Having tried a few of these it seems about time for a review. I haven't really been into makeup that long so I'd heard about how primers can keep the color on longer and prevent from creasing, etc. A little backstory is I work at a bakery-cafe and I don't have the liberty to check my makeup or fix it if it fades or creases. My lids aren't oily, they are actually on the more dry side. So it takes a lot more product and a lot more pressure for it to stay on. Then once my 8 hour shift is done there is nothing left on my face! I never had a problem with creasing so this review is only for staying power, color and texture.

Elf eyelid primer cost: $1 (at http://eyeslipsface.com)
This was the first primer I ever tried. I heard of elf from youTube and everyone was raving about them (but not the primer in particular just other items) so I tossed it in my order as an after thought.

It has a bit of matte beige color to it. The color is much more pale than my actual skin tone (which is a medium-dark brown, NC45 in MAC foundation). Its not so pale that it doesn't work for me, but anyone who has a darker skin tone might want to keep this in mind. If you only put it on the part of the lid that is getting product applied to it and not the whole eyelid area it shouldn't be a problem at all. It mostly fades once rubbed in but my skin is still left visibly lighter on the places I applied it to.

Eyeshadows applied more smoothly. I mostly use loose pigments, and it does everything it says it will. Lasts me 8 hour shifts, makes my colors pop, does its job.

elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer cost: $3 (at http://eyeslipsface.com)
I had been using elf's regular line primer everyday for about 2.5 weeks before I ordered this one. I got it because I had a 75% off coupon for mineral products and elf takes forever to ship so I try to make sure I order whatever I want from them at once.

This one has the same color name "sheer" but to me its darker than the regular line, but not by much. If you are darker toned than me again you'd want to just keep this to the area you plan to apply shadows to as it'll make your skin look ashy.

It works better than the regular line in terms of how smoothly shadows blend onto the lid. As far as I can tell it lasts about the same amount of time. The other benefit is the lack or parabens, chemical dyes and preservatives. The website does not say if the other primer includes those but it would be safe to bet that it does.

The mineral primer is also slightly bigger. I no longer have the boxes and the amount of product is not listed on the website or the containers. But they have the same height when standing, just the eyelid primer from the regular line has a tapered bottom that is thinner towards the bottom. So for $2 more you get a smoother, mineral based product that has more in the container.

Urban Decay Primer Potion cost: $17 (at http://ulta.com)
When I first heard about eyelid primers this is the first one I ever heard about. It's also by far the most expensive of the 3. I bought both the original and "sin" in a multipack at Ulta for about 23 dollars. The original is transparent and sin is a frosty champagne color.

I tried sin first. The color is nice, but its so light/frosty that I'd really only use such a color for a highlight. Which is exactly what I've been using it for. When I used it for an all over lid primer it was just too much shimmer. I even tried putting matte colors on top and the shimmer goes right through the matte color. Which would be nice if I wanted to transform a matte to a shimmer but over the whole lid it came across as too busy for me.

I end up having to use both the original and sin together when I use sin at all. The original is transparent, which is great for me since one of my gripes about the elf primers is that the color in them doesn't really work for me. Both the original and sin both go on smoother than the elf primers. The shadows also had a more blended, almost airbrushed on look to them in comparison.

I actually lamented the fact that I know I'm going to have to buy more UDPP once I run out. If I can't afford to splurge when that happens I could suffice to use the elf primers. I mean I try to save money on what I can and splurge on what I think is vital and Primer Potion is a must have because the final look is just so much more put-together.

As for staying power... I did my makeup at 11am for a trip to the museum and I've been up for 16 hours now and my makeup is still on! (And I need to get off my lazy butt and take it off lol)

As I have enough Primer to last me till 2011 I probably won't be trying Two Face Shadow Insurance or any other eyelid primers anytime soon, but if I do I'll post my findings.