Friday, July 2, 2010

Smashbox Photofinish Lid Primer - An Experiment

I had been mourning the fact that my eye colors just did not pop the way it does on some ladies. The colors looked lacklustre and lacked the 'oomph' that I was after. Which is why I purchased Smashbox Photofinish Lid Primer - many bloggers have reviewed different eye primers and the verdict seemed to suggest that eye colors would literally reach out and grab you if you put on a primer first.

This primer comes in one shade and melts into skin to provide a base for eye shadow. Below is a swatch of the color on the back of my hand:


I only recently discovered the power of primers and primers should be used over your moisturizer to keep your make up looking fresh, vibrant and long lasting - so  important to working women like me because I don't have time to check my make up every so often.

So I embarked on a little experiment to see if the use of a primer would brighten eyeshadow colors. The results, will shock you! Read on!

The Lid Primer comes with a doe foot applicator that dispenses just enough product for both eyelids. Just a
swipe of the applicator on each lid and then smooth the product all over the top lid. The product is very creamy and blends well.


 

I applied a color that was bright on its own and expected the color to really pop. This is NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Loose Pearl Shadow in True Purple Pearl. I applied primer on only one eyelid and the other was just a little loose powder.

Can you tell which lid has the primer on? You can't? Really?



Well, this is the lid WITHOUT the primer...... it's the lid on your left if you refer to the picture above

And this is the lid WITH primer........the lid on your right



My eyesight is not failing me right? I expected this experiment to really blow my socks off and it did........for the wrong reasons!

I expected one eyelid color to pop and the other to look lacklustre.....that did not happen. Both eye's look the same (one with a slightly thicker eye liner, my bad!) but otherwise, nothing to suggest that the primer did anything to enhance the eye color at all! Quite disappointing really.

On a more positive note, I wore the color for about 5 hours and after that, I did another assessment. The lid with primer did not crease and the color stayed the same whereas, on the primer-less lid, the color faded a little and creased too. So, for me the only concrete reason to use a primer would be to keep my eye colors looking fresh. It does not in any way make the color more vibrant as can be seen on the side without any primer.

Has anyone else experienced this? Should I go on using a specific primer for eye lids or just stick to covering the area with a little concealer and a light dusting of powder before I put on eyecolour?


1 comment:

PB said...

No worry. I feel that way too hence I never quite got the idea of eye lid primer. For me, a touch of concealer and/or foundation works just fine :)