Bare Escentuals Prime Time Eyelid Primer

The entire name of this product is Bare Escentuals bareVitamins Prime Time Eyelid Primer. That is a huge mouthful. Turns out the name of this primer isn’t the only thing that is going to make me go WTF.

Anyway, what is it? According to Sephora it is “an oil-free, fragrance-free way to maximize the color and extend the wear” of your BE shadows. It’s supposedly formulated specifically to work with BE’s loose mineral eyeshadows. I have no idea if there’s anything earth-shattering in the formula, but here are the ingredients:


Isododecane, Barium Sulfate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Glyceryl Triethylhexanoate, Polyethylene, Trihydroxystearin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, VP/Eicosene Copolymer, Propylene Carbonate, Dimethicone, Beeswax (Cera Alba), PEG-40 Stearate, Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vitamin C), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163)


So as I copied and pasted that list of ingredients, something jumped out at me. Barium sulfate. Sephora makes a huge deal of this being free of sulfates, parabens, pthalates, dyes, and fragrance. But uh, the second ingredient…kinda says sulfate. So I am really confused. I did a little googling to research the ingredient because the only use I’d ever heard of barium sulfate is in a “barium milkshake”, which is an easy way of describing the radiocontrast material they make you drink when they are trying to x-ray your GI tract. Apparently it is also used in paint as a filler to modify consistency, so I’m going to guess the consistency is why it is in this primer. But regardless, I don’t see anything anywhere about “oh it’s called sulfate but it’s not really a sulfate” so I still ask Bare Escentuals– WTF? Don’t get me wrong. I am not anti-sulfate. But I am very much anti-confusing product information. My brain can’t handle this crap, Sephora!


As you may have gathered this is available at Sephora. There it is .05 oz for $16. I would imagine this is also carried anywhere else BE products are sold (BE, Ulta, ??). When I compare that to $18 for .34 oz of Urban Decay Primer Potion or .35 oz of Too Faced Shadow Insurance, I can’t help but feel like BE is jipping us a little. Ironically, UDPP and Shadow Insurance are actually sulfate free but they don’t go around advertising it like BE does. Again, WTF?


Anyway, the primer itself is very similar to UDPP or TFSI– creamy, silky, a sheer nude shade. Much like the others it requires just a little drop applied in a sheer layer to the lid. BE claims this will not only extend the wear of your shadows, but it will maximize color payoff. That is where this product really does not live up to its claims. I noticed considerable fading of my eyeshadow colors after what can be considered very normal activities (just ran to the drugstore, hung around the house, etc.). In the spirit of full disclosure I did not actually test it with BE shadows, but I don’t own any. I wore shadows by TheBalm as they are very pigmented and I knew if I got poor color payoff it would not be because of them!


As far as creasing goes, I did have a slight amount after about 4 hours, but it’s not really all that noticeable unless you are staring at the eyelids looking for it. After 6-8 hours there was more pronounced creasing, but again not terrible at all. I have oily eyelids. If you have relatively dry eyelids you may not experience any creasing at all.

You can see the smallest hint of a crease beginning to form across my lid. By the way I wasn’t wearing any other makeup besides eyeshadow, which is why my brows are a hot mess lol. The shadow is Insane Jane by TheBalm from their Shady Lady Volume 2 palette.



However. I can’t really say I recommend this product. At least not at full price. If you’re going to shell out $16 for this primer I feel you should just chip in the extra $2 and spring for UDPP or TFSI. They’re much better products for much better value. However, if you can get this at a discount from a site like Rock The Catwalk, it’s not a bad deal and worth checking out.



Sample provided for review consideration.