February 1, 2013

the Balm Put a Lid On It Review & Swatches

This was provided to me by a brand for review but all opinions expressed are my own

the Balm Put a Lid On It Eyelid Primer

For its few venture into the eyeshadow primer world the Balm done good with their new Put a Lid On It Primer ($18, 0.4oz). This little primer took a second to grow on me but now I’m pretty sure I love it.

Fond fans of Too Faced Shadow Insurance will love this one.

Take a peek!

So I don’t like Too Faced Shadow Insurance. I’m waiting for everyone to boo me and throw tomatoes at me for saying that. Sorry, I just get this greasy separated feeling from it….I like the density of Urban Decay Primer Potion much better or at least I did until they changed the formula.

the Balm Put a Lid On It

Now the Balm Put a Lid On It ventures into the realms of Too Faced’s own primer a little bit but it doesn’t have the separation issue to contend with, PHEW! YES!

This is a thick almost vaseline-like texture with a creamy, hydrating feel. Not exactly what you want from an eyeshadow primer right? No worries, although it slips and slides around your lid as you apply it has a smooth, satiny dry down that’s almost matte-like in finish for shadows to adhere too.

Surprised? Me too. The creamy texture is highly misleading. It has a slight silicone feel as I apply but the dry down is where the magic happens. Although I was uncomfortable applying it on my lids I’m fine with it after it sets. It only takes 5 or so seconds for it to completely set and get ready for shadow.

The product has a knack for wrapping my entire lid in a weightless film so my shadow isn’t actually touching my skin but merely laying on top of the second “skin” created by the primer. This basically leads to a smooth, crease-free shadow wear all day. With this in place I can get anywhere from 8 to 12 hours of crease-free eyeshadow wear.

Now…take note…I think it works best with powders as I tried it with creams and only experienced about six hours of wear before I saw some creasing action.

If you’re a powder user and have issues with shadows fading, creasing, and happen to be a fan of Too Faced Shadow Insurance, I think you’ll get on just fine with the Balm’s new Put a Lid On It Eyelid Primer.

the Balm Put a Lid On It Swatches

the Balm Put a Lid On It Eyeshadow Primer Swatches

Nice stuff!

It’ll be available this month from thebalm.com A few folks probably already got it as it was available as a special preview from Bircbox. If you tried it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

This was provided to me by a brand for review but all opinions expressed are my own

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Jennifer Frank-Lopez

    I actually recieved a sample of Put A Lid On It in my Jan. Birchbox. I love it. It made my eyeshadow last longer and the shadows look more pigmented. Just a side note but Haute Look has some theBalm cosmetics on sale right now. I just got Mary-Lou Manizer for $12!!! By far my most favorite theBalm product. But the sale is only on until Monday 2/4.

    • the Muse

      me too jennifer! what sort of skin tone? any oily lids or dry ones? curious minds. yeah I got the email but didn’t indulge was being good ;D

    • the Muse

      UGH every single time I get it in a kit it’s always separated…is it a fluke!? 😀

      • Cj

        Hmm maybe buy it seperately? Maybe they cheap out on the ones in kits or something lol

          • Jade

            My Too Faced Shadow Insurance was separated in the tube when I first used it, but some serious shaking sorted that! Now I never have to shake the tube at all when I use it. I think I’ll try Put a Lid On It when my Shadow Insurance runs out, as I don’t totally love it. I find it can be hard to blend shadows on top of TFSI, and sometimes my shadows still crease slightly (though a thin line on my lid is better than the migrating I get without a primer!).

          • Maggie

            I also had this issue with TFSI–separates on me too (a brand new tube that I bought separately too!). Definitely not just a fluke and not repurchasing.

  • OrangeLipstickBlog

    I use UDPP. I got the TF Shadow Insurance in the Return of Sexy palette and had to return the whole thing because it made angry red, itchy places pop up all over my lids. Not sure if it was the primer or shadows but I’m never trying it again! So sad.

  • Sylvia

    New to the blog. This is my first post, so I am super excited. I LOVE your blog. It is very informative and through. I actually own the Urban Decay and the Too Faced. I have oily lids and an oily skin. I live in a very humid climate, which sucks for me because it is very hard to keep my make-up on. UD doesn’t work well for me. Only Shadow Insurence and only for a couple of hours. Do you think that “Put a lid” will work on my lids?

    • the Muse

      Hi syliva thanks so much for posting today!!!!!!!! It’s great to meet you. I really appreciate you taking time out to say hey. No, actually, read through the comments, someone said their oily lids didn’t survive through it. I have drier lids and loved it but seems it might be a little too rich for oily lids maybe? I’d keep my eyes on the comments and see who else joins in the chat as you can ready through and see how someone (without drier eyes like me) likes it ;-D so far we got one person saying they have oily lids and didn’t like it. Hope this helps. I LOVE Mally’s primer actually, just as an extra recommendation, and think it would be suitable for oily lids you can find my thoughts here https://www.musingsofamuse.com/2012/06/mally-beauty-evercolor-shadow-extender-review-swatches.html

      • Sylvia

        Thanks muse!!! I think you just saved my wallet a couple of bucks, since I love The Balm and would have probably gone for it.

    • Shayne A

      Sylvia, I have super oily lids, and this primer works like a dream for me. It’s the best primer I’ve used in a long time.

    • dtan0914

      My friends with oily lids are fans of either Too Faced or NARS’s eyeshadow primers, so since you’ve used the Too Faced one I’d recommend the NARS! 🙂

  • Meghan

    I want to try this! I love The Balm and I’m in the market for a new primer anyway. I’ll be keeping my eye out for this! Great review!

  • susan

    Competely agree! Too faced shadow insurance is SOOOOO overrated; don’t really like UD either. Might need to try this though…

    • the Muse

      susan did you like ud before? I loved it but the formula seems to have changed!

  • Rachael

    I think I may be crazy. I got the UD Smoked Palette and was drying to try UDPP. Never tried it before. I’ve used it twice now, yuck. I feel like when I use it and then apply shadow on top of it (powder) it like gets stuck and doesn’t apply evenly. Is this normal? Haha! Soooo new to the Primer scene obv. I just want to put something down to minimize that gross crease line I get! HELP! <33

  • Simone

    The Balms packaging is so cute! I love the picture on the box. Gave me a good Lol

    The texture of that looks so interesting. I’m gonna pick up the WnW primer though, I’ve heard good things, and at a WnW price, I can’t NOT give it a go!

  • Sarah S.

    TFSI works great for me some days and poorly other days… I completely know what you mean about it having a separation issue. I miss old UDPP, too!

  • Shayne A

    Musey!!! Much love to you, my friend!!
    You know my thoughts on this primer. It is the best primer I have tried in a long time, and I have super oily lids. I used it the other day with my Fyrinnae “Shenanigans” eye shadow, and it really held onto the color & finish of this shadow all day. No fading, no creasing, no “crusting”, nothing but gorgeous color. Once this primer dries down, it also does a great job of concealing any redness, veins or blotchiness. I’ve even worn it alone with mascara & it looks fresh. I can’t recommend this enough!

  • MMM

    I also sampled this in my birchbox, and I love it. I was skeptical because of the texture but it does what it says. I have only use the Urban decay one. My lids are normal? not oily and not dry. I also have a dark skin tone and it dries clear.

  • Katie

    No tomato throwing from me…..I don’t like TFSI either – it never seemed to work for me.

  • Danii

    I adore my UDPP! I still have it in the old packaging, the genie bottle, and have to finish it off. I did notice a slight change between the “bottled” stuff and the tube (I received a sample when they did that HUGE sample giveaway with orders around Xmas) but it still keeps my eyeshadow looking beautiful until I rub my eyes and ruin everything. I haven’t tried shadow insurance, only swatched the candlelight version but I do have the Glitter Glue version! It sadly leaves a weird cracked texture on the lids when applying SUPER glittery eyeshadows but works charmingly well with cosmetic glitter.

  • Iris

    Cool. I usually wear powder eyeshadows more than cream. I’ll be definitely giving this a try. Thanks for the review!

  • Emilee

    I got this in my Birchbox too- when I finish the sample I am DEFINITELY buying the full size. I was shocked after a long long day of work that my eyeshadow was still perfect at 9:00 PM. I’m glad you like it too!

  • Danielle

    I’m glad you posted that about Too Faced because lately I’m having major creasing issues with it! UDPP is okay, but doesn’t really work too well anymore. I’m using MUFE eye primer, but it’s difficult to get out of the tube. Grr…. I hate having oily lids!!

  • lily

    Ohhhh I cant wait to get this! I’m a HUGE TheBalm fan and am beyond mad that my local free standing Sephora stopped carrying the line. And I’m even more mad that sephora.com is now only carrying a few of their products. Here are some TheBalm products I have or had and used up: 4 eyeshadow/face palettes, lipgloss, lipstick, their 2 diff. concealers, mascara, tinted moisturizer, eye cream, face scrub, single shadows, their 2 bronzers and highlighter. There might be something I missed…but I basically tried pretty much the whole TheBalm line. I LOVE Too Faced Shadow Insurance, its the only primer I have. I’ve never owned other primers but I have tried deluxe samples of at least 4 others and like Too faced the best. I knead the tube before I squeeze out any product and that way it never comes out seperated. And I always squeeze from the bottom of the tube, like toothpaste and that helps a lot too. Thanks for the swatches!

  • Jeri

    I didn’t care for it. I didn’t like the greasy feeling it left my lids after application, as well as the wait for it to dry. My favorite primer is Benefit Stay Don’t Stray.

    • the Muse

      aw sorry jeri! It def def feels greasy at first, give it another try though, it has a great dry down…! 😀 I love Stay don’t Stray too! ;-D and Lemon Aid OMG can’t live without Lemon Aid 😀

  • Libby61

    I have probably tried every eyeshadow primer Sephora sells. Definately all the ones mentioned in the prior comments.I am 52 and have oily eye lids and the only one that works for me is the Nars eyeshadow primer.It works with powder or cream shadows. It also works the longest-lets say twelve hours, if not longer. Love!

  • Btaylor

    Hey Muse! I am curious if you have a primer suggestion for very oily lids. I have tried UDPP, Lorac, Benefit, and Shadow Insurance. Within an hour I have creasing. So frustrating! I have also tried the Nars primer and think it works well, however, it’s such a terrible value. Anything you know of that works similarly and is a better value, either less expensive or more product for the price. Thanks for your help!