Does This TikTok-Famous Primer Live Up To The Hype? An Investigation.

There are a lot of really good, really affordable beauty products out there. However, not all of them can say they boast over 27,000 reviews online, but e.l.f.'s Poreless Putty Primer can.

The innovative makeup primer launched back in late 2018 but is hotter than ever thanks to a meteoric rise on TikTok. As a self-proclaimed beauty sleuth (and full-time journalist), I was highly skeptical of the buzzy product at first. I have very oily skin β€” the kind that even the most grippy, mattifying primers concede to. As such, I was cautiously optimistic that a hydrating priming balm would work for me. (Best case scenario: I look dewy all day long. Worst case: My face becomes a Slip-'N-Slide.) But casting these fears aside, I took the plunge and decided to test it out myself.

e.l.f. Poreless Putty Primer, $8.50

E.l.f's primer is translucent pale pink in the jar but goes on invisible once you blend it out. I found the texture of e.l.f's product very velvety and hydrating. (It contains squalane, a favorite ingredient for quenching parched skin.) I'm sure this is a game-changer if your foundation or concealer has the tendency to settle into lines or enhance dry patches.

E.l.f's primer is translucent pale pink in the jar but goes on invisible once you blend it out. I found the texture of e.l.f's product very velvety and hydrating. (It contains squalane, a favorite ingredient for quenching parched skin.) I'm sure this is a game-changer if your foundation or concealer has the tendency to settle into lines or enhance dry patches.

One callout on the packaging: It's not particularly friendly for long-nailed folks, so I recommend using a tiny spatula (like ones that sometimes are included with moisturizer) to scoop out the product. This is probably a good thing to do even if you have short nails since it can minimize bacteria transferring from hands into the jar.