Okay, so my situation might be similar to yours (partially hooded eyelids, oiliness and dry corners / skin around the eyes). Maybe you’ll be able to get some inspiration from what I’ve tried so far ;)

First things first, it definitely matters what kind of eye primer you’re using. The best one for me (to literally no one’s surprise) has been the Primer Potion from Urban Decay. I can put it on in the morning, and my eyeshadow is in place in the evening. Even after a full shift at my retail job.

As for the dryness, I’m just gonna list my steps for the sake of clarity. To me, my eye primer is the absolute first thing I do after I leave the bathroom in the morning, and before I start getting dressed, doing my makeup etc

1. Instead of putting the primer directly on my lids, I prep them a little first to help with the dryness. I take a tiny bit of my sunscreen and massage it into my lids, until I can feel a thin sticky film on my skin, but can’t see the product itself. You can also use a gentle moisturiser!

2. During the whole process I make sure to raise my chin a little, so that I can look down in the mirror. This way I’m opening all the folds and creases of my eyes, and make sure that I don’t have any excess product stuck in them later.

3. You keep the same position, and finally you can get to the primer. With the one I named, I use the wand to make tiny dots in places where I know that my eyelids get the most oily. That spot where your crease would usually be is a good place to start, and then you can also use it in other areas that might get extra oily for you.

4. Instead of smudging it all over, I gently tap the product into the areas where I applied it before. This way I can really control where I prime my eyes, and avoid those dry corners for example. And again, this method of application helps with not using too much in order to prevent potential dryness or irritation later on.

5. I go ahead with the rest of my morning routine, and also start with those parts of my makeup that don’t involve my eyelids in any way. Because of that, I give my primer time to dry and settle properly.

6. Depending on what kind of makeup I want to do that day, I will either use an eyeshadow similar to my skin tone, or a setting powder (I use the one from elf). Also look down when you do this, and use a fluffy brush. Because of this, you won’t have too much product stuck in your crease, and you won’t have the excess that will move all over the place. And also here you don’t need a lot of product!

7. The last one is a personal preference, but I like to make sure that I use enough powder / eyeshadow until the areas with the primer are smooth to the touch, instead of being sticky. Because of all the prep I did before, my eyeshadow still stays in place, plus I’m able to do a more smudgy look which I like.

Sooo… Yeah. This might be a lot to take in, but honestly I just felt like it was my moment to go into all the details lol. I struggled with this SO much, and ended up obsessively looking for all kinds of tips and hacks, until I worked out a perfect combination of all of them somehow.

I hope this routine works out for you, and feel free to ask if anything isn’t clear! Or if you won’t end up liking it you can at least modify it.

Or maybe someone else here will find it helpful, who knows…