The Best Eyeshadow Primers For Oily Lids

To keep your eye makeup looking fresh all day (or night) long, it’s always smart to prep your lids with an eyeshadow primer. When you have oily lids, however, you need to be a bit more discerning about the type of primer you use. Generally, the best eyeshadow primers for oily lids are waterproof or water-resistant, offer mattifying benefits (often thanks to oil-controlling silicone ingredients like dimethicone) and/or have lightweight, gel-like consistencies. That’s because even though all primers are helpful for giving your makeup something to grip onto, these particular formulations tend to be superior if you typically find that your eyeshadow has creased or disappeared only a few hours after applying it.

Apply your eyeshadow primer on dry, freshly washed skin, or if you’re time-crunched (or don’t want to get your whole face wet), you can prep your lids by gently wiping them with a cotton round soaked in micellar water. Just like when you’re using any other product around the delicate eye area, don’t aggressively pull or tug at your lids to aggressively rub the product in. Instead, use just a small amount of product and pat it carefully to blend. If you apply too much eyeshadow primer, it will mess with the integrity of your eyeshadow, so use just a tiny dab to coat your whole lid.

Below, you’ll find five eyeshadow primers that are great for oily lids, from tinted and non-tinted options to waterproof formulas and beyond. Keep scrolling to shop them all on Amazon.

1. Best Tinted Waterproof Eyeshadow Primer For Oily Lids

Laura Geller’s eyeshadow primer is available in two shades (fair/light and medium/deep), and kind of like a primer/concealer hybrid, it coats your lids in a wash of neutral color that creates an even base for your eyeshadow to glide over. The waterproof formula, which comprises good-for-skin ingredients like silicone, aloe, coconut oil, and tea tree, is incredibly long-lasting and waterproof. It can also be used under your eyes or on its own to make your eyelids look smoother and more even (a great hack for “no-makeup makeup” days).

• Available shades: 2

2. Best Tinted Drugstore Eyeshadow Primer For Oily Lids

NYX’s Ultimate Shadow & Liner Primer comes in four shades ranging from light to deep. Though the hydrating, vitamin E-infused formula is creamy, it’s not at all heavy and won’t add greasiness to already oily skin. You can also wear this alone to give your lids a subtle, natural-looking finish, and it pairs well with the brand’s beloved pore-filling blurring primer for the rest of your skin.

One Amazon reviewer wrote about the product, “I have really, really oily eyelids. This stuff makes my eyeshadow stick like glue, with no noticeable creases or wear even after 12 hours. Easily comes off with regular eye makeup remover. Has worked with all brands of eyeshadow, powder or cream.”

• Available shades: 4

3. Best Brightening Eyeshadow Primer For Oily Lids

This lightweight, transparent, best-selling primer contains silicones and oil-controlling powders like talc and clay to keep eyelids less oily and eyeshadow from sliding off. It also contains pearl powder to subtly brighten your lids, making it another excellent choice for wearing both with or without other makeup. Not only is this an amazing primer for oily, crease-prone lids, but it’s also one of the most popular eyeshadows on Amazon, with over 20,000 five-star reviews and counting (over 700 of which mention oily lids).

4. Best Water-Resistant Eyeshadow Primer For Oily Lids

Brow pro Anastasia Soare created this oil-free, travel-size eye primer for her eponymous beauty line, Anastasia Beverly Hills. This is a silicone-based formula that’s made with lightweight hydrating ingredients like glycerin, panthenol, vitamin E, and allantoin to keep your lids nourished and smooth, but not greasy. It’s another water-resistant primer that offers a light-colored base for your lids to make your eye makeup pop, and its tiny size makes it convenient for storing in a small toiletry bag.

“I love this product,” commented one Amazon reviewer, continuing, “I have oily skin and my make up always melts off my face. Especially eyeshadow it melts into the creases of my eyes it’s horrible. My make up looks good for about an hour. Well this eye primer makes my eyeshadow look amazing and lasts all day. I would recommend it.”