HOW to use Eye Shadow Primer??

[JoodleZoodle]

Can anyone explain how to use eye primer? I’ve tried ABH Eye Primer, Urban Decay Eye Primer, Elf Putty Eye Primer and Mac’s Paint Pot, but none of them seem to work out.. I can’t blend them right and they end up making my makeup muddled. I usually use my concealer to help with darkness and veins, but this of course messes with the primer. And I’ve watched loads of YouTubers seem to just apply and move on, but when I do it’s a patchy blotchy mess that I can’t blend over, even if I let it sit. The only way I’ve gotten any to work is the ABH as a crease cutter.. what am I doing wrong? (Ive tried to set lightly with translucent powder, without powder, over makeup and on bare skin but it doesn’t work). Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion #Anastasia Beverly Hills Mini Eye Primer 0.24 fl oz/ 7 mL MAC Cosmetics Pro Longwear Paint Pot Soft Ochre 

ps: my eyelids personally are not oily or dry when clean, just neutral 

[k987]

I would suggest using a fluffy eye shadow brush or small setting brush and gently set the primer with a neutral eye shadow or setting powder. This way it’s no longer sticky and the shadow will glide over nicely and blend easily. Also, your brushes might need a slight update. you want to make sure your working with soft short bristled fluffy brushes to blend. If the brush is too dense it won’t blend out nicely. Good luck!

[MagicMari]

So for me the problem was how much the skin on my eyelids hated both UD and Milk (they’re popular for good reasons just not for me) and I asked Pro MUA Robert Welsh (his YouTube channel is excellent with realistic advice) what to try and he suggested Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Weightless Eyeshadow Primer- Always An Optimist Collection 0.10 oz/ 3 mL and it’s amazing.  I’ve repurchased twice now.  It is weightless and dries very fast with no creases.  The speed with which it dries was what I had to get used to.  I always put the amount on the doe foot onto my washed hand then apply to my eyelid with my finger (I’m very paranoid about contaminating liquid products) which gives me a lot of control over how thin the layer is. There’s barely any drying time, and the very light beige colour lets you know exactly where it is, if it went awry, I can easily use a clean finger to sort it before it dries.  I’ve never timed the dry down, but if I had to guess I’d say 30 to 40 seconds.  Long enough to fix, fast enough to get down to doing my eyes.  I use powder, crème stick, pot and liquid shadows, liquid, pencil and cake liners and have never had one problem, no matter how dark or light, opaque or sheer the shadows are.  I honestly can’t recommend it more highly, and in all honesty before Robert suggested it I’d never have chosen it by myself, thinking it was just a movie star putting her name on it, but I was completely wrong, she’s hired the best and done an enormous amount of work on the brand to stand out on its own merits.

[WinglessOne]

@JoodleZoodle  When you use concealer along with a primer on your lids, which one do you apply first? Were I to do that (I never use concealer on my lids), I'd apply the concealer first, set it with a tiny bit of powder, give it a couple minutes to dry down, and then apply primer. 

The only time I have trouble blending out eye primer (if the primer itself is not a bad performer) is if my lids are too dry. Many people have naturally oily lids; some have very oily lids (often the same folks who have oily skin everywhere else on their face). And then there's people like me whose lids are on the drier side in the morning and get a bit oiler throughout the day, but never very oily. My skincare routine includes hydrating and moisturizing my eyelids. You mentioned your lids aren't too dry or oily, so this might not be part of your issue—but I figured it's worth mentioning. 

Also, be kinda stingy with the amount of primer you use. If you're using a good primer, you shouldn't need to apply much of it to each lid. That'll help cut down on the time needed to let the primer set up. I usually wait 2-3 minutes after applying primer. I don't set it with powder: my main reason for using primer is to prolong the wear time of my eyeshadow (I have hooded lids), so I need my primer to have some grip even when it's dried down and set. Otherwise I'd just use concealer or nothing at all. 

You could try using a cream shadow stick as a primer. Some shadow sticks work surprisingly well that way. I usually travel with Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Eyeshadow Stick Taupe as my primer. Some folks swear by Sigma's neutral nude shadow stick(s) as primer, but BB's work better for me. I apply directly to my lids and finger-blend. 

[JoodleZoodle]

@WinglessOne @Thank you so much for such a detailed response! I’ll give the Bobbi Brown shadow sticks a try. I have used the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Shadow before but only once as it was a sample and I had the same issue haha. And I’ll use less primer. Sometimes with the ABH I’ll use it all over my lid and carve out under my eyebrows - I’ll use less this time and see how it goes. Thank you for the tips! 

[SportyGirly125]

@JoodleZoodle I usually put eye primer on after I applied foundation and set with powder then put eye primer on top. 

The key is not to put shadow on top when it still feels tacky even if you let it sit for a bit.  Have you tried applying shadow with your fingers first and then a brush and then blending?

[JoodleZoodle]

@SportyGirly125 actually I haven’t tried that before. I usually only do that with shimmer shades but I can try with regular colours to see how that goes. I’ve seen people pack on the colour and then blend out but for some reason it just doesn’t work for me.  Maybe you’re right and I’m leaving it too tacky to be usable 😞 I’ll give it another go tomorrow with my ABH primer and see what happens! 

[SportyGirly125]

@JoodleZoodle @I think most likely it’s because it is still tacky. You can always use a brush and press a similar color close to your lid color as a base and see if it’s easier to blend shadow afterwards.