best eye primer – Everyday Lipstick

Urban Decay Eye Primer, now I know what the fuss is about

Almost 6 weeks ago, I purchased Urban Decay eye primer and after just a few uses, I’ve never looked back. It was recommended to me by another blogger who said she liked it much more than the NARS eye primer. And she was right!

This is the third eye primer I’ve tried. First, it was the Bare Minerals primer in pearl, which has a nice sheen and even coverage primer that was great, but very hard to get out of the container. Plus, a lot of it ended up going to waste because it was too hard to push to the top of the tube.

Next, I went for easy to apply with NARS. One swipe of the wand brush and you have a nice line of primer than just takes a second to smooth on your eyelid. Nothing special, but it gets the job done. Reviews on Sephora.com said it takes a little too long to dry, which I would tend to agree with.

Finally, I tested the cult classic, Urban Decay eye primer. This primer has a skin tone tint to it so you already get skin-evening coverage before applying any color. Basically, it’s a winner. Dries quickly, lasts indefinitely and is silky smooth. Plus, I absolutely love the tip of the tube for easy application.

If you need a new (or want to try the best) eye primer, click here to get Urban Decay from Sephora!

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!