A possible dupe for the discontinued Wet N Wild Fergie Eyeshadow Primer? Black Radiance Eyeshadow Primer

Disclosure: Affiliate links.

When I found out that Wet N Wild was discontinuing their Fergie line, my first thought was BUT WHAT ABOUT THE EYESHADOW PRIMER? It's been my favorite for a few years now, and in all my tests it performs as well as or better than all the more expensive options I've tried: Urban Decay, Too Faced, and LORAC here, and Nars here. So despite still having half a very worn-out tube--i.e. at least 6 months' worth--of the Fergie stuff left, I panicked and bought a tube of Black Radiance Eyeshadow Primer. (This was in the short period after the Fergie stuff has disappeared but before the new Wet N Wild Photo Focus Eyeshadow Primer had appeared.) Black Radiance is owned by the same company as Wet N Wild, and so the packaging of their products is very similar, along with the price point. The ingredients of the Black Radiance primer and the Wet N Wild Fergie primer are also similar, though not identical.

Black Radiance Eyeshadow Primer:

Isododecane, Talc, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, CyclopentaSiloxane, Polyethylene, Disteardimonium Hectorite, VP, Eicosene Copolymer, Synthetic Beeswax, Propylene Carbonate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Boron Nitride, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Phenoxyethanol, Sorbic Acid, Bisabolol, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Capric Triglyceride, Caprylic, Acrylates Copolymer, Magnesium Carbonate, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Stamen Extract, Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)

Wet N Wild Fergie Eyeshadow Primer:

Isododecane, Talc, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Polyethylene, Vp/Eicosene Copolymer, Boron Nitride, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Propylene Carbonate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Synthetic Beeswax, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Methicone, Phenoxyethanol, Acrylates Copolymer, Magnesium Carbonate, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Bisabolol, Sorbic Acid, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Dimethiconol, Nelumbo Nucifera Stamen Extract, Bismuth Oxychloride/Ci 77163, Iron Oxides/Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499, Titanium Dioxide/Ci 77891 0812.

Note that there was also, I think, a pink, shimmery Fergie primer, but this is for the translucent beige version, called "For My Primas." (Yep.)

The things I'm looking for in an eyeshadow primer are as follows, in order of importance: prevents creasing on my extremely oily eyelids, intensifies pigment, and prevents fading. Ideally it will also provide a smoother surface for applying eyeshadow, but I can work around that.

So first, here is a comparison of how these two primers work to intensify eyeshadow, using a terrible CoverGirl eyeshadow single that I keep around at this point just to test primers. On the left there is a swatch with no primer, in the middle over the Black Radiance primer, and on the right over the Wet N Wild Fergie Primer.

I think the Black Radiance swatch looks slightly more intense here, but it may just be the angle. They looked about the same in person. You can see a slight whitish halo around the edges of the Fergie swatch. I'd read people who complained that the Fergie primer was too light and showed up as chalky on their eyelids. Because light beige things tend to blend in with my skin, it can be hard to tell if they are translucent or just pale, so I swatched the two primers over a black eyeliner (Urban Decay Zero): Black Radiance at the top, and Fergie on the bottom.

I used the same amount of each product, so you can clearly see that the Fergie stuff has more light pigment in it. The Black Radiance primer is also a little thicker, though, so it picked up a bit of the eyeliner when I swiped it. I haven't noticed that this difference in thickness makes it any more difficult to apply to the eyelid, by the way.

So I'd call them even in terms of intensifying eyeshadow, but the pigmentation of the two might make a difference for you: if you have light skin and prefer a translucent beige primer to even out the color of your lids, you won't get that from the Black Radiance primer--which makes sense, since this is a brand designed for black women. Personally, I am happy with the more translucent primer, because I will just use a beige eyeshadow if I want to. It's more versatile.

As for the other factors in performance, creasing and fading, the Black Radiance primer is amazing at preventing creasing. Even on my sweatiest and oiliest days, if I use this, my eyeshadow does not fucking crease at all. Most of the time the Fergie stuff doesn't crease either, but sometimes with cream eyeshadows, at the end of a long day I'll notice some mild creasing. Probably only I can see it when I wink at the mirror from 6 inches away, but still. The Black Radiance is that tiny bit more effective.

On the other hand, my eyeshadow does seem to fade more using the Black Radiance primer than the Fergie primer. The Fergie stuff keeps it at the same intensity pretty much all day, while it looks a little lackluster after a day of wear over the Black Radiance stuff.

For that last reason, the Black Radiance primer isn't a perfect replacement for the Fergie primer, but it's an excellent alternative, if you can find it. This brand is, unfortunately, not available everywhere. My local Walmart sells Black Radiance products, but not all of them do. I bought this tube from drugstore.com--and it's only $4, slightly less than the $5 Wet N Wild option.

I've heard conflicting reports of the new Wet N Wild Photo Focus primer. Supposedly it has the same ingredients as the Fergie one, and the packaging looks a lot alike, but some people report that it doesn't work as well. Others say that it is, in fact, identical. I'll probably pick up a tube when I am running low on the Fergie stuff to compare them. In the meantime, if you are desperate for another tube of the Fergie primer, you can get it for $13 on Amazon--still cheaper than Urban Decay etc.!

Have you tried the new Wet N Wild primer? I'm curious what the consensus is--if it has the same ingredients list as the old one, it should work the same, right?