Lancome was a latecomer to the primer scene. Their MA maintained for ages that all you need under makeup is a good moisturizer and eye cream and color would stick and stay true all day. Those of us who've been using primers regularly would beg to differ, of course, and eventually Lancome released Aquatique Waterproof Eyecolour Base as an eye shadow primer.
One would think Lancome might have used the extra time for some serious R&D to develop a superior product. Well, in this case one is wrong. The texture of Aquatique is harder than most primers and almost waxy. It's spreads easier than I feared and creates the desired smooth canvas feel, but this kind of smoothness doesn't do much to make eye shadows stay in place. You feel like you're covering your lids with spackle but the color doesn't adhere to it very well. I've tried Aquatique base with numerous eye shadows from several brands, including Lancome, but the results were never as good as I get with other primers.
Yes, the SKINN Orchid Gel mattefying can be used around the eye area. The creator of the product Dimitri James has given us a green signal on this one.
Hands down my most favorite primer. I have been using this for over a year all over my face and on my eyes right before applying concealer. It fills up the tiny fine lines / my one big crease and keeps the concealer looking fresh and smooth . Absolute beauty !
The brand also has a product designed specially for the eyes - Insta Fill For Eyes. I've tried this and it is amazing too. You need just a dot of it for the whole eye area. Love it !
The lovely Lori Taylor - the Lead Makeup Artist at Smashbox had this to say " Sure it’s amazing under the eye. And the color correctors help with discoloration."
So, yes the super popular Photo Finish Primer can be used around the eye area too !
This is what the wonderful folks at Tarte said about the multi uses of Clean Slate. "Yes, clean slate is safe to use on your eyes (it is a natural product). "
Another yes !
As for a eye primer from Tarte, this fall they launched lifted™ natural eye primer with Firmitol ™ which is an eye primer that actually lifts and tightens the skin 10 minutes post application. MAC Prep + Prime Skin
Unfortunately MAC Prep + Prime is not designed to used around the eye area.
That's a no, folks.
However MAC does have the Prep + Prime Eye which was designed for the eye area !
So there we go ! Another mystery solved. If you have questions on any other face primers and would like me to find out if its safe for use around eye area - just send me a note. I'll try and get back to you on it !
In Other News...
Can somebody please get me out of this old school Usher Mania. I cant get over it. After listening to You Got It bad only about 16951 times , I'm now stuck on You remind Me. Its cute , though.
Thanks to Usher I'm working on our favorite Boys - Episode 3. This will be singers delight :p Help me put it together. Who do you think will fit into our category of the hottest , sexiest male singers ? Hip Hop, Rock, R & B, Country, Pop - all are welcome !
If you missed out on our boys. Check them out here. HOT HOT HOT....
Well, technically not yet but we're almost there ! I know we're almost there because it smells like cinnamon and other holiday spices around my apartment building. I get out and I'm like...
Oh No You Didn't. Oh No. They bust out their Holiday home fragrances, man !
I don't have the holiday fragrances yet. So, I am busting out the value kits. Today its Sally Hansen Natural Beauty 's turn with their 5 Minute Face Kit. I have loved this brand since it came into being a couple of years back. Almost everything has worked well for me and the price is almost always right.
This 5 Minute Face Kit has gotten me more excited than the bulls at the Rodeo !
I said bulls not cowboys. Nothing is more exciting than cowboys. *Drools* TX cowboys !
The Kit has 5 items. A minute per item. And they come in three shades - Light, Medium and Dark. Each kit has products that should help enhance features of skin tone in that range.
Luminizing Face Primer Concealer Blush Eyeshadow Trio Lip gloss
The primer is brilliant stuff ! It is a bit shimmery but all shimmer is forgiven during winter. So I say, Go for it. Thelma. Go for it !
Concealer , I'll write a lot about it soon.
The eyeshadow I have talked about them here. Almost a year back ! But they are still making them good ! The lip gloss in Sparkling Champagne is perfect for light - medium skin tones. A beautiful flesh toned shade with a hint of shimmer. Some of my other favorite shades are here with swatches .The blush ( Cherub) is a peachy pink "I-am-an-angel. Don't believe me ? Look at my cheeks " kinda color. That is the exact description that would be on he box had I made it.
But wait. So you think they put a items in a kit call it 5 minute kit and I'll get excited over it ?
No. Absolutely not. Check out the receipt below to know the most exciting part about the kit and the deal I've set up for y'all !
Its worth $45 but the CVS guy knows you read AIMB and he'll give it to you for $12.99. Just for you ! No Jokes. All true story.
Okay I had nothing to do with the deal. But if you give it a try, it'll still $12.99. AIMB reader or not !
My experience with DuWop products has been underwhelming so far. Yes, they make lovely eye shadows in some of the most beautiful combinations available. But, I deeply disliked their toe polishes (all of them looked cheap) and have found the much-hyped Lip Venom to be nothing to write home about.
Subsurface isn't going to land in my product hall of fame, either. I've been using it here and there for months now, hoping that eventually I would get what it's all about. No such luck.
As with many of their offerings, the basic idea is great. It's a double-duty product that is supposed to deal with two problem areas. One side contain an anti-blemish solution, while the other side is an under-eye primer. It's supposed to be a pre-concealer treatment with some anti-aging action. The problem? Both sides do diddly squat.
The anti-blemish cream is runny and thin. It might contain salicylic acid, but any drugstore product with the same ingredient performs better, and it doesn't come close to my Holy Grail of pimple fighting .
As for the concealer primer, I wonder why no other company that I'm aware of has come with a similar idea. After all, this is a part of the face that can always use some extra help. We have face primers that make foundation more effective, we have eyelid primers that make eye shadow look better and last longer. It makes sense to have a product that help us make the most of our undereye concealer. Unfortunately, this isn't the one. The primer goes on easily enough (I find the brush a bit stiff for such a delicate area), it's very wet and as such quite pleasant and makes the skin feel refreshed, but any non-greasy eye cream would achieve a similar sensation. You need to wait a minute or two before you can apply concealer, but when you do, there's no difference in application or feeling.
I've gone as far as to use the primer only on one eye so I can compare. No difference detected. My dark circles are alive and well, and since I'm using Secret de Vie instead of an eye cream, my undereye area has been happier than ever. The DuWop primer isn't contributing anything, except for adding a couple of minutes to the time it takes me to put on my face.
As a latecomer to the "stuff you put on your eyes before makeup" scene, I haven't tried Lemon-Aid from Benefit Cosmetics until recently. This isn't exactly a primer, nor is it a concealer, which is why expectations should not include eliminating dark circles or making makeup last longer. What this product does is take care of red and purple discoloration of the eyelids. It isn't supposed to be used on the under-eye area and doesn't provide coverage or any de-puffing action.
Lemon-Aid is a light yellow cream that has a somewhat waxy textures. It needs to melt a little before patting it on the skin. I know that for some people the texture makes it a bit difficult to use, but I had no problem with application. The tiniest amount is enough to do the promised trick and get rid of the redness. I wouldn't go as far as to say that you don't need eye makeup when wearing it, at least not in my case, because of my naturally dark eyelids, but it provides a good starting point for makeup application, especially for light colors that I sometimes have a problem making them show.
In this sense, it does work the way you'd expect from a primer: Easier application, you need less because shadows spread more evenly and looks better. However, unlike the wonderful Urban Decay eye primer that is a cream-to-powder formula, this waxy product is all cream, which means that sooner or later (two hours in my case) you start seeing creasing, and the makeup doesn't last as long as it should. I tested it with several Dior eye shadows as well as with the Bourjois I reviewed a few days ago. All are very high quality, so the blame isn't on them. Lemon-Aid is just not a primer, and can't be expected to perform like one.
It can be used in combination with a real primer. The question is: Why? I'm as high maintenance as the next beauty blogger, but I don't like loading up my face with layers of products. This is actually why I resisted the primer revolution for as long as I did. I'd rather not use two primers where one is sufficient. Then again, I don't have that big of a problem to cover. I'd still use Lemon-Aid when I don't need my makeup to hold for a full day and I'm trying to keep things light, but it isn't a must-have as far as I'm concerned.
From the "How did I live without this until now?" department comes Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion. I'm not a big primer user as it is, unless I'm going for the full face extravaganza, always trying to keep the goop amount on my face to a minimum (well, the beauty-obsessed equivalent of a minimum). Also, I always maintained that using great quality eye products (cream, shadows) makes eye primer an unnecessary item.
I was wrong. I mean, you don't have to use an eye primer, but the results that this little potion gives you are just too good to discard. The hype in the beauty blogs that surrounds this product is well justified. It makes eye makeup hold and last from early morning well into the night. Also, I think it makes eye shadows look better and brighter. It's something about the way the primed skin becomes a more accepting canvas to the brush you're using (speaking of which, there's an interesting discussion on going back to the old sponge applicators on Jack and Hill's beauty blog).
The only secret here is to figure out the right amount to use. I've found that the applicator (it's one of those sponge wands, like the ones that come with most lip glosses) tends to load a bit too much potion on the lids, so I've taken to even things out with my finger, after the initial application. Then, you need to give it a few seconds to set before brushing on the eye shadows. It adds about a minute to the time it takes to get ready, but the long lasting (and great looking) results are worth it.
