Fiercely primed, vibrant and spectacular eyelids this holiday season

I wouldn’t say that I’m in a makeup rut per say. After all, chocolate-coloured eyeliner seems to typically do the trick when it comes to accentuating my cat-green eyes. But as holiday parties with friends, family and coworkers begin to occupy much of my December social calendar, I’m looking to transform my usual “day at the office” look to one that screams “glamorous night on the town”! And to do that, I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and adding some colour to my eyelids with Innocence Mineral Eyeshadow.

Based on my experience however, eyeshadow has a tendency to end up on my sweater instead of my eyelids by midday. Thankfully, these Innocence Gift Sets come with a potent product perfect for ensuring that your eyeshadow is vibrant from morning to night: primer!

I introduced the importance of a face primer in the How to Get Makeup to Last all Day article earlier this year. Similarly to face primer, eye primer provides a smooth surface for makeup application and helps intensify the colour’s vibrancy on your eyelids. The colours from the Innocence line are bold, daring and fun, and provide women with the opportunity to express their style and complement their skin tone. But, eyeshadow applied alone without a primed base can seriously affect the vibrancy and adherence of the colour.

I decided to test this claim, and here are my results. I took four swatches of colour, two of which contain a primer base (#2 and #4) and two of which have no primer (#1 and #3).

1. Without primer, Midnight Stars is dull and lacklustre.
2. A primed this shade truly does sparkle in the light, standing out against my olive  complexion.

3. The lilac tones of Island Orchid are almost unrecognizable in swatch #3.
4. The colour comes to life with a primed base and would complement green eyes.

The primer in the Innocence Gift Sets is clear, gel-based and dries clear once applied. Promoting cleanliness and efficiency every time, the product includes an applicator that makes lids ready for eyeshadow. Given that primer increases colour vibrancy and helps eyeshadow stay on all day, adding primer to your application process will not only save you time throughout the day but will allow you to use less shadow per application!

Here are some quick makeup tips for this season:

*Flawless blending is the key to achieving a natural look
* Choose shadows that make your eye colour stand out and complement your skin tone
* Balance dramatic eyes with nude lips (think Angelina Jolie)
* Practice makes perfect: try a few looks several days before your event.

Looking for a gift perfect for someone – your BFF, coworkers, stylish mother or grandmother, or better yet, yourself – in your life? The Innocence Gift Sets are 50% off until December 24, 2010 and are available in cool and warm shades. Get vibrant, bold and flirtatious eyes this holiday season (and beyond).