I recently stopped into an East Village boutique specializing in beauty products imported from Korea and Japan, where I admired an endless variety of “sheet masks” and “cushion compacts” and “baby foot” treatments. I’m still not much of a risk-taker when it comes to skincare, however, so I didn’t pick anything up to purchase.

Just as I was about leave, however, I spied this item from Canmake. I’ve been using eye primer for a long time, and it really is an essential for me. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion has been my go-to eye choice for over a decade, but my current tube is nearly empty. I recently experimented with Two-Faced Shadow Insurance, but it often creased by the end of the day… so I decided to give Canmake Lasting Multi Eye Base WP a try.

Canmake is a Japanese drugstore cosmetics line known for its effective formulas. The packaging for Lasting Multi Eye Base WP is basic but cute, even if I can’t read most of the text. The product itself looks like white paste, and it seems very thick, yet it warms up on skin and can be easily spread and blended. A pinhead-sized dab is enough for both eyelids.

This visual from the Canmake website gives you an idea of the product’s claims. It’s meant to anchor and intensify eyeshadow, eyeliner, eyebrow pencil or brow powder, and it’s waterproof to boot.

Does it keep my eyeshadow in place without creasing all day? Yes. And does it amplify the color itself! Yes, surprisingly. I don’t know exactly how or why, but it does. As an example, one of my Laura Mercier eyeshadows usually applies as a shimmery champagne shade on my eyelids; worn over this primer, it transforms into rose-gold.

(I can’t really attest to this product’s waterproof powers, since I didn’t swim or go out in heavy rain this week. Actually, I never swim. But that’s irrelevant.)

Lasting Multi Eye Base WP costs $12 in the East Village, much less than Urban Decay or Two Faced primers, both of which retail for $20 — and it’s better. I’d even make the trip back to the EV to repurchase. I’m sorry, Urban Decay…!

Product source: I purchased this product at Ichimi Cosme (320 E 9th St, New York, NY 10003).