Beauty Smackdown: Urban Decay Primer Potion vs e.l.f. Eyelid Primer

I have hooded eyelids. Hooded eyelids are eyelids without the usual visible "crease" on standard eyes. When you look straight to a mirror and you don't see your eyelids, it means you have hooded eyes. It frustrates me at times because when I apply eye makeup, and open my eyes, it's as if I didn't apply any eye shadow at all! Plus, when I wear eye shadow, my lids tend to get oilier as the day progresses which results to a lot of creasing or oil bundling up on the folds of my eyes. And that's not a pretty site! Good thing makeup companies have thought of a solution...eye shadow primers!

Eye shadow primers are what you put on your eyelids prior to eye shadow application. It helps your eye shadow to stay put the entire day, prevents creasing by controlling oil and makes the color of the eye shadows more intense. So here I am with a Beauty Smackdown for two eye shadow primers: 

Urban Decay Primer Potion VS e.l.f. Mineral Eyelid Primer

Let's find out which eye shadow primer is better!

Contestant #1 - Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original

Stats: 

-  Urban Decay is not available in the Philippines :(

-  Priced at Php900-1200 in most online shops

-  Urban Decay describes the product as "coveted by makeup artists and makeup junkies alike because it guarantees more vibrant eye shadow that lasts for 24 hours and NEVER CREASES!"

-  contains 11ml of product and comes in a squeeze tube

YAYS:

- The packaging!  With this tube packaging, you'll definitely get more bang for your buck! Before, it used to be a "potion" type and has a bent doe foot applicator (which was unhygienic btw), but you wouldn't really get all of the product out!

- Packaging is more hygienic. Makeup artists can definitely use this product!

- It does what it says! Minimal to no creasing even after 8hrs and the eye shadows stay put no matter what. 

- When used, eye shadows have increased color intensity, compared to when using no primers. 

- It absorbs into your skin fast and appears invisible once set.

- It has no smell.

NAYS:

- It is quite sticky, which could cause your eye shadow application to be uneven. You have to use a light hand to blend.

-  It is so expensive.

-  It contains parabens.

-  It is unavailable in our country.

Smart packaging right here!

Dries to an invisible finish

Contestant #2 - E.L.F. Mineral Eyelid Primer

Stats:

-  Available at elf counters in SM dept stores and other drug stores

-  Costs Php 129.75

-  The Eyes Lips Face website describes that this product preps your lids for smoother, long-lasting and crease-proof eye shadow.

YAYS:

-  It is true to its claim--eye shadow lasts longer, no creasing and makes eye shadow application smoother and easier.

-  The product is readily available in several e.l.f. counters.

-  It is so cheap! :) Php 129.75 is a pretty fair price to pay for a product so effective such as this.

- It is not a sticky base. It dries into a smooth powder-like finish, which helps in applying eye shadow easily.

-  It also has no smell.

-  It is mineral based so I feel that this is good for your skin.

NAYS:

-  I don't like the packaging of this product. It comes in a tube with a sponge-tip applicator. You wouldn't get all the product out of the tube with this kind of packaging. I guess it's okay if it's for personal use only, but for MUAs it's something to consider. At the neck of the tube, there's a bit of drying of the product, because of the wand applicator which pumps air in and out.

-  Since the product is not a sticky base, eye shadows don't easily "cling" to it. It doesn't have the intensifying color effect compared to the UDPP. But this can be remedied by using high quality/highly pigmented eye shadows instead.

elf Eyelid Primer! It doesn't say how much product is inside though.

Comes with a straight sponge tip wand applicator

It has a very sheer finish.

Some of the product dried up on the neck of the plastic tube.

I applied the UDPP and the elf primer on my arm, and in between there's no primer whatsoever. I swatched an eye shadow twice on each of these.

And the winner is.................. the e.l.f. Eyelid Primer!

I think both of these products are great at making your eye shadow crease-proof and last all day. The main difference between them is that the elf one does not "grab" eye shadows the same way as the UDPP does, because it is not sticky. I think this makes the elf product more user-friendly especially for beginners in eye shadow application. Although the Urban Decay primer really helps enhance the color pay off of your eyeshadows, I feel that it is recommended for experienced users or for MUAs who know how to work with this product. Also, the elf primer has a milder formulation since it is mineral-based, as compared to the UDPP which has a different formulation and contains parabens. But what really tipped over the two was the price. Elf clearly won this round because not only was it effective, but it is also budget-friendly and readily available in the Philippines. YAY for the elf eyelid primer! :)

Tutorial: Glam Purple Smokey Eyes

One of my favorite eye shadow palettes as of the moment is the Sleek i-Divine mineral based eye shadow palette in "OH SO SPECIAL". I got this palette from a store called "The Updated Trends" in a bazaar. It has a lot of great shadows that you can use for daytime and night time. You can create a variety of wearable looks with these as well. Also, it's very pigmented, which I really really like! :) 

I used some of the colors in this palette for my PURPLE smokey eyes along with other products to complete the look. If you want to learn how to recreate this look, I can help you through this step-by-step tutorial. If you have any questions or requests, please feel free to comment below! :) Enjoy!

1. Prime your lids to prevent creasing and to make your eye shadow last. It's important to prime your eyelids if they tend to oil up during the day. I used Urban Decay E/S Primer Potion (Original).

2. Roughly apply a black creamy base on your lid. Start from the lash line going up (but not too high). Btw, in this step you don't have to be neat! You can use either a pencil or a cream shadow. I used Nichido's Mineral Kohl Pencil in Onyx.  

 3. Using a fluffy blending brush of your choice (I used MAC 217), gently blend the creamy base upwards. Use a windshield wiper motion to blend.

4. With a crease brush, get a medium matte brown shade and apply on your crease to add warmth to your smokey eyes. I mixed 2 shades of brown from the Sleek palette to get the shade I wanted (The Mail and Boxed). You can also use 'Buck' from the Naked palette or any matte bronzer/contour powder as well.

5. Pat a matte black eye shadow (Noir) on the area where you applied your cream base. Again, begin with your lash line going up. Make sure you use a patting motion to really pack the color onto your lids.

6. Highlight your brow bone area with another matte shadow (Bow) that's close to your skin tone. Blend it with the brown crease shadow.

7. Pack a shimmery purple eye shadow (Celebrate) on the inner 2/3 of your lids

8. Highlight your inner corners with a shimmery pink eye shadow (Organza) to brighten up your eyes. Using your blending brush, blend the 3 colors (pink, purple and black) until you are happy with the color transition. :)

 9. On your lower lash line, smudge the pink, purple and black eye shadows you used (L-R) and blend them to create an ombre effect. Make sure you connect the black eye shadow on your outer corners with the lower lash line. Blend, blend, blend!!!

 10. Clean up any eye shadow fallout with a cotton bud or you can use your foundation or concealer to 'erase' any mistakes. I used the Make Up Factory's Light Reflecting Concealer in #2. 

 11. Line your upper lash line with black liner. You can also line your waterline to intensify the look. Curl your lashes and apply a generous amount of black volumizing mascara. For this I used, Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner and Maybelline the Falsies Mascara.

       *You can also add false lashes to your look to add drama. :))

Here's the finished look:

PRODUCTS USED:

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'Til the next tutorial! :) XOXO!! :*