I brush on the shadows. The color is what’s referred to as flesh toned (which we know isn’t the same for everyone) and evens out any discoloration that is already on your lid. I understand why so many people raved about this.
A few weeks later I was in CVS and there was a Revlon display and a sale. I was surprised to see that Revlon Colorstay finally had their own eyeshadow primer. Of course I had to try it since I had CVS bucks, a sale and bonus bucks. And voila, a frugal Friday was born.
Revlon Colorstay Eye Shadow Primer is very different, actually I’d say it’s more like the infamous Too Faced Shadow Insurance. You can see that the tube and applicator are similar. It’s also a creamier consistency much like TF. It goes on slightly wet and it takes time to dry down. If you are in a hurry you might want to put it on as soon as you brush your teeth so it has time to dry. According to Revlon this creates a smooth base for shadow with a custom shea butter care complex and is a universal shade that works on all skin tones.
Other than dry time it works basically the same as the Covergirl. It’s $ 8.99 at Ulta but right now it’s only $ 4.92 on Amazon (I’d snap it up at that price if I needed it). Shadows go on very smoothly with little to no fall out.
Which you might buy depends on what you are looking for. If you have oily lids and find nothing lasts long then you’ll want to try Covergirl Lid Lock Up. If you have normal or dry lids you might want to try Revlon’s especially if you can get it at that low price. The Covergirl primer feels a little strange at first because it’s so dry but it’s great that you can put it on and do your makeup ASAP.
Do you wear an eyeshadow primer? If so which one.
