When Cherry Culture was having their 40% off sale, I decided to finally pick up the NYX Eye Shadow Base. I usually use elf's primer (or, more often than that, nothing at all), but figured I should try branching out and seeing what else is out there. Temptalia reviewed it awhile back, and gave it high marks, so the lower price just sealed the deal. I've used it a few times since I got it, and let's just say: it's worse than worthless for me.
One problem is that it is really opaque, and several shades darker/peachier than my skin, so while it does even out my eyelids, it also makes me look really tired and sick. For anyone light/light-medium and below, though, I think the color would work much better.
Now, if it were just the color that didn't work, that would be a problem, but not unsurmountable. The real stumbling block? The fact that it actually makes my eyeshadows crease. I've tried applying it in several ways to see if I could prevent it––with a flat brush, heavily blending with my finger, lightly blending with my finger, lightly tapping with my finger, applying shadows right away, waiting a few minutes for it to set––but each and every time, my eyeshadows were creased and faded an hour later. That's several hours faster than they crease when worn alone, so it not only doesn't help extend the life of my shadows, but actively shortens it. Such a disappointment. However, Christine's had a much better experience than me, so it may just be something about my skin and the base that makes it not work, and I recommend reading her review to see another perspective. I wish it had worked for me, because the tub is pretty big, and you really don't need much product, but it's a complete wash for me.
Overview
$7.00 for 0.25 oz from NYX and Ulta, $4.99 for 0.25 oz from Cherry Culture
Quality: 4
Effectiveness: 1
Ease of Use: 5
Senses: 5
Pigmentation: 3.5 (too pigmented for me in that color)
Duration: 1
Consistency: 2
Price: 4
Value: 4 (if it had worked for me, of course)
Grade: D-/F+
NYX Eye Shadow Base in Skin Tone
One problem is that it is really opaque, and several shades darker/peachier than my skin, so while it does even out my eyelids, it also makes me look really tired and sick. For anyone light/light-medium and below, though, I think the color would work much better.
NYX Skin Tone on my skin (clearly, not the same "tone")
NYX Skin Tone (left) compared to elf Essentials Eyeshadow Primer (middle) and elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer (right), both of which are much lighter, sheerer, and more translucent
Now, if it were just the color that didn't work, that would be a problem, but not unsurmountable. The real stumbling block? The fact that it actually makes my eyeshadows crease. I've tried applying it in several ways to see if I could prevent it––with a flat brush, heavily blending with my finger, lightly blending with my finger, lightly tapping with my finger, applying shadows right away, waiting a few minutes for it to set––but each and every time, my eyeshadows were creased and faded an hour later. That's several hours faster than they crease when worn alone, so it not only doesn't help extend the life of my shadows, but actively shortens it. Such a disappointment. However, Christine's had a much better experience than me, so it may just be something about my skin and the base that makes it not work, and I recommend reading her review to see another perspective. I wish it had worked for me, because the tub is pretty big, and you really don't need much product, but it's a complete wash for me.
Overview
$7.00 for 0.25 oz from NYX and Ulta, $4.99 for 0.25 oz from Cherry Culture
Quality: 4
Effectiveness: 1
Ease of Use: 5
Senses: 5
Pigmentation: 3.5 (too pigmented for me in that color)
Duration: 1
Consistency: 2
Price: 4
Value: 4 (if it had worked for me, of course)
Grade: D-/F+
