In my constant quest for finding new and effective products, I decided to put 4 popular eye primers to the test: MAC's Painterly Paint Pot vs. Smashbox's Photo Finish Lid Primer vs. Kat Von D's High Voltage Eye Primer vs. Urban Decay's Primer Potion. I didn't have the Nars primer when I did this experiment, so I might have to repeat it with that. In any case, check out what happened when I applied Urban Decay's Flipside Eyeshadow over each of these 4 eye primers on my arm:
Immediately after application:
L-R: Flipside shadow on its own, MAC Paint Pot, Smashbox Photofinish, Kat Von D High Voltage, and Urban Decay Primer Potion
As you can see, on its own the shadow was very faint and hard to detect. The shadow was the darkest when applied on the MAC Paint Pot and the Urban Decay Primer Potion. During the following 3 hours I really put these primers to the test by rubbing my arm and wearing long sleeves for 30 minutes. Normally, nothing rubs up against our eyelids when we wear makeup, but the blinking motion definitely creates friction.
3 Hours after application
L-R: Flipside shadow on its own, MAC Paint Pot, Smashbox Photofinish, Kat Von D High Voltage, and Urban Decay Primer Potion
To my surprise, after 3 hours, just about all products had faded away significantly. The Smashbox primer failed miserably. The MAC Paint Pot worked well at holding on to the product, and the Kat Von D High Voltage worked well at ensuring the color remained bright. I had wanted to test out the ever-popular Too Faced Shadow Insurance but I just didn't have any with me at the time, and it doesn't work too well on me so it's not a product I would repurchase. All in all, this little game reinforced my affinity to MAC's Paint Pots.
What is your favorite eye primer?
