Bare Escentuals Prime Time Primer Shadow Swatches and Review

Chroma Violet


Bronzed Twig


Gunmetal


Racing Green


Sundance


Urban Nature

You know how long I've waited for Bare Escentuals to have their very own colored eye shadow primers? Well, forever. I love their mineral eye shadows, but I wanted bases with different colors to make these shadows' colors pop on the lids, and make them look more vibrant and last longer. Well, I think the BE Powers That Be answered my prayer. Here are six different-colored eye shadow primers from BE that are not only creamy and pigmented, they are also waterproof.

They come in little tubes that are a bit like the MAC paints, but they come in squeeze tubes with a slanted tip just like lip glosses.  They come in a variety of shades that are different enough to act as bases for each of their color families.  These are all metallic colors that give a sliver of sheen on your lids to keep them looking fresh and more awake.  Bare Escentuals claims that these can be worn alone or over eye shadows.  I have not worn them alone, so this review is based on their performance as eye shadow primers.

Chroma Violet is a ripe plum that would work with purples and pinks.  Racing Green is an emerald green that would really make green shadows pop.  Bronzed Twig is perfect for bronzes, coppers, neutrals, even golds.  Sundance is a sunlit peach shade that would work great with the most neutral of shades, or even the brightest ones.  Gunmetal is a midnight silver shade.  Urban Nature is one of my faves, a moss shade that would work great with most shades.

Review and swatches after the jump

Swatches:


Gunmetal, Chroma Violet, Bronzed Twig, Racing Green
Sundance, Urban Nature







I was honestly impressed.  These primers are very pigmented, creamy, rich, and will. not. budge. at. all.  Staying power is amazing and I had to scrape the swatches off my hand using makeup remover, as ordinary wipes did not work.  Waterproof is the word.  It truly is a workhorse when it comes to priming your lids.  I used Chroma Violet on my lids before applying my eyeshadows, and the colors stayed vibrant and did not crease until I took them off after 12 hours.  Take note that I used a separate all-over lid primer before applying this colored primer.

My only gripe is the size.  It retails for $18 for just 0.1 fl. oz. of product.  I feel that is a bit steep even for a good quality eye primer.  Granted that you only need a small amount per application as a little goes a long way, but the size of the product is still quite small in my opinion.  I would be all over this were it not for the small amount of product you get for the price.

Pros: Gorgeous colors, amazing pigmentation, great staying power, truly waterproof product

Cons: small amount of product per unit

The Shades Of U Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Note: Media samples were provided by a representative of the company for consideration.  All opinions are completely mine.