Review: Jesse's Girl Eyeshadow Transformer

A while back I posted a Wednesday Question where I asked you, my wonderful readers, to tell me about your favorite budget-friendly eyeshadow primer. I received a ton of fantastic responses, and I actually took one dear reader's advice, who swears by Jesse's Girl Eyeshadow Transformer. (FYI, the most popular budget-friendly concealer amongst my readers is definitely the e.l.f. Mineral Primer, which I recently received and will review shortly!)

But for now, let's look at the Jesse's Girl Eyeshadow Tranformer, which I purchased at Rite-Aid for $5.99 (you can also purchase it directly from the Jesse's Girl Website for the same price).

Now I don't know about you, but when I see the word "tranformer" I instantly think about a product that takes a powder eyeshadow and turns it into a liquid liner (a mixing medium). You can definitely use this product in that way, and it even comes with a fine point brush on one end (perfect for lining eyes), and a larger brush (about the size of a lipgloss brush) on the other end.

The fine brush

The larger brush

So how does this work as an eyeshadow base? Very well, if you know how to use it. First let me say that this is a clear liquid. So if you accidentally turn the opening upside down, it will spill out. Also, since this is a liquid and not a cream, you need to apply it sparingly, and you need to wait until it is dry before you attempt to apply your eyeshadow.

I tested this with two shades from my Coastal Scents palette. I deliberately chose the least pigmented shadows from this palette so that you could see what the Jesse's Girl Eyeshadow Transformer can really do.

Now be warned: This swatch on the left is what happens if you do not let the Eyeshadow Transformer dry completely before you apply your eyeshadow:

Left: Coastal Scents shadow with Eyeshadow Transformer underneath. Right: Coastal Scents shadow alone.

Gah! It's a mess! I told you, you need to let this product dry completely before you even think about putting on your eyeshadow. But I do want you to notice how much more intense the color is--it's like night and day, right? I picked the least pigmented shadow I could find in my palette, and in the pic without the primer, I used a lot of shadow on my hand yet the pigmentation is still very weak. But when I put it on over the Eyeshadow Transformer, it truly transformed that shadow into an intense and vibrant color.

So now let's take a look at how eyeshadow looks when applied after the Eyeshadow Transformer has fully dried:

Left: Coastal Scents shadow with Eyeshadow Transformer underneath. Right: Coastal Scents shadow alone.

Aaaah, now that's more like it! What a difference some drying time can make! Again, I deliberately chose an eyeshadow that had weak pigmentation so that you could really see how intense and vibrant it can be when you use the Eyeshadow Tranformer underneath.

So what about staying power? Ladies, this stuff isn't going anywhere. My Coastal Scents shadows last a good seven hours on my lids before I even start to see some fading, and even then, the fading is very minimal.

So how would this work on a daily basis? It depends. It takes a while to dry on my lids, and sometimes I've found that even when you think it's dry, it's not. So you're taking a gamble if you start to apply your eyeshadow--if you think it's dry and it isn't, you risk a streaky mess. I had to remove all of my makeup and start again once when I misjudged the dryness.

All in all, for $5.99 at your local Rite-Aid, I think Jesse's Girl Tranformer would make a great addition to your eye primer arsenal, because it's got multiple uses. If you like to use loose pigments as eyeliner, this would be fantastic for that. And if you have the patience to work with this as an eye primer, the results can be fantastic. Just be absolutely certain your lids are completely dry before you apply your shadow.

Do you own Jesse's Girl Eyeshadow Tranformer? I'd love to hear your thoughts.