NARS Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eye Shadow Base Review
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Right off the bat I have to say that I'm not a fan of the tube packaging. It's definitely better than the old Urban Decay Primer Potion but in general I prefer squeeze tubes. The primer is white in color but dries to a virtually invisible finish. I apply this with a clean concealer brush to ensure an even layer all over my eye lids.
This base really does intensify colors quite well, increases the longevity of shadows and prevents creasing. Here's four shadows that are all across the spectrum in terms of cost and finish. We have a matte, a frosty shimmer, a sparkly metallic and a fine glitter shadow. (In case you were wondering, they are: Illamasqua Melodrama, Too Faced Poison Orchid, Bobbi Brown Chome Silver, Boots 17 Statuesque)
On the left side of each pair of swatches is bare skin, the right is over the base.
My eyelids used to be a lot oilier but in the last few years they dried up a bit, I would say that they are now closer to being "neutral", neither oily nor dry. Only humid days they do feel slick. I found that the NARS Pro Primer Smudge Proof Base actually dried my eyelids out a bit upon application, causing my makeup to look scaly. Another down side for me was that it did not transition eye shadow very well. By that I mean I would always know exactly where I had applied the NARS Smudge Proof Base and where I hadn't. Here's a visual example, the circle indicates where you can see exactly where the primer ends:
You might think that it is barely visible for as the wearer I definitely noticed the inability to blend and extend the shadows out in the area. Usually with primers with a bit more slip to them, the transition is a lot more forgiving for me and looks smoother. With this primer I really had to pay extra attention to make sure that EVERY part of my eye area was covered in primer.
I think a small ranking really helps demonstrate the order of preference. Here are the easily accessible primers that I've tried. In order from most favorite to least favorite:
1. LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer
2. Urban Decay Primer Potion
3. (tie) NARS Smudge Proof Eye Base
NYX HD Eye Shadow Base
4. Too Faced Shadow Insurance
5. e.l.f. Eye Shadow Primer (original $1 one, not the mineral one)
One last thing I feel like I have to comment on. The price. The full sized tube is actually quite small and pricy, $24 for .26 oz. Compare that to LORAC, which is $21 for .47 oz or Urban Decay which is $20 for .37 oz.
So in short while I think it is a great primer, for my lids it doesn't top my HG LORAC Primer. I think that if you have really oily lids this may be your best bet out of all the primers available but it wasn't a perfect match for me.
What's your current favorite eye primer and what kind of eyelids do you have?
Product featured was free as a part of a gift with purchase or point redemption. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.
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