September 16, 2011

Are You Tubin’ it or Bottling it?

Urban Decay Primer Potion….the holiest of holy grail primers in my books. You can try and tell me Too Faced has your primer business but for me it’s all about the UDPP.

Although the genie bottle packaging isn’t quite everyone’s cuppa. And I’ve nearly sliced a finger or two off trying to get the last of the primer out of the bottle, in the end, I realized it wasn’t worth it.

When it was released in a tube I think the world stopped. A tube? Really? This was the packaging we needed, we wanted, we had to have…this was nirvana….

But…

Jump!

I purchased a tube and was very happy with it but realized it had a six month use up period…I couldn’t get through it. Particularly because it was the major size, like major size. Prior to the six month period I noticed the formula got super hard to squeeze out of the tube and morphed slightly…

Not good.

Tossed it!

I purchased a second tube, smaller size….this formula was crap-tastic. I literally stopped using it after a week. I find that Primer Potion is thinner in the genie bottle versus the thickness of the smaller tube. I dunno maybe I sound odd but the smaller tube versus the larger tube versus the genie bottle…each formula was different….my main beef with the smaller tube was it reminded me of Shadow Insurance (which I hate) but didn’t have separating issues like Shadow Insurance. Secondly, my shadow was NOT bulletproof…I experienced a quite a bit of creasing with this “new” formula.

Moral of the story?

I bottle it.

No more tubin’ for me.

Thank GOD, Urban Decay still kept the original package. I hope they continue to do so. For me, it’s worth the hassle of using the genie bottle.

Do you tube it?

Or bottle it?

Did you feel the smaller tubes had a bit of a different formula compared to genie bottles?

Share it!

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

  • Laci

    Personally I use the NARS primer. It just works so much better on my oily lids than UD. I still have a tube of UD (the huge pro-size one), but I hardly ever reach for it. It creases like crazy on me when I’m using higher end shadows, but not when I’m using UD shadows. So that’s pretty much the only time I ever actually use the UD primer any more. :/

  • Laura

    I like both smash box eye primer and the new Benefit stay don’t stray – because of the sponge applicator. And because they both are wet to dry formulas.

    I do not like too faced primer it was wet and goopy and seperated.

  • Danielle

    I stopped using UDPP after I read your review of the NYX HD primer, I couldn’t resist the huge price difference and haven’t looked back!

      • Melissa

        I’m on bored with the NYX primer too. I think its nearly as good as udpp in a bottle. I also agree the tubes suck. Sin is my favorite and the small tube one I got ended up with a lump of hard stuff in the middle about 3 weeks after I opened it.

  • SUSAN

    Couldn’t agree more! The shadow insurance does suck…and UD’s primer potion…the inconsistency is pushing me away – though I’ve always thought it was overrated.

  • Sara

    I’ve still got my original bottle of UDPP in Sin that I purchased almost two years ago. Or has it been two? Anyway, I’ve removed that inner ring to finish getting globs out. There has been creasing with my shadows, but that’s probably got more to do with putting moisturizer on my eyelids than anything else. But they’ve been so dry and ouchie! Luckily UDPP+ all those fancy new makeups (muff aqua iners, channel’s cream ombre thingies, armani’s eyes to kill intense, etc..) keep things in line. And I’ve got two mini bottles of original UDPP from palette purchases waiting for me when this bottle of Sin is gone. It’s nice not having to buy primer. :p

  • kimkats

    I prefer the SI, myself… It *does* tend to separate, which annoys the crap out of me, but I was so peeved at the idiotic design of the UDPP genie bottle, and how much of it was wasted that I refused to buy it after I used up the one I had. I will not perform surgery on my products just to make sure I get all of it out of a stupidly designed package. I’ve read a couple of times that the formula in the tube is not the same, and there isn’t any reason it couldn’t be… so… P on Urban Decay, I say! 😀

    just my 2� worth…

  • Courtney

    I have the huge tube of UDPP and I’m halfway through and can’t get any of it out of the tube b/c it’s so thick that it clogged up. I need to pitch it but I’m so irrated about it that I haven’t yet. I also have the genie bottle. I agree that the formula is SOOOOOOO much better in the bottle but I hate the applicator. Just can’t win!

  • SJG

    I use the Mary Kay eye shadow primer. It is way better than UDPP, and comes in a tube.

  • kiwikiwidragon

    i have had success with UD and TF and I have had fail with both. KVD shadows crease on me with both primers and the KVD primer too! For me it depends on the day, the shadows, and maybe the TM I used that day.

  • Regina

    I too had to pitch my large UDPP tube and was livid. I’ve found the ELF $1 primer to work just as well and never creases

  • Hannah

    I’m probably alone on this but I just find that UDPP is really hard to blend eyeshadows over than my other primers (ELF and Too Faced).

  • Candace

    I am so in agreement that the UDPP tubes suck big time. I had the professional size and every week it kept getting harder and harder to squeeze out. I threw it away and bought the smaller tube. I find that this just doesn’t work as well as the genie bottle either. I think I may have to go back to the genie bottle, or just switch primers altogether..

    • the Muse

      PHEW I swear I think I am nuts sometimes Candace SAME issues! SAME! I’m so glad that the genie bottle is here….if they stop making it I’ll cry!

  • Lizzy

    I just use the ELF primer… I really like UDPP but on a college budget (and a minimum wage part-time job) I can’t really afford it 🙁 oh well, I guess I’ll wait till I graduate and get a real job!

    • Tammie

      I have UDPP and ELF primer and honestly I like the ELF one just as good, if not more…just save yourself the dough and buy more eyeshadow with the rest 😉

  • Jeanne

    My Professional UDPP Tube burst at the seam when I was desperately trying to squeeze out more product so I have switched to the NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base 🙂

  • Amy

    I got the huge tube and ha the same problem with it being thick. If fact, I squeezed so hard it came bursting out the other end! I got the small tube and it was just fine. I compared it to my sister’s old genie bottle and it was the same. I had some separation issues at first but that went away after the first couple of days. I think the wand stirs things up to prevent that.
    I kinda like the tube. Cleaner. I had to throw out my last genie bottle a few months ago because I came down with pink eye. Won’t ever have to do that with a tube!

  • MC

    I am so happy to know I am not crazy thinking that the formula in the tube is different from the bottle! Like since getting the tube, it seems like UDPP Original Formula gets all creasy and doesn’t do as much…luckily I had a bottle of Eden lying around.

  • Cheryl

    Thanks for this! Now i know that i don’t need to shell out money for the tube format when my bottles run out! I have udpp original and sin; they work great for me. Sometimes i also use mac paint pots as primer.

  • Stacey

    I was just thinking this the other day! I had a mini UDPP genie bottle in the original and like it a lot. I wanted to try the NYX HD primer because it was so much cheaper so I bought that and liked it just as much. But I used the NYX all up, and had a gift card and bought the UDPP in the tube. The tube stuff is not the same! the NYX is sooooo much better than the UDPP in a tube. I thought I was crazy thinking the genie bottle was different than the tube, but it is! I’m buying more NYX HD. Maybe 2 or 3. 2 of the Nyx is still cheaper than UD. 🙂

  • Cindy Smith

    I LOVE my Too Faced primer so much more! I get the older ones from ACW that comes in various colors.

  • tiny

    Udpp stopped working for my and my oily lids.. Now I’m all about either Benefit stay don’t stray *loooove* or my good ol’ painterly paint pot by mac *hellllllooooooo holy grail!*

  • courtney

    I am so glad I”m not the only one who had problems with the pro size tube! I love UDPP for a prestige product but that tube just dried out to unuseable so fast. I currently use the genie bottle in eden and love it! I’m a bottle girl from now on too!

    As a side note, I also try to stick to a budget when I can and interchange my UDPP with lower end primers. I’ve found that the following work just as well as UDPP: ELF, NYX HD, palladio, and even l’oreal decrease works well for me. I also like TFSI as well.

  • Katie

    I have UDPP in the tube. I agree, it is thicker than when it was in the original bottle and doesn’t go on nearly as well. I’ve only had my tube a few weeks and it hasn’t changed yet overall, but squeezing it out takes some effort.
    Would you know a good substitute primer for the color Sin? I’m on a college budget and it was a splurge, so if this doesn’t work out I’m not sure what to use.

    • the Muse

      mmm not for sin katie…sorry hun but for UDPP try out $8 NYX HD primer that’s good stuff ;D

  • TokyoChel

    I’ve never gotten around to trying UDPP, but that is so strange that they made diff formulas for diff containers? Wierd.
    I use NYX primer in white (which I LOVE) and sometimes Benefit Stay Don’t Stray. But like some other people have been saying, it really seems to depend on the day, the weather, the eyeshadow,etc whether I get perfect results or not.

  • Quinctia

    Hmm…I have so much PP in a bottle, I don’t know when I’d ever get the chance to switch packaging types as it is! I had a backup original, then I bought Sin, then I bought Greed, and I usually use the shimmery ones. I’ve got two or three mini tubes hanging around from palettes, and that’s AFTER giving one to my sister.

    I have noticed with their complexion primers, there’s a bit of a trick to squeezing it out of the tube since it’s awfully stiff, so if the eyeshadow PP is in a similar tube AND gets continuously thicker, I can understand the issue.

  • Marina

    YES! This happened to me too! I got the professional size tube as a gift and only started using it a few months ago…within a month it was thick and hard to apply…And even though I want to keep using it, I just keep turning to my little trial size bottle that I have….

  • theRothstanator

    I thought that I was the only one and that I was crazy! It totally is thinner in the bottle and I liked the applicator. I have the tube in Eden and it is thicker but it hasn’t clogged or anything yet. My shadow does seem to crease a bit more with the one from the tube. I also don’t like the cap on the tube, it seems like it doesn’t give a tight enough seal. I think that they might be getting rid of the bottles 🙁 They still have them in some older sets, though.

  • Mara

    I have a bottle of it from like 2-3 yrs ago, lol. I hardly wear makeup but when I do and I put on shadow I always put this on!