A couple months ago I decided I was fed up with looking absolutely #flawless immediately after finishing my makeup, only to have it all slide off halfway through my workday. I’ve got oily skin, and at about lunchtime, my nose and the cheek area near it would get so shiny. I’d try dabbing off the oils with my fingertips or blotting papers, but of course my makeup would come off with it.

I tried attacking this problem with primers. I tried a slew of different ones (a primer master post will be coming soon) with varying success. Sure, some kept me matte longer than others, but at some point in the day I’d start looking hella greasy which is not #thelook.

During my epic primer trials, I bought a largish assortment of e.l.f.’s highest rated products. They have some die-hard fans out there and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. So one fateful day my package arrived containing the e.l.f HD Powder in sheer.

If I remember correctly, when I bought it I was more interested in the overall look it would give my makeup. I had no idea it was going to be the cure for my oily skin BUT IT IS. After an 8-hour work day, not a single oil spot can be found. My foundation and highlight is exactly where I put it that morning. If I go out to dinner or drinks after work I may have to touch up my nose a little, but that’s it. The soft texture of the powder is still on my face when I go to wash it off that night. Basically I haven’t gone a day without it since first trying it.

Let me be clear here though—this is not making my actual skin less oily. This is not a skincare item. It’s simply doing a kick-ass job at masking my oils underneath my makeup.

How I Apply

I put this powder on after applying all my face products (e.g. foundation, highlight, blush). I use a big, fluffy brush to swirl the powder in the jar’s lid. I then tap off, blow on the brush to remove any excess and put it everywhere. I tap the product onto my chin, forehead and nose, and then use a more swiping motion on my cheeks.

Pros & Cons

• Con: This powder is chalk white. It works wonderfully for me because I’m so pale, but I can see this possibly being a problem for anyone with darker skin.
• Con: It looks powdery. It’s kinda like when you’re baking (cookies, not your concealer) and you get flour all over your face. I douse my face liberally with setting spray after I’m done powdering to make it look more dewy, and this usually works. Sometimes the tip of my nose or other parts of my face will still look powdery which sucks, but I find that my face soon starts producing oils like usual, which helps balance out the powder.
• Pro: Beyond crazy oil control, this does make your makeup look flawless. It’s wonderful to help buff out harsh contour or highlight lines. Your face becomes a wonderful blended thing of beauty.
• Pro: It comes in three shades. I’ve only tried sheer so far. Another one is corrective yellow (an attempted Ben Nye Banana Powder dupe to be sure), while the third is shimmer. I just ordered the shimmer shade because pink and sparkles, so I’m excited to play around with that one, and update you all.

Final Thoughts

Back to primers, I have found the HD powder works best with the e.l.f. mineral infused face primer and the e.l.f. makeup mist & set spray. But honestly it always makes my skin look great. I can’t see this product leaving my daily makeup routine, like ever. I am curious to try other HD setting powders, like from Make Up For Ever or Laura Mercier but this one is $6! And it works brilliantly! There are days when my makeup looks better when I’m leaving work than when I arrived, and that’s something I thought was impossible.

Update 1/8/16

I received my elf HD powder in “shimmer” and have been using it for a few weeks. It is a pale pink shade, however I haven’t noticed any sparkle, glitter or shimmer in the powder itself. Definitely not a highlighter or illuminator in any way.

The good thing about this shade is that it does look less chalky and powdery because it’s closer to my skintone than pure white. But it’s still a light shade, so I’d imagine it’d still show up a little chalky on darker skin tones.

The formula performs the same, so next time I guess I’ll just buy whatever shade is in stock.