little white truths

I bought this a while ago when I had almost finished my Too Faced Shadow Insurance and wanted to try a new formula. 

While Mecca Maxima carries the usual suspects (like the fabled Urban Decay Primer Potion), Mecca itself has less options so I went for this because it wasn't super expensive and there also isn't too much product - so I knew I wouldn't be stuck with it for a year or two if I didn't like it.

Lucky. I don't like it. More on why below.

BareMinerals claims/product details:

• Best-selling primer that maximises colour and extends the wear of your eyeshadow, preventing creasing during the day
• Infused with BareMinerals, this smoothing base keeps oils at bay so that your eyelids don't look greasy
• Goes on sheer and lightweight, but provides heavy-duty staying power for the most vibrant of colours
• Ultra-gentle formula that's ideal for those with sensitive eyes, including contact lens wearers
• Free from parabens, sulphates, phthalates, synthetic dyes and fragrances
• RRP $26 AUD for 3g

Verdict

While this isn't a terrible product and it (mostly) does what it's meant to do, it's not the right primer for me for a few reasons.

First, it's quite thick which means that it's best to warm it in your fingers first, otherwise it will go on too thickly and will completely dry your eyelids out and give you a crinkly base (or at least that's what it does for me).

Second, even with a thin layer, I find that it makes my eye area look older. I think it's probably too good at oil control for my eyelids, which effectively means that it's ageing. So if you're younger than me and have super oily eyelids, then this might be a good pick - but if you need something non-drying and more flattering, I would avoid this.

Third, it takes more work to blend than it should. With the Too Faced Shadow Insurance (reviewed here), I could just whack that on and forget about it: it was a thinner formula and a more hydrating one, so it was more forgiving. With this, I've occasionally found little blobs of the stuff that have settled into my crease or stuck around the lashline (I have hooded eyes), and once it has set you can't blend it - so there goes your eyeshadow. I once had to wash everything off and start again when this happened because we were going out. Not ideal.

Fourth, it's too grippy. Now obviously you want an eye primer to grip to some degree because that's going to help your eyeshadow adhere, be more vibrant and last better, but there's a fine line in my books because anything too grippy will lead to blending problems. It's not as bad as the Nars one in this respect (that's like Velcro), but it grips enough that even my best eyeshadows won't blend easily over it. Yes, including my would-blend-over-glue ABH ones. 

Of course, the solution here is to apply more of your base colour so it's gripping to that and not to the darker shadows, but because I need to put more cream shadow down first than I do with other eye primers, I'm starting from a place of too much powder (and therefore crinkled eyes) before I even lay down my crease colour. So I'm stuck between a rock and hard place because I obviously want to blend my eyeshadow but I don't want to look older.

The good news with this product is that it does do what it's meant to do - so make your eyeshadow adhere, crease less and last longer - but I have to say that it doesn't do that with all my shadows. Some formulas don't like this and crease or fade very quickly. The Too Faced product worked with everything, so I would recommend that over this any day.

Also worth mentioning is that this is actually a super expensive eye primer, considering you only get 3g of product for your $26. The Too Faced one set me back $22 AUD for 11g (it's now $28) and the Urban Decay one will cost you $20 for the smaller 5.7g size. So the value isn't there either.

Overall, I don't recommend this product and I think you can do a lot better - both in terms of price and also in terms of performance. Perhaps it works better for younger, oilier eyelids, but it doesn't make my eye area look good no matter what I do so it's a pass for me.

Not recommended.