Essence I Love Stage Eyeshadow Base

Since I started running low on my beloved Urban Decay Primer Potion I need to purchase a new one. While I wanted to purchase the same I thought I would try one or two from drugstore first so I bought the Essence I Love Stage eyeshadow base. I wanted to find a cheaper primer which I could easily buy at stores since E.L.F. primers are good and cheap but only available for online purchase.

The packaging is medium sized, hard plastic tube with doe-foot applicator. While I like the look of it and I find it pretty, it's definitely not the kind of packaging I would choose for such product simply before it will really hard to get every ounce of the product. I also expected for it to have more in because it is kinda bulky but it contains 0.13 fl oz/ 4 ml which is a bit less than the e.l.f primer and far less than Primer Potion which have 0.85 fl oz. The doe-foot applicator is not tiny nor huge in size and will definitely help you to get the very last ounce of product when you'll be running low on this. 

For me the most important thing about an eyeshadow primer is it's performance and not so much the packing. I mean, what I'm going to do with one which has amazing packing but poor performance? But a nice packing is definitely a bonus. So does this Essence eyeshadow base do it's job? The quick answer is yes but it's definitely not on UDPP level. 

There are two things that I want from eyeshadow primer, the first and most important is to prolong the longevity and second intensify the color payoff. While the are other ways to boost the payoff, like using another base such as NYX Jumbo pencils, there are no other ways to prolong the staying power. So in color boosting it does a fairly good job and I definitely see a difference when applying eyeshadow on top of this primer.  

While I have pretty oily eyelids, my main problem area is the inner part of the crease because that is where the eyeshadow starts creasing and fading first. This base does pretty well in helping the eyeshadow to stay in place for much longer than they would on their own but unfortunately I start noticing slight fading and creasing on that problem area that I mentioned before after around 6 hours or so. Though on someone with not so oily eyelids the base would work much better.

What I really love about Essence I Love Stage base is the super creamy texture. The consistency reminds of concealer, it is super blendable and it leaves a natural matte finish. Also is gives a bit of coverage, just enough to slightly even out the skin tone on the lids and doesn't leave that ugly white-ish color that some primer do.

All in all Essence I Love Stage is a very decent eyeshadow base and if you want something affordable for day to day use this is the primer to go. I don't remember exactly the price but it couldn't be more than 4+ euros. Have you tried this primer? Which is your current favorite eyeshadow primer?