Review: Benefit Stay Don't Stray Eyeshadow and Concealer Primer

Here's a review on Benefit Stay Don't Stray Concealer and Eyeshadow Primer

PRICE: P1,400.00

PLACE BOUGHT: Free

OTHER LOCATIONS: Benefit, Greenbelt 5, Makati City

THE VERDICT:

Face Primers are very essential to me because I have combination skin, and it gets extra oily if the weather is very humid. A face primer not only benefits gals with oily skin, but also benefits gals with any skin type because it keeps makeup from going astray, and it makes colors appear more vibrant and truer.

I've been a witness to the powers of a face primer, especially an eye primer. An eye primer is one of my staples because it tames my oily lids, and makes eyeshadows last all day on me. I don't wear eyeshadows on a daily basis, but I find them very handy in giving my look that extra 'oomph' during events and special occasions. Since eyeshadows can't keep up with me, I rely on an eye primer to make them do so.

Speaking of eye primers, here's one from Benefit. Stay Don't Stray is a 360- degree eye primer that keeps your eyeshadows and concealers from going astray. It's best for gals with oily lids because it's formulated sans oil ingredients.

Ingredients

It conveniently comes in a pump bottle, although I wish the pump were more controllable, as I always end up pumping out too much product.

Stay Don't Stray has a strong yellow undertone which is very convenient in brightening tired- looking eyes and concealing redness. I find that the shade is pretty universal, and methinks it will look well on fair, medium (represent!), and dark ladies. It has a thick foundation- like texture, and yields an opaque coverage. The consistency of the product is one of a kind--I find that it becomes solid when it's completely dry. I wasn't particularly impressed by it as an eyeshadow primer, but I find that it does an awesome job in concealing other skin boo boos. I will tell you why as you move on.

With Benefit Stay Don't Stray

After 8 hours

My eyeshadows have creased, and the colors have faded. It's either my lids and the primer aren't responding well to each other, or my lids are REALLY oily. I'm better off with silicone- based eye primers like Kryolan and Urban Decay.

But I find that it does an amazing job if used as a concealer. It practically conceals redness and under eye circles, and brightens sallow eyes. Whenever I am in a hurry, and have no time to do my makeup, I reach for this.

USED AS A CONCEALER

Bare under eye

I applied small dots of the product around my eye area, and blended it using my fingers. I find that this application technique is very effective in controlling the product's coverage. If you put too much of it, you'll have a hard time blending it seamlessly and evenly. Just use it sparingly. After all, you don't need a lot to cover a small part of your face.

With Benefit Stay Don't Stray

And the reason why I love it so much is because it can completely conceal minor and severe skin marks. I've been dealing with a couple of post- acne marks lately, and sometimes, concealers aren't enough to cover them. The difference between a regular concealer and Stay Don't Stray is consistency. If you will recall, I've mentioned that Stay Don't Stray has a special texture--it's creamy and spreadable at first, but if you leave it to dry for a few minutes, it becomes solid, and no ma, the product won't budge. You can't even blend it again! So my advice, make sure you blend Stay Don't Stray evenly and properly before leaving it to set, or else you'll end up with flaky- looking eyes.

USED AS A SPOT CONCEALER

My left cheek. Sadness!

With Benefit Stay Don't Stray

After applying Stay Don't Stray, I top it off with liquid foundation and powder, and voila! The marks are already out of sight. My problem with concealer is that sometimes, it gets erased when I layer another product on it, and the marks still have a tendency to project through it. With Stay Don't Stray, I don't experience these troubles any longer. In fact, this product even lets me wear any shade of blush without the risk of enhancing those pesky marks!

Other concerns: The ingredients tend to separate from each other, so make sure you shake this thoroughly before usage.

If you're looking for an eyeshadow primer, I will recommend something else, unless you have normal skin, or you don't have excessively oily lids like me, as this product does an okay job as an eyeshadow primer. But if you want something that will really go tough on your skin marks, get this!