MILANI Eyeshadow Primer

Aw, I was really optimistic because I'd heard from loads of people that this was hands down the best eye primer even when price wasn't taken into account.

I have very oily lids, and many "crease proof" eyeshadows crease on me within an hour or two without primer. The inner section of my eyes are hooded, and I have a faded scar in my crease on one eye that is also prone to fading even faster. If it helps, Too Faced Shadow Insurance creases in four hours on me, Urban Decay Primer Potion creases in about seven, and Australis and Etude House crease in about 14, but the latter two do nothing to increase pigmentation.

This Milani primer would either crease or be so heavy that my eyes looked noticeably aged and actually developed a second crease line due to how much it stuck and dried my skin. This is also the only primer that ever made my Hakuhodo brushes feel scratchy and sore, because it cemented my skin so much.

Thin layer dried, with a base colour - creases in three hours.

Thin layer that had a base colour applied while it was still wet - creases in six hours.

Two very very thin layers dried - creases in ten hours, but the texture of my eyelids ages me a lot and it looks so bad it detracts from the look. It's almost like the shadow applied chalky and pilled.

A very slightly thicker layer - a combination of all of the above.

It helps out nicely with eyeshadow pigmentation, but it is unblendable without a base shade so you have to make sure to only really apply the base shade in and above your crease, so that your lid colour can be as pigmented as possible.

I won't repurchase. I'm going to head back to using travel sized UD Primer Potions as they last nearly a year of 5x a week usage, and while not an HG is still the best compromise between blendability, pigmentation and longevity.

I've tried many eyeshadow primers, but I keep coming back to this one because it works! I have mature skin, but my eyelids remain very oily and eye makeup tends to start sliding off after only a couple of hours. This primer (and a bit of non-talc powder) keeps eye makeup set for the day. I love it!

eyeshadows stay put throughout the day with this underneath. it's a great product as it does work. however, it contains alcohol in the ingredients so i'm not repurchasing it.

This primer beats my Too faced primer, not because of performance, because they both do the same thing, but because the product doesn't separate after a month of use and also cuz even off of Amazon Canada, this is half the price! Meanwhile, my eyeshadow looks perfectly in place even after a long 14 hour day (happy-hour included!). And also, the little squeeze tube doesn't dispense too much product, and that's a bonus because I only need a dot for each of my oily lids. I will repurchase this until I'm old and my eyelids look like a Google Earth satellite view.

A nice eyeshadow primer, very affordable. It has a soft texture when applied but dries quite fast. You only need a tiny amount. I find that this doesn't feel quite as "dry" as the Wet n wild Photofocus one (I would recommend that one for v oily lids). This lasts quite well, for at least 8+ hours.

In my opinion, this primer and the blushes are the gems of the Milani brand. I used UD's primer for years (and loved it) but when Milani became available in my country, I switched primers. The primer really extends the longevity of my eyeshadow and keeps it looking fresh all day. I have oily lids and without a primer, my eyeshadow won't stay on all day. The primer is super easy to apply, the tube is hygienic, it gives a brilliant result, it's not oily and it's cheap. What's not to love?

i used to use the mineral eye primer from elf and thought it did pretty well, but this keeps oil on my eyes at bay for even longer than the elf primer does on me. i basically never get creases in my eyeshadow when i use this primer, and my lids can get quite oily. also, i think this definitely needs to be set. on the rare occasions i feel adventurous and go straight in with color, shadows seem to apply more patchily.

this doesn't have any color to it, but i think it would be nice if it did. it does leave a slight tint but it should be able to work on virtually all skin tones as the color is incredibly sheer. i see what milani was doing there lol, and its definitely better than it being a color that flat-out doesn't work for me at all. but for someone with more obvious veins on their lids that they like to conceal before applying shadows, this will probably not be the best choice.

i really like this eye primer, and will definitely repurchase when i run out - if i ever do!

Yes, the product states "eye shadow primer" and NOT a primer for pencil eyeliners so I should have known, lol, that I would have sketchy problems applying pencil/gel eyeliners after using this: but, happy I did not throw those eyeliners out, but looked at what I used beneath them as to what was the problem as my eyeliners just would NOT go on! That said, my eye shadows were very happy with the primer and were much more intense and true in color. But, that's only one thing.....I am still hoping for a primer that blanks out all the redness and veins that I had been using a concealer for and works as well with powdered eye shadow as it could with pencil/gel eyeliners. This one just isn't it. I need to invent it! LOL.

REVISING my review. Both the Milani and Elf are comparable, IMHO. The key for me is to apply the primer, wait, then use a quality white eye shadow (to get a blank slate and obliterate red, veins, etc, ) and then apply the color shadow you want. I dislike all these steps, yes, am lazy but NO concealer alone worked as well for me as this three step application. (Also, some eyeliners work better than others with a primer--the easiest is liquid, but hard for seniors to apply.) Good luck and thanks for all posts.

My eyelids are extremely oily and I have had trouble finding suitable eye products that last all day. Without an eyeshadow primer my eyeshadow creases within an hour. I have found my HG primer -NARS smudge proof eyeshadow primer. BUT since that is not easily available to me and it costs a lot I tried this one. It's ok. It keeps my eyeshadow game strong for about 6 hours but not a full work day. It's better than most I have tried and I will probably buy it again if I can't get the NARS one. I'm sure this works great for those with less oily eyelids...

This is one of the few products I own that is a true HG. I have very oily skin and cannot wear eyeshadow without a primer. This primer not only gets the job done and lasts all day, but the price is affordable and makes me wonder why I would ever buy a more expensive primer. The only downside is I live in Ontario, Canada and I have trouble finding it. Would recommend to anyone!