EYE MAKE-UP BASE
If you’re one of the many whose eye make-up – shadow and liner rather than mascara here – tends to disappear, lose the original colour, cake or make lids look crêpey, a dedicated base aka primer can be a magic wand, transforming the situation in a trice. Only one product made the grade here, this year, but it’s a goodie!
GOLD AWARD Trish McEvoy Eye Base Essentials (Bare)
This perfecting primer base comes from a doyenne among make-up artists, who we’ve loved and respected for many years. It’s described as a colour correcting upper-eyelid brightener and shadow primer. The brightening effect comes by reducing redness while correcting darkness and discoloration, the brand explains. It comes in five shades and our tester panel trialled Bare, a warm neutral. One tip on the website is that it can also be worn alone, which several testers tried with great success. The formula is free from phthalates, SLS/SLeS, gluten and fragrance – so we’d say it should not upset touchy eyes. They recommend applying to the centre of the lid, then with a Trish laydown brush or your ring finger, press and sweep to blend from lash to brow and inner corner.
£31 - click to buy
OUR TESTERS’ COMMENTS:
‘10/10. Fabulous high end product. Eye make-up doesn't normally last long on me without a primer. This is very easy to apply with the wand, and it set quickly. It gave a more evened out look to my eye area and highlighted the brow area. Make-up looked better and stayed fresher for longer. A pleasure to use’ • ‘I have oily skin and the first time I used it I was surprised at how much I liked it and how it brightened my eyelids. I Used it on its own and liked the natural effect - would be good on no make-up days to make you look more pulled together. Great product for older women. Am enjoying using this and can see myself reaching for it often - a surprising hit! I’ve used this loads on its own and really like the groomed look it gives. It does make eye shadow last longer too. Definitely one I would purchase and will be taking it on holiday with me as this and some mascara really gives you the unmade-up made-up look. Fab product’ • ‘Something that I would use almost every day just to look more polished in a natural way. A product you don’t think you need but excellent for mature eyes and a natural look’ • ‘A brilliant product. My skin's oily and I have trouble making eye shadow in any formulation last. At 47, they're a little bit crepey but not too bad. Very easy to smooth on with doe foot applicator. It was an especially good match to my skin tone and blended in beautifully. Obviously I had to blur out the edges but it was very blendable. It didn't take long to dry and wasn't tacky to the touch like some of the eye shadow primers can be. Eye shadow could be applied almost instantly. This gave my eye make-up great staying power, colour stayed as it went on’ • ‘To me, eye shadow primer is one step down from mascara as the desert island make-up product. If I am wearing eye shadow, I need a base or eye shadow will not last on me. It's that simple. Finding a great eye shadow primer is, for me, like the Holy Grail. this one is pretty close to perfection. Lasting power is great, the colour is true, and it's so easy to apply and then blend shadow (of all formulations) on top even when using a few colours from a palette. They all work well and stay true’ • ‘Good product that helps your eye shadow look better and stay on longer. Feels creamy and smoothing. It seemed to show the pigment more strongly and the effect was smoother. I don’t always use a base but I liked this as it did improve the look and texture of my eye shadow.’
£31 - click to buy