Review: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (New vs Vintage)

I Bought This

Urban Decay, I'm really upset with you.

New VS Old

You went and changed the perfectly good formula of your Eyeshadow Primer Potion for something that is, really, kind of bad!

I've been a dedicated user of Primer Potion since I had a sample of NARS' eyeshadow primer. It was crazy expensive (but that's NARS for you!) so I went with Urban Decay because it was cheaper and I knew the brand better by comparison.

The "vintage" packaging; I removed the stopper to get more of the primer. Look how soft and fluffy it looks!

The now-"vintage" packaging was a lavender genie bottle with silver top that had a doe-foot applicator. Great! Perfect! I'm aware there was waste with this packaging but it was easy to cut it up to get the remainder. Just the right amount of primer with about three swipes (lid, brow bone, under lower lashes). The new squeeze tube packaging is still lavender with the same silver cap but with a needle nose, "precision" tip. You can very easily squeeze out too much (I have!) when trying to get enough for both eyes.

The new tube's "precision" tip

The original formula, in the shade Original, was my best friend. Beige that blended out to absolute invisibility, thin, creamy and soft. It was a little slick but it really held on eyeshadow like nobody's business! This new formula is nowhere near that.

Close up of the applicator

Still in the shade Original, the new formula is still a cream but much drier. It looks grainy coming out of the tube (what?!). This doesn't blend out (or "set") to invisibility I've noticed—there can be a line where the primer stops despite me blending it in. Uh... What? It seriously has pigmentation and is no longer totally invisible? Due to it being dry, when I apply it under my lower lashes, because I put eyeliner and eyeshadow down there (who doesn't?), it causes fine lines to appear like I've aged suddenly—now I won't deny I have a few creases under my eyes but its not age, it's just the way eyes are. It also creates a weird crepe paper-looking texture on my skin. (Again, what?!)

Vintage left, new right.

Slightly adjusted photos. Vintage left, new right. Blended is next to each swatch. You can see the new formula has some more pigmentation than the old.

The "vintage" formula worked for hours. From 7AM to 4PM, I had beautiful, vivid eyeshadow without a problem during school. On Fridays, it would go past 4PM to 12AM or later.

Flash photo. You can see the vintage formula is lighter blended in then the new formula. Sorry for the blur!

The new formula does the same, but the dryness seems to make blending a little hard—eyeshadow sort of sticks in place. It still lasts forever, but the texture and the way it makes my skin look really takes away from the beauty of whatever eyeshadow I'm wearing. It's frustrating!

I can't recommend this Primer now, because imagine what it would due to someone with older eyes, who does have more definitive fine lines that they're trying to hide. Gah!

I'm on the hunt for a new primer now, be it indie or "name brand." (FYI, Too Faced is actually independently owned so it does qualify for indie status! Albeit pretty pricy indie status, haha.) I have to wonder what happened to Sugarpill's Glorify eyeshadow primer they mentioned once (in an email in 2010) but never made... I haven't used any indie primers, but I've thought about it. Some just have so little reviews that its hard for me to know if I'm getting a really worthwhile (you usually are) product.

So this new rubbish primer is $20 at UrbanDecay.com, Ulta and Sephora. I really can't recommend it, even though its been a Holy Grail for me and others. I'm looking at different ones and have asked friends for their suggestions. An interesting suggestion of mixing a face primer (one containing dimethicone; Monistant anti-chaffing gel is the same thing) into the Primer came up amongst the answers and I'm willing to test it out!

Update: I tried mixing Too Faced Primed & Poreless, my only dimethicone face primer (I like it but I don't like it if that makes sense), into the newer formula of Primer Potion. It's been about two hours since I applied it and so far, no creasing or fading. It did make the dry formula pretty slick and a little more like the old formula. I don't want to waste primer this way, and I have been wanting to get Monistat anti-chaffing gel anyway (it's supposed to be mattifying ~ ). If you do this, you might want to let the dimethicone primer absorb into your skin a little before applying eyeshadow!

My first try, since its semi-cheap and easily accessible, will likely be NYX's HD Eyeshadow Primer which has been compared to the vintage formula with minor differences. Next could be e.l.f.'s if I find it; the closest Target barely carries any e.l.f. If both fail me, then... I guess onto indie primers!

What's your favorite? I really need your help on this one, dear spooks & spookettes.

SPOOKEHDOOM