Road Test: Eye Primers

In my recent Sephora purchase, I bought the NARS Smudge-proof Eye Shadow Base. It was a test to see if I could replace my Bareminerals Brightening cream eye shadow primer. I was looking for something faster to apply because, honestly, the Bareminerals cream is slightly time-consuming to put on and periodically I end up squeezing WAY too much out of the bottle and therefore wasting some of my $18 eye primer.

First, these primers are completely opposite and both great in their own regard. One is more of a true primer (NARS) and one is more of a pre-eyeshadow cream (Bareminerals). The Bareminerals has a pinkish sheen to it, as you can see on the left in the picture below. The NARS Smudge-proof Eyeshadow Base is on the right.

Here they are with a little bit of smearing. The NARS would be completely clear if rubbed just a tiny bit more but even when blended, Bareminerals keeps a pearly sheen.

So here’s the down and dirty of the review:

Price: NARS is $24, Bareminerals is $18

Application: NARS wins. It’s faster to apply due to the wand and it can’t be wasted by over-squirting like Bareminerals.

Crease after long wear: They are very close, but I’d say NARS wins by a slight margin. There was absolutely zero crease after 10-12 hours where with Bareminerals, there would be a slight line.

Ability to work with all shadows: Bareminerals wins. Because it’s creamy and doesn’t dry as matte, Bareminerals works better with both cream and powder shadows. Pressed powder was a little dry when applying on top of the NARS.

Which one will I keep for everyday use? NARS. I like how it doesn’t have any color but I will still continue to use Bareminerals when I don’t have time for a layer of shadow or I want the pearl undertones. But overall, NARS is my new everyday product!