The One Makeup Product This Editor Has Been Using For More Than A Decade

Photo credit: Urban Decay
Photo credit: Urban Decay


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Here at T&C, we pride ourselves on our discerning eye for quality. With Tried & True, our editors will give you an inside look at the pieces they simply cannot live without.


I've became a beauty lover long before I had any hope of getting paid to write about makeup. Since those first precious days of swiping on my Seabreeze toner (I know, I'm cringing now too) and slicking on my Clinique Black Honey lipstick, I've fallen in and out of love with a lot of products. Some of them have stuck with me for years—like my go-to exfoliating cloths—but none, absolutely none, have earned a permanent spot in my routine like the Urban Decay Primer Potion.

One of Urban Decay's cult-classics, this eyeshadow primer has had a place in my makeup bag for well over a decade. I've stood by it through packaging changes (true fans will remember the days when it came in a curvy, I Dream of Jeannie-esque bottle) and any number of spin-offs because, honestly, nothing else can compare.

Where some primers apply like neutral spackle to your eyelids, this silky cream (which you apply with the built-in doe foot applicator) looks putty-colored out of the tube, but becomes invisible the moment you smooth it on, and remains feather-light, so it won't alter the color or texture of any eyeshadow you apply on top of it.

Even better, it operates like some kind of magical, cosmetic superglue, grabbing hold of your eyeshadows and eyeliners and refusing to let go until you take makeup remover to it. As someone whose oily lids have melted many supposedly crease-proof cream shadows, that's really saying something. In fact, I've put it through workouts, brutal summer humidity, and even full afternoons in the pool without so much as a smudge.

Naturally, a formula this special has spawned plenty of siblings. Urban Decay now makes four iterations, including an opaque, matte taupe (Eden), a softly shimmering champagne-neutral (Sin), and an extra-smoothing version of the transparent original specially designed for mature skin (Anti-Aging).

These days, my default is Sin shade, which can serve as an eyeshadow all on its own, but the Original formula still has pride of place in my kit for its Swiss Army knife versatility. Need to add some extra staying power to your concealer to cover a blemish? Dot some Primer Potion on first for all-day hold. Want to prevent your undereye makeup from creasing. Primer Potion, my dear. Struggle with lipstick bleeding into lines around your lips? That's right—a gently application of Primer Potion around the outside of your lips will form a barrier to help keep your pout pristine.

Suffice to say, I've got a serious devotion to Urban Decay Primer Potion—and I think you should too.

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