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

The gurus are split. 5 of the 8 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 2 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 67%.

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

e.l.f. Power Grip Primer holds a Guru Score of 67%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 8 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

e.l.f.

e.l.f. Power Grip Primer.

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Primer

About this product

A sticky, grippy face primer from e.l.f. that contains niacinamide and is designed to help makeup grip the skin and last longer.

Full ingredients

Water (Aqua), Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, PEG-150 Distearate, Polysorbate 80, Niacinamide, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Water, Melissa Officinalis Flower/Leaf/Stem Water, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Water, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Menthol, Pentylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol, PEG-240/Hdi Copolymer Bis-Decyltetradeceth-20 Ether, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Trideceth-9, Blue 1 (Ci 42090), Yellow 5 (Ci 19140)

Guru Score

67%

Mixed

8 experts · Strong agreement

What the gurus are saying

Its sticky, grippy texture is the detail experts keep coming back to, and most of those who weighed in speak well of it. Start with the smallest amount, press it in, and let it set about 30 seconds before foundation. Not everyone agrees, though. A couple of experts raised concerns: it might not mix well with some moisturizers containing dimethicone, a silicone, and foundation wore less well over the day on primed skin.

Synthesized from 8 expert reviews · most recent take August 2026

What they liked

Requires only a tiny amount per application
Hydrating despite the sticky finish
Smooths textured or dehydrated patches

What they flagged

May clash with dimethicone-based moisturisers

Type

PrimerGel

Key actives

Vitamin C Niacinamide Hyaluronic acid

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Ulta → Amazon → Google →

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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.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

James Welsh

1.58M subs

~Yay

"The Power Grip Primer is considered a dupe of Milk's Primer."

Dr. Sam Ellis

898k subs

~Yay

"My go-to is from E.L.F. This is their Power Grip Primer. It's quite sticky when you first take it out of the tube, and you just need the smallest amount. [...] I will just press it with my fingertips into the areas around my nose, my mid cheek, forehead, chin. I will let that set for about 30 seconds or so, and then I'm ready to go in with foundation."

Top Pick: go-to primer

Alexandra Anele

1.44M subs

~Nay

"The combination of one of the cones and the e.l.f. Power Grip Primer to me sounds like a bad combo. It feels like that's where we're going wrong. [...] I would suggest is trying to skip the e.l.f. Power Grip Primer in this situation and see if that does something. [...] The combination of the e.l.f. Power Grip Primer and the dimethicone in the moisturizer to me it just feels like those might be clashing. They might not be working together very easily."

Allie Glines

829k subs

~Yay

"I'm not usually a primer gal but this is the one primer I feel like actually does something for my makeup. I like how it grips your makeup but is also hydrating. This makes my foundation last so long and I find it works well with so many products."

All 4 takes from Allie Glines

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"I'm going to add a little bit of the Power Grip Primer, this is the one with niacinamide from e.l.f. Just a tiny little bit of this in the areas that I want a little bit more staying power, which for me is right here on the nose, smile lines, chin, and right here in the center of the face right between my brows. I just kind of press that in and let that dry while I prep the foundation."

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"I'm going to go in with the e.l.f. Power Grip Primer. This one has niacinamide in it, it has a nice grippy texture, it's very comfortable on the skin even though it kind of looks intimidating. I like to focus this on like the T-Zone, that's where I like to have the most smoothing and grip, and also on my nose. I feel like makeup comes off my nose really quickly, so I'm just going to apply this all over."

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"For primer we're going to go into the e.l.f. Power Grip Primer. This one has the niacinamide in it. I'm just going to smooth this through the T-zone and then drag the excess all over the rest of the face."

Dimma Umeh

542k subs

~Yay

"She got me the elf Power Grip Primer"

Dr Dray

2.69M subs

~Mixed

"It's one of those super hyped like it appears in a lot of people's favorites types videos and you I have to wonder is it as good as people claim. Let me know it's only five bucks but that's a pretty small little tube like how much of it are you ending up using, I guess not much."

HotandFlashy

1.23M subs

~Nay

"The primer itself feels dry and set after 30 seconds, but it's not doing anything for my pores although I don't think that it says it's pore minimizing. However, at the end of the day it failed because this side looks oilier and the foundation is all gathered up here by the side of my nose, so it's slid around more over here compared to the side without the primer, which means the foundation wore better without it."

Robert Welsh

1.11M subs

~Yay

"I absolutely despise e.l.f. as a brand, but what e.l.f. did do is make something their own. They took the Gripy primer concept and made it their own, and now everyone knows that the e.l.f. Gripy primer exists and it's a great alternative for whatever."

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All 9 takes from Robert Welsh

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"So if you're dry in some areas, or you're extra porous on the skin, or perhaps makeup tends to cling in between your brows, something like a sticky primer is really, really good because it creates that layer on your skin that's a little bit tacky and gives your foundation something else to stick to rather than your skin. This is actually a slightly thinner formula, so on those days when you want to wear a fuller coverage foundation, something like the e.l.f one's really good."

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"I like it as a primer and the setting spray, too. I would still use a powder with it for those areas that need fixing. But I would just use it as the same thing, the primer and the setting spray. Drench your face in it when you're using it as a primer and tap tap tap into the skin until you get that sticky feeling."

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"This is the e.l.f. Power Grip Primer. I love this. I love this. And I've said before, I prefer it to its competition. [...] I think there's a temptation to go in with loads of primer, especially for those people dripping it around the face. You just want, like, one pump. Okay, maybe two. Very sticky, a little tiny, tiny, tiny bit. And then just gradually smooth it out very slowly, blend it outwards a tiny, tiny bit."

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"I like e.l.f.'s grip primer over the Milk one."

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"Obviously it does go up. You know the old pumpy toothpastes? [...] And how they push themselves up as they empty? That's what this product does. So it does push itself up, and it's actually a good thing, because it makes sure it's squeezing and pushing up all the product. If it was just a long tube in a tub, sometimes you miss out on some product at the bottom, or you have to open it up and try to scoop it out. [...] It does pump up, it [...] absolutely does go up, and it travels up as you pump."

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"The reason I really like this one, the reason I really rely on this is because of the texture of my skin. My skin is oily but with a dehydrated texture, so I'm very very greasy but also around my nose here very dry, very flaky. Sometimes this primer really gives me that. To be honest with you, I don't even use it for the tackiness, it's the texture it leaves my skin. It's the way it leaves the surface of the skin that's incredible. It has that perfect amount of bounce."

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"E.L.F. duped in a way that made their dupes their own iconic products, like their sticky primers. It's a dupe of Milk Makeup, but E.L.F. did one of the best sticky primers. They duped in a way that wasn't a direct copy, you knew what the product was and what it was going to give, and it got to a point where people would recommend the dupe over the original. They did it very very well and it didn't feel like it was invading the space of the other brand."

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