e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer: a Guru Score of 79%

What the experts use it for.

The concerns the experts tie this product to, in their own words. Paid and founder takes don't count.

Excess oil and shine2 experts

“It's super affordable and perfect for controlling oil and creating a smooth matte base.”

Robert Welsh, watch at 52:28

Clogged or visible pores1 expert

“It also smooths the pores.”

Allie Glines, watch at 5:20

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

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Abbey Yung

888k subs

✓Yay

"But she's okay with that [...] because of how well it works. It plays nicely with makeup layered on top without causing streaking or peeling, and it really helps with all day makeup wear and preventing skin from looking oily. If there's a foundation she loves except for how oily her skin looks wearing it by the end of the day, she can layer this underneath before applying it [...] and it prevents that. If you deal with similar issues and want a drugstore solution, she highly recommends this one."

Allie Glines

829k subs

✓Yay

"I'm still very much loving my e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer, but technically that was a favorite from last year, so I wanted to make sure to include things that I tried this year and really fell in love with."

All 6 takes from Allie Glines

THE BEST DRUGSTORE MAKEUP 2024!! 😍

"I'm still very much loving my e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer, but technically that was a favorite from last year, so I wanted to make sure to include things that I tried this year and really fell in love with."

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"Mindy said, "Truly the best primer that makes you look so smooth. Texture, smile lines, and fine wrinkles around my eyes." She wore this on her wedding day, [...] and it did not disappoint. [...] Leah said, "I have combination oily skin, and this primer blurs my pores and gives me such a good base for all-day wear. There are times when I do my makeup at 8:00 a.m. and can't take it off until 2:00 a.m., about 18 hours."

The NEW e.l.f. LIQUID Putty Primer 🙉 Is it different?

"I love how this works. I feel like it really does smooth the pores out, and you can even see compared to those two, my pores look less visible on this side, which is really nice. I'm going to take that through the entire T-Zone, and we'll go through the forehead as well. [...] Honestly, I feel like this one feels lightweight to me. [...] I'm not really sure how much to use, so I'm just going to use about a pea-sized amount. [...] It feels like a lotion and it's blending out really nicely."

Trying ALL Drugstore ALLURE WINNERS 2023..

"I personally love this stuff. This is the e.l.f. Liquid Wood Poreless Pore Primer, and I think it's so good, so I was happy to see that it won an award. What's cool about this one is they have a Steals category for drugstore, more affordable products, but then they obviously have other categories for just eyes, just face, just lips. This one won overall for drugstore and high-end best matte primer, so that's exciting."

Makeup YOU Said You'll NEVER Buy Again..

"I'm not gonna lie, this next product stings a little. You'll see why as soon as I hold it up. People don't like this one, and I took it personally. [...] But again, it's a foundation. How on earth is it supposed to work for everybody? It just won't, you know."

The Makeup I'm Thankful For This Year

"For everyday but also for more glam looks, which I love, so I'm going to go ahead and layer this up on the top lashes only for now. Well, I have some tragic news: I cannot find my e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer. That's what I wanted to use today, and it's nowhere to be found. So here it is, an honorary thankful for primer. I just love that it's affordable, and it grips foundation so beautifully. It also smooths the pores. It's so beautiful. I'm so sad I cannot find it for the life of me."

Robert Welsh

1.11M subs

✓Yay

"My first go to product is the Elf Matte Putty Primer. It's super affordable and perfect for controlling oil and creating a smooth matte base."

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All 5 takes from Robert Welsh

I Asked 16 PRO MUA'S The Same Makeup Questions | Pro’s answer most asked makeup questions

"My first go to product is the Elf Matte Putty Primer. It's super affordable and perfect for controlling oil and creating a smooth matte base."

Are We Still Doing This In 2024? | Pro MUA reacts to Makeup hacks

"It shouldn't be wet with water. It should be not even damp, borderline dry. You just want your sponge to be bigger, to have that bounce, and there's going to be some moisture in it, which helps stop absorption off product. That's why you shouldn't have a soaking wet Beauty Blender. It should be touch dry, but big and puffy. Before I do anything, I prep my skin with all my skincare. I then put on the e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer"

ASK ME ANYTHING | Live Q&A

"If you've used something like the e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer and haven't had luck with them, [...] just give them another go. [...] Pore filling primers or smoothing primers, [...] a lot of them you'll find are very silicone-y and slippery. They don't do much. Products like the e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer, you almost want to use them like a putty, you know what I mean? You want to push them into those areas that are porous, because you don't want to rub it up and down."

THE WORST MAKEUP FAILS! Pro MUA Reacts

"On me, my skin is very oily and I don't like anything too heavy. This feels really weightless. It's just a beautiful lightweight texture. There's no fragrance in it. [...] Even after a light layer of foundation, you can still see that glow that was there before. Even in the areas on my skin that are more my trouble areas like around the nose that tend to be dehydrated and grip to foundation and make it all look crusty, everything has gone on completely smooth."

Would You Steam Your Makeup?! Pro MUA Reacts To TikTok Hacks!

"The E.L.F. Poreless Putty Primer [...] is made to help smooth out skin texture, pores, and things like that. What she does is warm up the product, which is a great thing to do with makeup and foundation. [...] When you're rolling and pressing, you're pushing that product onto the skin, keeping it in place, and therefore achieving a more smoother look on the skin, on the nose, any larger pores. It's a really really good technique."

HotandFlashy

1.23M subs

✓Yay

"It's this Elf Matte Putty Primer. [...] I picked up a little set that had three different Elf putty primers in them, and I just popped this one on my lid one day to try it and oh my gosh, if it didn't make the most fantastic eyelid primer. This one is white but it doesn't really look white on your eyelid, but it does start to color correct your eyelid a little bit. This is much less grippy, so it gives you a much smoother blend on your eyeshadow. But it keeps it from settling in your crease."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Frequently asked.

What is e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer?

A putty-textured face primer designed to smooth skin texture, blur pores, and create a matte base while controlling oil.

Is e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer worth it?

Yes. All 4 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 79%.

What is e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer's Guru Score?

e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer holds a Guru Score of 79%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 4 expert reviewers we have collected.

Who is e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer best for?

e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer is generally suited to oily skin and acne-prone skin.

What is e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer good for, according to the experts?

In their reviews, experts say e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer is good for excess oil and shine (2 experts) and clogged or visible pores (1 expert).

Is e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer good for excess oil and shine?

2 experts who reviewed e.l.f. Power Grip Matte Primer say it is. Robert Welsh put it this way: “It's super affordable and perfect for controlling oil and creating a smooth matte base.”