Does eye shadow primer make a difference? Definitely.

You might have been going along just fine without even having used primer, but have you noticed that some eye shadow hardly shows up or fades away only after an hour? Or have you bought a wicked bright coloured eye shadow only to be shocked how dull it looks on your skin? A good primer is the answer to all these problems. I’m not trying to hard sell you anything! I’m just a die hard fan of this product.

If you google ‘eye shadow primer’, you may find that the most common result you’ll get is the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. It has such a cult following that it has it’s own acronym online – the ‘UDPP’. So how well does the UDPP work?

The packaging of this product resembles a potion bottle or a genie bottle, appropriately implying that it has magical capabilities.

The applicator is similar to a lip gloss, and is strategically angled to provide for easy application to eyelids. I personally don’t find the applicator all that appropriate for applying this product, and prefer to use my fingers instead.

The product is quite thin and oily at first, then dries matte. When dry, it’s almost invisible, with a slight shine.

To test UDPP’s claims, I decided to try one of the worst eye shadows I own – the PUPA 4EYES palette, which I don’t use simply because the product doesn’t even show up on my skin, and rubs off after the first 10 minutes of wear.

Applying this eye shadow to the back of my arm, on areas with and without UDPP, I could immediately see that the eye shadow applied over UDPP is much more saturated and visible.

Then, attempting to rub off the eye shadow with a tissue, the eye shadow on just my skin completely disappeared, but the eye shadow applied over UDPP showed no sign of budging at all. It kind of reminds me of how you used to use UHU to stick down glitter in kindergarten. The UDPP really does behave like a glue, not only grabbing on to every grain of eye shadow, but ensuring it stays put all day long.

So then I had to try this!

• Even cheap eye shadow adheres extremely well and colours appear much stronger
• Eye shadow stays put all day long
• The UDPP ‘Original’ which I used is virtually invisible, so it’s suitable for all skin tones
• However UDPP also comes in other wearable colours (matte nude, shimmery gold and shimmery champagne) to help achieve some different effects.
• Does not cause creasing, as promised.
• Easily removed with makeup remover.

• Almost invisible so it can be hard to tell where you’ve applied it or that you’ve applied it evenly< /li>
• As it acts like glue for eye shadow, if you don’t apply it evenly or over the whole area, eye shadow will apply unevenly or you’ll get a cut out effect.
• Eye shadow adheres so strongly it might be hard to correct any mistakes or residue – so make sure you tap off access eye shadow from your brush before you start!
• Difficult to find in Australia, and if you do find it, it’s usually overpriced.

Where can you buy UDPP in Australia?
I suggest you purchase from an international vendor on Ebay. Australian retailers are selling this product for almost double the retail price. Keep in mind that this product retails on the Urban Decay website for $19.90USD. Unfortunately Urbay Decay does not ship overseas.