Review: NYX Eyeshadow Base in White ESB01

I have practiced many eye makeups and never seemed to review the very most basic ingredient I used on most of my creations: The NYX Eyeshadow Base. Okay, I think it's about time.

First of all, what is an eyeshadow base? An eyeshadow base is used before applying your eyeshadow, making your eyeshadow color more vibrant.

This product is packed in a tiny transparent glass jar with white plastic cap.

The type I own is ESB01 or White.

There are three types (if I'm not mistaken). White pearl, skintone, and the basic white like the one I have. I'm also curious of purchasing the other two, especially the white pearl since it can magically change any matte eyeshadow into pearly one.

Ingredient for ESB01:

Caprylic / Capric Triglyceride, Mineral Oil / Paraffinum Liquidum / Huile Minérale, Ceresin, Isododecane, Isobutylmethacrylate , Bis-Hydroxypropyl Dimethicone Acrylate Copolymer, Isopropyl Isostearate, Petrolatum, Phenyl Trimethicone, Microcrystalline Wax/ Cera Microcristallina / Cire Microcristalline, Aluminium Starch Octenylsuccinate, Silica, Beeswax / Cera Alba / Cire d'Abeille, Phenoxyethanol. MAY CONTAIN / PEUT CONTENIR (+/-): Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Ultramarines (CI 77007).

(source)

Please note that ingredient for other type of this product may be different.

One thing I dislike is the packaging itself. It's not very hygenic. But considering the hard texture, what could be better than a jar packaging? Just becareful with your nails since some of the product might stuck on nails when you take it out with your fingers. I just can't imagine how will I take this out when it almost hit the bottom.

The texture itself is some greasy cream, but it's pretty hard, not soft.

I despise its smell btw. It reminds me of the old school cream foundation that my grandmama used to wear. If you ever known the smell of the legendary Kelly Pearl Cream, I think you can tell. Blegh...

If you don't blend it well, I can tell that this also work as white cream shadow, very similar to the famous NYX Milk Jumbo Eye Pencil. I usually just set it with white powder shadow, and it create a perfect white surface.

This is very easy to blend. However, if you don't blend it perfectly on your eyelid, the white shade might be a little too obvious. So make sure don't apply too much, and blend it evenly. This makes me want to purchase the skintone type even more.

On the picture above I use NYX single eyeshadow as an example. Those products will be reviewed soon. As you can see that the swatch with primer is far more pigmented that the original one. I have tried this eyeshadow base with many eyeshadow type and brand, from powder, loose, and cream eyeshadow, from drugstore products to high ends, and they all turned to be extremely pigmented and buttery if based with this product, just like magic.

Above picture is an example of how this product works on my eyelids. I blended it, of course, so you may not see that I was wearing a white eyeshadow base.

One thing this product lacks of is it settles into lines. If you zoom in the picture, the lines will be extremely obvious. Although after applying eyeshadow afterwards, the creases won't be too obvious anymore. Well, considering this is an eyeshadow base (not an eye primer), I think I have to accept this fact. To reduce the creasing effect, I usually put the thinnest layer and add some face primer before applying foundation or concealer. It doesn't totally vanish the creases, but at least reduce them. So the makeup sequence on my eyes will be like this:

 Face primer - foundation - concealer - face powder - eyeshadow base - eyeshadow

And as for its staying power is truly incredible for a drugstore item. My eyeshadow stay vibrant all day, the same goes with my eyeliner that didn't smudge at all. Pease remember that I have very oily lids. In short, my eyemakeup stay just the way it was when freshly applied for 8 hours.

Verdicts:

• Creamy texture
• Makes the color extremely vibrant
• Good staying power
• Tends to crease into lines
• Bad smell
• Not very hygenic packaging, but is very tiny and travel friendly
• Tends to stuck on your nails when you take the product
• How much: the official price is USD 7 or IDR 165K. But are sold in many online stores with variable prices.