Eyeshadow Primer Potion by Urban Decay

Here are 3 different iterations of the same awesome product, the Eyeshadow Primer Potion by Urban Decay.

I’m not quite sure how I ever wore eye makeup before eyelid primers hit the market. Luckily, it’s easy to get away with the worn and creased eye makeup look as long as you reference the grungy days of the 90s as inspiration.

The Primer Potion has become a bit of a staple for me. I wear it whether I’m wearing eye makeup or not. It evens out the skin tone of my lids and leaves me with a more polished look.

It can be likened to the Too Faced Shadow Insurance in price, texture, and performance. Where Urban Decay excels relative to Too Faced is the formula. I’ve purchased 2 different tubes of the Shadow Insurance (from 2 different stores at 2 different times). Both times I found that the formula would separate if I didn’t use it for a few days. Regardless of how I stored the tubes, I always found that I had to severely shake and twist the tube just to mix it back up and minimize the amount of liquid that would separate from the primer and ooze out of the tube. The formula itself was great, but over time the continued separation would affect the consistency of the remaining product left in the tube.

The Primer Potion has never changed in consistency for me.

The giant tube is an amazing deal for makeup artists.

The original genie lamp inspired design is the most wasteful design I’ve ever seen. Fortunately, Urban Decay phased out the remaining genie bottles by including them as gifts with purchases when the oh so coveted Naked Palettes launched.

My absolutely favorite is the travel size tube, which retails for $12.00. It first became available as a holiday value set in late 2013. Luckily it seems to have become a permanent offering. I love this size because I am more likely to use it before the 6 month expiration date.

I use a tiny amount to cover my lids before starting any makeup application. The key is to not overdo it. There’s no “the more the merrier” where primer is concerned. That’s usually what leads to balling up, inconsistent color application, and oddly enough more creasing.

Some use it to prepare the under eye area for concealer application. That has never worked for me. The results are patchy at best.

In addition to keeping creasing at bay, a good primer can also help to make any eyeshadow more vibrant in color and more silkly in consistency.

The Primer Potion has become an autopilot product for me in that I reach for it automatically no matter the day or the look.

I’m really curious to try the Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base next.