For years, I had a holy grail drugstore grip primer that I’ve praised to everyone who’d listen: the e.l.f. Power Grip Primer. I’ve emptied many a tube, being my go-to when I needed my look to last through anything. It was one of the first drugstore grippy primers that went viral, and even when other brands released their own versions, I stayed loyal to the OG.
With that said, my skin has been changing since I hit my 30s, and a lot of my old favorites aren’t quite cutting it for me anymore— including Power Grip— which inspired me to branch out and see if there was a better match for me. For two weeks, I tested three other different drugstore grip primers against my old fave to find out which one is the best for me now.
Keep reading to find out which is my new favorite, plus ratings of each one based on Grip, Glow, Skin Feel and Wear Time.
To ensure a fair test, I used the exact same makeup to test all primers:
I used the about face Curtain Call Powder in Veil in my t-zone (forehead, nose, and chin) but skipped setting spray so that I could really get a feel for the wear time of each primer.
The Ex-Holy Grail: e.l.f. Power Grip Primer
My former favorite, the e.l.f. Power Grip Primer is now $11 (up from $10) and is non-comedogenic, fragrance-free, vegan and cruelty free. It features hyaluronic acid and niacinamide for a hydrating feel. I also find it to minimize the appearance of my pores and texture, though due to the heavier formula it can crease in my expression lines.
Grip: 5/5This is the stickiest primer out of the four I tested. You can definitely feel the tackiness as you move your face. Because it’s so sticky, it can be a bit more difficult to blend makeup on top of.
Skin Feel: 4/5 (heavy)I’ve always said that this is a heavier primer, but it was a means to an end— even though I could feel the extra layer of product on my skin, it always made my makeup look fresh all day (until recently). It’s a thicker consistency that’s a bit tougher to spread out in an even layer, which can also contribute to patchy makeup application. After years of use, I’ve gotten the hang of it, but this is what I hear most people complaining about when it comes to this formula.
Glow: 4/5The brand advertised the glow of this primer as “dolphin skin” — it definitely gives you a slick look and the glow shows through your foundation. As someone with combo skin, the shine intensified for me throughout the day, even after powdering, though didn’t look greasy.
Wear Time: 4/5While I may have rated this a 5/5 just a few years ago, as I mentioned earlier, it’s not quite that primer for me anymore. By the end of the day, my pores and skin texture are much less blurred and my makeup starts to have a bit of a cakey appearance, even though we started out looking super smooth. I see noticeable creasing in my laugh lines, and found coverage to break down slightly on my forehead around blemishes, though overall I didn’t see a lot of fading.
I feel like this primer is still a great option for younger/smoother skin that leans more normal or dry, but at this point it’s not quite ticking the boxes for me like it used to.
Watch the video at the top of the page for a closer look at the before/after results.
Maybelline Grippy Serum Primer
This makeup skin care hybrid has been making waves on social media! The Maybelline Grippy Serum Primer is around $13 and claims to extend wear time up to 24 hours. This is a vegan, non-comedogenic hydrating formula with 2% Niacinamide that’s also fragrance-free.
Grip: 3.5/5At first, this serum applies like… well, a skin care serum. It’s slippy and easy to spread over the face, but then quickly starts drying down to a tacky feel. Since it’s easier to spread into an even layer, I find makeup to apply and blend on top really nicely. Though, I do think it makes my foundation look a bit heavier overall.
Skin Feel: 2.5/5 (light/medium)This feels pretty lightweight thanks to the thin serum consistency. I don’t need to add a ton of product to cover the face since it smooths over the face easily and evenly.
Glow: 3/5This primer adds a dewy appearance to the skin without looking straight up wet like the e.l.f. primer. I got slightly glowier by the end of the day.
Wear Time: 4/5My coverage didn’t fade at all throughout a 12-hour day over this primer. My blush, bronzer and highlight still looked strong and even. But, I did find my dry areas, acne scarring, and texture to look sort of dry/accentuated as the day went on. I had slight creasing in my laugh lines as well, but no creasing in my forehead lines.
essence Jelly Grip Hydrating Primer
This drugstore grip primer threw me for a loop. Only $5.99, the essence Jelly Grip Hydrating Primer is vegan and cruelty, and supposed to hold on to your makeup while also hydrating your skin. This one does have a fruity/perfume fragrance which I know some people won’t like, though it is on the lighter side and doesn’t irritate my sensitive, acne-prone skin. I felt like this primer offered the most smoothing effect out of all 4 in this comparison despite being a super thin formula.
Grip: 2/5While this is a grippy formula in that it makes your makeup stick, it’s only slightly tacky if we’re talking about the tactile feeling. It doesn’t feel super sticky on the skin, which I like because it’s more flexible and comfortable as I move my face. Also, it doesn’t make my foundation look heavy like stickier primers do.
Glow: 2/5This primer gives you a moisturized look that adds radiance, but doesn’t get dewy. I don’t find it to get super shiny throughout the day either, so would be the best pick for combo and oily skin faces.
Skin Feel: 1/5 (most lightweight)This is hands down the most lightweight grip primer I’ve tried ever. Not only is it super thin, but it actually feels like it sinks into the skin a bit, which means I feel the hydrating effect more than the ones that just sit on top of the skin. The texture is similar to a gel moisturizer. It spreads thoroughly and evenly, and stays feeling weightless underneath your makeup.
Wear Time: 5/5Tested for over 12 hours, I was shocked at how well this held my makeup in place despite it being the lightest (and cheapest) primer of the bunch. I don’t know why I thought that the stickier the primer, the longer my makeup would last, but this proved that theory dead wrong. I didn’t lose coverage, even over my blemishes, and the smoothing effect lasted.
This one performs way above its price tag!
Revolution Superfix Super Grip Primer
This primer was brand new to me when I started this comparison test. At $10, the Revolution Superfix Super Grip Primer formula includes Niacinamide to blur pores, Hyaluronic Acid to hydrate & Watermelon extract to brighten your complexion. It’s non-comedogenic, cruelty free and vegan. This is the other of the two primers on this list that is fragranced, and this one is a bit stronger than the essence. Again, it didn’t affect my skin but it’s a watch-out for sensitive skin (and noses). While I see some smoothing with this formula, it doesn’t outperform essence.
Grip: 3.5/5This one comes right under e.l.f. in terms of grippiness. It doesn’t quite feel as sticky, but the tackiness is noticeable as you apply makeup over it. I did find it more difficult to blend makeup on top of this primer, in fact at some point I lost spreadability and would need to add more product to cover my face. This resulted in an overall heavier look and feel to my look.
Glow: 4/5If you’re looking for a dewy finish, this primer delivers. Even after powdering, you could definitely see strong radiance come through, and the shine gets stronger throughout the day even through powder.
Skin Feel: 3/5 (medium)We’re getting back into that thicker territory with this primer. It does spread well, but the overall feel is heavier than both the essence and Maybelline primers, though lighter than e.l.f.
Wear Time: 4/5After 11 hours, my makeup still looked even and smooth, with the coverage intact even over my texture. There was only minimal creasing in my laugh lines and none in my forehead lines, with only slight breakdown over my active blemishes.
After testing these four drugstore grip primers over the course of two weeks, the essence Jelly Grip Hydrating Primer definitely came out on top as my new go-to favorite. Not only is it incredibly lightweight and comfortable to wear, but it kept my makeup looking fresh the longest. While I’m not a huge fan of the fragrance, the pros outweigh the cons for me.
If you absolutely cannot handle fragranced makeup, my second pick would be the Maybelline Grippy Serum, though I’d recommend a good moisturizer underneath if you deal with textured skin.
Have you tried any of these grip primers, or do you have another favorite?
– Miranda
