The Best Eyeshadow Primer Is the Step Nobody Should Skip

Eyelids are oily, mobile skin, which is why eyeshadow creases and fades no matter how good the palette. A lid primer creates a grippy, even base so pigment has something to hold on to. The best eyeshadow primer is the one you forget is there, a thin layer that dries down and does not change the colour of your shadow. Urban Decay's Primer Potion is the product that turned lid primer into a mainstream step, and the original is still the reference point. The Anti-Aging version of the same formula is creamier, which suits lids that have started to crepe.

NARS Pro-Prime is a smudge-proof eyeshadow base that works under cream and powder shadow. Sephora Collection's Boost + Lock intensifies colour and holds it for up to 12 hours.

Weddings, long workdays and humid weather are where the long-wear primers earn their place. Too Faced Shadow Insurance is built to intensify colour and lock shadow for 24 hours without creasing, and it has a loyal following among people with very oily lids. Pat McGrath Labs IntensifEYES preps and sets at once, boosting colour while it reduces creasing for up to 24 hours. Use less than you think, a rice-grain amount spread from lash line to brow bone, and give it a few seconds before applying shadow. What I would skip is using concealer as a lid primer, which usually creases faster than bare skin.

Oily lids need the gripping, long-wear formulas, while dry or textured lids do better with the creamier Anti-Aging Primer Potion or the NARS base. If you wear mostly cream shadows, choose a primer that says it works under creams, because some powder-focused formulas make cream shadow slide. Tinted and nude primers can also even out redness or veins on the lid, which helps neutral looks read cleaner. Set the primer with a thin dusting of translucent powder if you are going to blend for a long time. One tube lasts months, so the choice is about formula rather than quantity.