I was recently sent Faerie Organic's Forty Winks Eye Primer and I'm so glad to have had the chance to try it out. I've been using it for about two weeks now and I'm super impressed! Forty Winks has really raised the bar on what I thought was possible from a natural eye shadow primer.
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| On the Faerie Organic website, the primer is shown in a tube, but the pot, as shown here, is the current, newer packaging. |
Most mainstream primers are effective because they contain silicones, which act like a layer of plastic between your eyelid and your makeup. The silicones make the primer basically impermeable, so any oils your eyelid produces aren't able to reach your eye shadow and cause visible wear or creasing. Instead of relying on a silicone barrier, Faerie Organic uses boron nitride, calcium carbonate, and silica, all of which have oil absorbing properties. (And in case you're wondering, silica is different from the aforementioned silicones. It's the naturally occuring mineral that is a base ingredient in silicone based polymers like dimethicone and cyclopentasiloxane, but is, in its natural state, a safe ingredient.)
Faerie Organic describes Forty Winks as "a soft cream to powder finish," which is a great description. When I first dip into the product, it has a slightly tacky cream consistency, but as I blend it onto the eyelid it quickly dries down to a soft powder finish. The primer is also a creamy white colour, which helps your eye shadows appear more vibrant.
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| Forty Winks Primer, swatched heavily and blended out |
On an average day, I do my makeup around 8 in the morning and I don't remove it until 9 or 10 at night. For the sake of comparison, with no primer, I'll usually start to see creasing two to three hours after I do my makeup. With my Detrivore Cosmetics primer, I'm usually good for about eight hours before it starts looking muddy. With the Faerie Organic, my eye makeup not only lasts the full 13-14 hour day, it also looks virtually identical when I remove it to how it looked freshly applied! Almost unheard of for a primer with such clean ingredients!
I will mention that there were a few days when I kept my makeup on for longer - 16-18 hours - and on those days I did notice a small amount of wear. Apparently my left eyelid produces more oil than my right, because it was consistently the left eye that showed wear on these days. The makeup on my right eye stayed perfect, even through an 18 hour day!
To wrap things up, if you're someone who's been searching for a natural eye shadow primer that can compare to mainstream primers like Urban Decay Primer Potion and Too Faced Shadow Insurance, I'd definitely recommend checking out Faerie Organic! The ingredients are great, it's reasonably priced at $14, and it's by far the most effective natural eye primer I've used. Forty Winks has quickly become a staple in my routine and is something I can definitely see myself repurchasing once I use it up.
Have you found a natural eye shadow primer that works? Let me know in the comments!
Disclosure: Product provided for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review in return for free product, nor was I compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.
Have not tried any eye shadow primer yet, but was looking for one. What a good timing! This primer looks amazing! Wearing eye shadows for 18 hours without creasing...wow! I'm definitely looking into that! Great review!
ReplyDeleteWell, at least no creasing on one eye, haha:) The other one had a tiny bit. I'm really impressed, it's definitely the best natural eye primer I've found! I'd love to hear how it works for you if you end up trying it :)
DeleteDo you know what the price of their shipping is?
ReplyDeleteWhen you start to check out, it'll ask for a zip/postal code and then it should tell you. I'm getting $3 to Canada. I imagine it's the same or even less within the US :)
DeleteAwesome! thanks so much! I want to try this after my ELF primer is used up! I have super oily eyes so this sounds like it'll be great!!
DeleteNo problem :) My lids get pretty oily too, so hopefully it'll work just as well for you!
DeleteThanks for this review; I've been searching for an effective yet natural eye primer. And it's affordable! Yay! :)
ReplyDeleteYay pretty much sums up my reaction to this primer! I'm really happy to have found it :)
DeleteI might have to order this! And I'm on a spending plan! Dang, I have a couple other primers to get through also.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely should :) I'm pretty stocked up on primers now too...I've got an ANF one I haven't even opened yet!
Deleteomigosh! I definitely want to try this one now! I've had no luck with other primers and if this natural then win! thank you for your post :)
ReplyDelete(btw love how informative your post was. Long technical words can just go over my head! :) )
DeleteThanks! I've had a few disappointments with other primers too. Happy to have found one that works so well now :)
DeleteHave you tried The All Natural Face's magic primer? I use that and after trying several (including Detrivore) I find that one is the best. I'd be curious your thoughts on comparing the two.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great post. :-)
I have the ANF magic primer, but I haven't even cracked it open yet. I love the idea of a primer comparison! I'm waiting to see how this one does in warmer weather too and then I'll likely do a follow up :) Summer is usually when my primers have the hardest time holding up!
DeleteThat sounds great! I've tried some mainstream primers and wasn't too impressed, so I'm curious to know if perhaps using natural ingredients actually increases the longevity of the product. Might have to try it.
ReplyDeleteCould be. I think it depends on the individual product more than anything...I've tried a few different natural primers now with varied levels of success!
DeleteThis is amazing! I usually use cream sgadow as a primer because I can't find one. Maybe I'll try this one!
ReplyDeleteYou should! I really like it :)
DeleteWow, it lasts 13-14 hours! That's really awesome for any primer!
ReplyDeleteI know, right! I'm super impressed!
DeleteWow! Why didn't I read this post ealier? :O
ReplyDeleteHow do you compare this to Detrivore in terms of how bright the eye shadows turn out to be? :)
Overall, I prefer the Faerie, as it's better for keeping your shadows in place and not creasing, but if I really want the colours to pop, I reach for the Detrivore. The Faerie dries down to a powdery finish, where the Detrivore stays a little tacky, so it really grabs the shadows and enhances the colours. The Faerie does end up like a faint white base though, so it makes shadows go on a little brighter too. Hope that helps! :)
DeleteHi, I have read a few of your reviews. I am interested in the Faerie eye primer because of your review. But I don't really want anything else from Faerie. I don't want to put in an order for just the Faerie eye primer. But I would like to put an order in for Cheeky Cosmetics eye shadows. Is Cheeky cosmetics eye primer just as good as the Faerie primer? I'd like the primer to work under mineral shadows but also hopefully under my vapour eye mesmerize eye shimmer. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried Cheeky's primer, so I don't know! I really like their eye shadows and lip gloss though :) I've looked at the primer in the past too though, so do let me know how it goes if you end up trying it.
DeleteDrat. I was hoping you had tried it. 8-) I think I will get the cheeky primer and I'll report back. What is your general opinion between Vapour mesmerize cream eye shadow and cheeky minerals? I'm finding that the Vapour mesmerize fades away very quickly. A primer might help but perhaps I'm better suited to minerals. What has your experience been?
ReplyDeleteSounds good! I hope it works great :) On me, mineral shadows tend to last longer than creams like the Vapour. A primer helps for sure, but I definitely get longer wear without fading/creasing with powders
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