Wet n Wild Eye Primers Comparison & Review

FERGIE CENTERSTAGE TAKE ON THE DAY & PHOTO FOCUS EYESHADOW PRIMERS

The day has finally come when I can confidently publish a post on the two primers by Wet n Wild Beauty and tell you with absolute honesty that these are the best primers that I have ever, ever, come across. They are my holy grail primers, and without these, I would have never been able to begin my obsession for eyeshadow palettes. I kid you not, I've been collecting eyeshadows like there's no tomorrow, now that I'm able to wear them without the damn thing melting off within seconds. All thanks to having greasy hooded eyelids.

Wow, I got a tad bit emotional there. It's what finding a brilliant eyeshadow primer does for me.

I've tried several cruelty-free primers in the past year, from e.l.f. to essence, from Too Faced to Cover FX, and none of them have performed half as well as these two products. Well, technically it's 'one product when you think about it. They are practically identical in every way - the ingredients, the texture, and the lasting power. The only thing that differentiates them two from each other is the packaging and the name. Wet n Wild kept to their word when they said they were going to absorb the Fergie primer into their regular catalogue, just with new packaging, as the Fergie Centerstage collection was limited edition and therefore discontinued earlier this year.

With my friend's help, I was able to get my hands on both of these babies, and I knew that a comparison post just had to be done. I spent a while trying to figure out how I would be able to do a side by side comparison of them on my eyelids and also include a swatch of primer vs no primer on my eyelids. I ended up doing a side by side comparison for my cousin's wedding last weekend, and by the end of the day, there was absolutely no difference between the two primers, so that says something about the formula. I used my Makeup Revolution I Heart Makeup Pink Fizz Eyeshadow Palette for the day and used it again for the swatches below.

I went with a budget palette instead of my Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly, because I figured if these primers worked well with budget eyeshadows, then they would work rather nicely with high-end ones. I found that the colour payoff for the primer vs no-primer swatches were pretty much the same, with the exception of the no-primer side being more glittery. I used the shades Champers, Drink, Pop, Toast and Pink Fizz with this look.

 Left: No Primer, Right: Primer

The first four hours went pretty well, with the non-primer side looking almost as flawless as the primer side. I noticed that the shininess of the eyeshadows on the right had faded somewhat, matching that on the right. There was a tiny amount of fading overall on the left side, the one without any primer, though it was barely noticeable with the nude shades that I had chosen for this test.

Six hours on and the left eye was looking a bit faded, with some of the eyeshadow bunching into the crease, and slight transferring onto the brow bone. The right eye has not changed much at all, in fact, it looks pretty damn flawless. Ten hours and there was significant fading with the left eye, though the right eye was still going strong, with perhaps the tiniest bit of creasing. I couldn't be bothered photographing anything for the next few hours because there was barely any change.

By the time it hit 2:30am, a full 14 hours since application, the damn (this is a positive 'damn', I promise) eyeshadow on my right eye still hadn't budged, save for minimal creasing which was barely noticeable, whereas my right eye was a mess. A lot of my eyeshadow had faded away in patches and disappeared into the crease. It takes a bit, or rather, a lot, of micellar water to remove the eyeshadow because the primer is seemingly waterproof and just doesn't like to stop showing off its superiority when it comes to its performance. If I gave it the chance, it would have kept hanging on well through the next day, but since I'm so diligent about my skincare, I didn't stick around to see what would happen.

That, and I really did not want to stay up any later than 3am just for the sake of this review.

The primers come in a squeeze tube, each equipped with a needlepoint tip, so you can measure out exactly the amount you need. You only need a tiny amount with this primer because less is more in this case - too much and your eyes end up creasing and looking papery. This product is really not suitable for the undereye because it tends to make concealer crease faster than you can say "powder!". The packaging for Fergie Centerstage Take On The Day Primer is black with silver detailing that rubbed off over time. I prefer the sleek monochrome packaging of the Photo Focus version, as it won't rub off or fade.

The product in the Photo Focus primer is a tiny bit wetter than the Fergie one, simply because the Fergie one is older by at least a few months, and I had just opened the Photo Focus one a few weeks ago. The Fergie primer is also a tad bit pink-based, while the Photo Focus is more peach in colour, though both dry transparent. I would advise that you do not leave the primer to sit for too long (5+ minutes) before applying eyeshadow because it tends to start looking quite dry and flaky. Maybe that's just because my skin is a bit dehydrated, but either way, just keep that in mind.

So, would I buy them again? Yes, a million times yes! I haven't found a primer, high-street and high-end wise, that did a better job than the Wet n Wild Fergie Centerstage Take On The Day and Photo Focus Eyeshadow Primers, and I love the fact that it's so ridiculously cheap for such an amazing product, especially for those with greasy hooded eyelids. For those of you in the US, this primer costs less than $5 at Target and from the Wet n Wild website.

They are definitely my holy grail eyeshadow primers, period.

Do you have any holy grail eyeshadow primers that you cannot live without? What are they?