Spent hours on your eye makeup only to have it melt and smudge the second you walk out the door? You’re not alone. In a hot and humid climate like ours, eyeshadow primers are essential for any eye makeup look. Besides smoothing out the eye area, it creates the perfect base for your favourite eyeshadows to adhere to. To help you create a flawless eye makeup look every time, here’s a roundup of our favourite eyeshadow primers to keep your eye area smudge-free all day long.

Why you need an eyeshadow primer

In addition to creating a smooth surface for your eyeshadows to glide on seamlessly, an eyeshadow primer helps to prevent your eye makeup from creasing and melting throughout the day. Some primers even contain concealer to eliminate redness and even out the skin tone around the eye area. Plus, eyeshadow primers are especially helpful for those who have hooded eyes or are prone to getting oily eyelids.

Top 10 primers for flawless eye makeup

1. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

First and foremost, we have a classic that has been around for years. Urban Decay’s iconic Eyeshadow Primer Potion is one of the OGs of eyeshadow primers. A tiny amount goes a long way with this and it’ll make your eyeshadow stay put for up to 24 hours! Plus, Urban Decay has come up with a variety of primers to suit different skin types and needs.

Why we love it:
  • Brings out the vibrant colors of your eyeshadows
  • 24-hour wear and crease-proof
  • Smooths out fine lines and wrinkles

Get it here: Sephora, RM105

2. Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer

Next, we have yet another OG in the world of eyeshadow primers. Shadow Insurance by Too Faced has a velvety smooth consistency and helps your eye makeup last for hours. You can even apply a tiny amount under your eye area before applying concealer to prevent it from creasing throughout the day.

Why we love it:
  • Smooth gel consistency
  • Lightweight and moisturizing
  • Has a radiant finish

Get it here: Sephora, RM99

3. Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer

We love a good long-wearing and water-resistant formula and this one by Smashbox ticks all the boxes. It has a slightly tacky consistency to it which makes it an ideal base for powder and glitter eyeshadows to adhere to.

Why we love it:
  • Works like glue for your eyeshadows!
  • Resistant to sweat and humidity
  • Lasts up to 24 hours

Get it here: Sephora, RM99

4. Benefit Cosmetics Stay Don’t Stray Eyeshadow Primer

Besides its adorable name, this eyeshadow primer by Benefit comes with a fuss-free doe foot applicator for excellent precision and ease of application. Plus, it comes in the form of a high coverage tint to even out the skin tone and neutralize redness on the eyelids.

Why we love it:
  • Nourishing formula
  • Gives the skin a radiant appearance
  • Creates a flawless base for eyeshadow

Get it here: Sephora, RM137

5. Hourglass Veil Eye Primer

Here is a long-wearing formulation with a silky smooth finish. We love the fact that it’s vegan and cruelty-free while maximizing the staying power of your eyeshadows.

Why we love it:
  • Great option for vegans
  • Contains Vitamin E and antioxidants to hydrate the skin
  • Unique Resistance Film Former Complex to fortify the skin’s moisture barrier

Get it here: Sephora, RM140

6. KVD Vegan Beauty Shake Vegan High-Impact Invisible Eyeshadow Primer

This one by Kat Von D Beauty is everything you could ever dream of in a good eyeshadow primer. Because it goes on transparent, you won’t have to worry about it not matching your skin tone. To top it all off, it’s free of ingredients like silicone, alcohol and talc that can potentially irritate the skin.

Why we love it:
  • Great option for vegans
  • Invisible and undetectable
  • Suitable for all skin tones

Get it here: Sephora, RM86

7. Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Amplifying Eye Primer

If you’re a fan of Fenty Beauty like we are then you’re going to love their Amplifying Eye Primer. There’s a reason why it sells out like hot cakes and believe us when we say it’s totally worth the hype! Its super lightweight and has a unique invisipink formulation to bring out the beautiful colors of your eyeshadows.

Why we love it:
  • Suitable for all skin tones
  • Makes eyeshadows glide on like butter
  • Crease-proof and fade-proof

Get it here: Sephora, RM89

8. Make Up For Ever Aqua Seal Waterproof Liquid Converter

With the holiday season coming up, it’s time to bust out the glitter! And this Waterproof Liquid Converter by Make Up For Ever is perfect for creating a tacky base for your glitter particles to stick to. Additionally, it has this incredibly ability to turn all your makeup pigments into intense waterproof textures. If that isn’t magic, we don’t know what is!

Why we love it:
  • Converts glitter pigments and powders into waterproof textures
  • Alcohol-free and gentle on the skin
  • Versatile and easy to use

Get it here: Sephora, RM117

9. MAC Cosmetics Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base

Next on the list is a favourite of professional makeup artists. Besides keeping your eye makeup sweat and smudge-proof, it also contains nourishing Vitamin E to hydrate your skin and blur out the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Why we love it:
  • Long-wearing formulation
  • Hydrating and crease-proof
  • Extends eyeshadow wear up to 24 hours

Get it here: MAC Cosmetics Malaysia, RM106

10. Palladio Eye Primer

Finally, we have an amazing drugstore option that gets the job done at only a fraction of the cost of most eyeshadow primers. Besides being gluten-free, this eyeshadow primer by Palladio contains soothing botanical extracts and Vitamins A, C and E to nourish the skin while keeping your eye makeup intact for hours!

Why we love it:
  • Very affordable
  • Glides on like silk
  • Contains skincare ingredients to hydrate the skin for a radiant finish

Get it here: Guardian or Hermo, RM28.20

Need help removing all of that waterproof makeup at the end of the day? Check out our favourite cleansing oils for all skin types here!