Eye makeup struggling to go the distance? Applying one of the best eyeshadow primers will help you to avoid smudged shadow and panda eyes.
The best primers are the backbone of your base, laying the groundwork for your best foundation, either by adding a glow to sallow skin, mattifying shiny t-zones or neutralising redness. And on your lids, a primer can be just as hardworking. “Eyeshadow primers are like secret superheroes – you don’t know you need them until they’re there,” says pro makeup artist and founder of Ruby Hammer Beauty, Ruby Hammer. “They create grip to increase the longevity of your eyeshadows, even out any discolouration of the eyelids and prevent creasing and fading.”
A one-stop solution for all eye and eyeshadow looks, from sultry smoky eyes to everyday neutrals, eyeshadow primers, “act as a reliable base for eyeshadows, eye pencils and liquid products, ensuring they stay in place,” according to Cynthia Di Meo, Global Stylist at Rare Beauty. Hammer advises that they “work best with powder eyeshadows.” However, they’ll still help prevent your best cream eyeshadows from migrating from your lids and intensify the finish of your best eyeshadow sticks. All in all, a very handy thing to have in your makeup bag.
The good thing (or bad, depending on which way you look at it) about eyeshadow primers is that they’re all quite similar, making it difficult to decipher which are worth investing in. To help guide you in the right direction, our beauty editor tested the best-sellers on the market, beneath both cream and powder shadows, to make sure that it’s worth both your time and money.
Ruby Hammer is a leading figure in the makeup industry and an ambassador for the British Beauty Council. She has her own beauty line, Ruby Hammer Beauty.
Cynthia Di Meo is a renowned makeup artist currently working as Global Stylist for Selena Gomez's beauty brand, Rare Beauty.
10 of the best eyeshadow primers tested by our beauty editor
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RRP: £20 | Choice of shades? No
Pros: Really long lasting | Cons: May be too matte for very dry eyelids
MAC are known for their punchy, graphic colours, so it makes sense that they would have formulated a brilliant primer to help keep bold eyeshadows in place. This is matte without feeling drying and does an amazing job of keeping your eye makeup in place – I can report that my eyeliner was very much still intact even after I’d been to the gym. As for the claim in the name, I wouldn’t ever expect or advise anyone to be wearing their eyeshadow for as long as 24 hours, but it’s always good to know when your products have the potential to over-achieve.
RRP: £9.50 for members, £22 for non-members | Choice of shades? No
Pros: Great for illuminating the eye area | Cons: Not everyone will want to commit to membership
Dark eyelids giving the game away that you haven’t been sleeping well? Sometimes eyeshadow alone isn’t enough to mask this, and that’s exactly why Beauty Pie created this clever little tube. It acts a bit like a concealer to lighten and brighten the eye area, so you’re starting with fresh, illuminated eyelids rather than sleepy, purple-toned ones. Although it’s tinted, it doesn’t distort or dilute the colour of your eyeshadows and does a brilliant job of increasing their wear.
RRP: £5 | Choice of shades? No
Pros: Give-it-a-go price | Cons: Tube is a bit fiddly
Studio London is one of Superdrug’s own brand makeup ranges and while the prices are low, the quality is high (I have it on good authority that they benchmark against some of the biggest names in the beauty industry). This feels like a creamy lightweight concealer with a hint of beige-toned tint, applies nicely and grips tight to eyeshadow, helping to improve their colour payoff so they look brighter and bolder. The tube packaging is a little bit annoying to use but for the price, it’s certainly not the end of the world.
RRP: £20 | Choice of shades? No
Pros: Dries quickly for fast application | Cons: Can be difficult to blend eyeshadows on top
Another hit from Rare Beauty, (I’m already obsessed with their cream bronzer and under-eye brightener) this is an eyeshadow primer worth investing in. The colour is a peachy beige, which looks quite pigmented when you first dab it on from the applicator, but it’s barely visible by the time you’ve blended it in
– just go sparingly to avoid overloading your lids. It's touch dry in seconds which is great, but does mean that cream eyeshadow pencils drag a little bit. They stay put all day though, which is a win.
RRP: £29 | Choice of shades? No
Pros: Contains skincare-worthy ingredients | Cons: Tube makes it a bit messy
A firm favourite of our Beauty Director Sarah Cooper-White, this best eyeshadow primer has a balmy texture that glides beautifully onto the lids. It’s very lightweight, and although it doesn’t stay as silky as when it first slithers out of the tube, it doesn’t dry down to a completely matte finish either. This is potentially down to the inclusion of vitamin E (a reliable moisturising ingredient) and vitamin C (a brightening powerhouse that tends to be oil-based) giving it that makeup-skincare hybrid feel that will please anyone with quite dry eyelids. A great one for preventing creasing too.
RRP: £23 | Choice of shades? No
Pro: Nice silky texture | Con: Sheer finish won't be for all
Milk’s Hydro Grip Setting Spray is one of the best makeup setting sprays for added glow, and their Hydro Grip Primer is a hero for dehydrated skin, so it’s fair to say that the Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Eye Primer comes from good stock. What sets it apart from most of the other best eye primers on this list is that it’s transparent (bar a barely-detectable green tinge). Texture-wise, it’s got that slippery yet slightly sticky feel of one of the best hyaluronic acid serums. My shadow wore well when wearing this and my lids felt soft and comfortable.
RRP: £23 | Choice of shades: No
Pro: Impressive staying power | Con: White finish won't suit all skin tones
This was the first product I tried when testing for this best eyeshadow primers piece, and the one I kept coming back to. From the first use, I fell hook, line and sinker. I tried it with cream eyeshadow, powder eyeshadow and even a little of my favourite cream bronzer and all of them were still there by the time I went to bed. It’s bright white but not super pigmented, so don’t be put off by first appearances if you have a deeper skin tone.
RRP: £23 | Choice of shades? No
Pro: Waterproof formula has great staying power | Con: Fragrance makes it unsuitable for sensitive eyes
If you’re someone who doesn’t like the feeling of heavy products on their eyelids, then this will appeal to you. My lids are naturally quite oily, which means I tend to lean towards very thick, very matte textures in this area, but this proved to me that you don’t have to go in heavy-handed for decent staying power. It creates a smooth, silicone-feeling film on the lids, which gives them enough grip to keep my shadow in place while still retaining a healthy sheen that looks natural rather than false. The only downside is that it's fragranced, making it a no-go for those with very sensitive eyes.
RRP: £3 | Choice of shades? No
Pro: Budget price | Con: Can cling to dry areas of skin
The best eyeshadow primer for beginners, the pinky-beige shade blurs imperfections on the lids and creates a smooth base that prevents smudging, creasing and fading throughout the day. It’s also nice and creamy to the touch, making it easy to blend without feeling like you’re dragging this delicate skin. The downside is that I did find that it clung to dry skin around the edges of my lids like a sort of chalky limescale, and for that reason, I’d probably only recommend it to anyone with normal or oily skin.
RRP: £24 | Choice of shades: Yes
Pro: Available in lots of different shades | Con: Not everyone will like the thicker texture
Laura Mercier describes this as a ‘foundation for lids’, which I think is very apt, as it’s creamy and high coverage enough that I’ve often worn the ‘linen’ shade with nothing underneath as an everyday beige eyeshadow. As a formula, it’s quite thick and dries quickly – hence why it’s so good at keeping shadows in place. The USP for me though is that it comes in six different shades (four beige, two colour-correctors) rather than just one neutral.
RRP: £19 | Choice of shades: No
Pro: Suits all skin tones | Con: Can be difficult to remove
Fenty is well-known for their commitment to shade inclusivity, and even though you’ll be topping your primer with eyeshadow rather than wearing it on its own, I was still chuffed to see that what initially looks like another beige eyeshadow primer blends to invisibility on the lids. Initially, I was put off by how sticky it felt, but soon learned that if you wait a minute then that’s long enough for the tackiness to subside. Both powder and cream shadows were easy to buff and blend over the top and stayed exactly where I’d placed them for a full eight hours. So much so, that I had to work extra hard to remove it in time for bed.
RRP: £21 | Choice of shades? Yes
Pro: A little goes a long way | Con: Price might put some people off
There are a couple of different versions of this cult buy (an anti-ageing one with added blurring pigment and a shimmering rose gold one) but the beige-toned classic is the one I keep returning to. It’s quite wet when you first apply it, which gives you enough slip and playtime to spread it all over the lid before it dries down to a more matte finish that holds tight to shadows. It’s relatively pigmented too, which helps to disguise the visible veins on my eyelids and create a more uniform base.
How we tested the best eyeshadow primers
To put each of the best eyeshadow primers that made this list through their paces, I tested each for at least a whole day and evening with both cream and powder shadows. I have a combination of quite small eyes (which are moving closer towards becoming hooded the older I get) and oily lids, meaning that getting eyeshadows to stay where I put them isn’t entirely easy.
All of the eyeshadow primers that made my top ten passed the test though, meaning that by the time I reached for my best makeup remover at the end of the day my eye makeup was still intact, rather than living a new life anywhere between my eyebrows and the apples of my cheeks. My reviews for each are a reflection of:
- How well they held my eyeshadow in place
- Whether they intensified the finish and colour of the shadows
- If they managed to neutralise my eyelids to create a clear, even canvas
- Whether they were easy to use and apply
Everything you need to know eyeshadow primer
Do you really need eyeshadow primer?
If I’m honest, I’d say that all makeup products are nice-to-have wants rather than must-have needs, and how much difference an eyeshadow primer is actually going to make to your routine will depend on a few factors. Firstly, are you unhappy with the way your eyeshadow currently sits on your lids and wears throughout the day or night? If the answer to this is no, then it’s probably not worth adding another product to your (probably already overflowing) beauty collection. But, if you’re finding yourself annoyed when you look in the mirror during the day and find that your eyeshadow is creased, patchy, faded or has ended up anywhere other than your lids then I’d say you should give an eyeshadow primer a try. Eyeshadows (especially big, fancy palettes) can be expensive, and often it’s much cheaper to invest in a primer that’ll help them to work better than splashing out on alternative versions.
Do you rub in eyeshadow primer?
The skin around our eyes is super delicate, as it’s naturally thinner than the skin on the rest of our faces and doesn’t have as many oil glands to keep it soft and supple. Because of this, you should never rub your eyes in any capacity – not to apply products like eyeshadow primer, and not even when you’re tired. Treat the eye area instead like delicate silk, being careful not to pull or tug at the skin. We want our eyeshadow primer to sit on top of the skin on our eyelids rather than sink into it, so there’s no need to rub to apply it. Simply smooth it on either with an applicator if it comes with one, or your ring finger if not, and softly blend.
What does primer do for eyeshadow?
“An eyeshadow primer is the secret to maintaining long-lasting eye makeup looks that won’t fade,” says Di Meo. “It will create a smooth, oil-controlling surface to prep your eye area for colour application.”
In our opinion, it’s a useful add-on to eyeshadow, but whether or not you appreciate its benefits will depend on things like whether you have naturally oily or hooded lids, as well as the eyeshadows you’re using. Some shadows will have been formulated to have brighter pigment and better staying power than others, even without the addition of a primer.
“Whether you need an eyeshadow primer depends on your personal preference,” Di Meo adds. “If you want your eyeshadow to stay as vibrant and as crease-free as possible throughout the day then an eyeshadow primer will help lock in the pigment.”
Should you match your eyeshadow primer to your skin tone?
Eyeshadow primers normally come in one shade – either a creamy beige colour or a sort of putty pink. That’s not the colour of most people’s actual eyelids, but Hammer says not to worry about it too much. “Though it’s always great for brands to have tones for all ends of the spectrum, it’s more important that the texture suits your skin type. Primers prepare the eyelids for colour to be applied on top, boosting their intensity, so don’t need to be a complete skin tone match.”
‘When I shop for an eyeshadow primer, I prefer colourless or neutral shades,” adds Di Meo. “Tinted primers can enhance the vibrancy of layered eyeshadow colours, but if unsure, opting for a colourless primer is a safe choice.”
What is the best primer for dry eyelids?
If you have naturally dry skin around the eyes, which can be caused by things like your skin type, allergies or wearing contact lenses, then you probably find that eyeshadow can cling in patches or flake off. In this case, you’ll want to choose an eyeshadow primer formula that focuses on hydrating and smoothing the area. “There are lots of different eye shadow primers for all different purposes, and you need to pick the right texture for you,” advises Hammer. “Creamy is great for dry lids, whereas if you have oily lids, you may want a thicker more mattifying texture.”
There we have it – the best eyeshadow primers for all budgets, skin tones and types. Hopefully you've found a new can't-live-without-it beauty product on this list.
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