The Best Setting Powder of 2024!
Yes! We’re going to give you the ins and outs of setting your face for a long-lasting flawless finish. From budget-buys to the best-rated, we’ve done the research and found the best setting powders on the market right now!
Our top 3 picks
Top 7 Picks!
1. Laura Mercier Translucent Setting powder
The Laura Mercier Translucent Setting powder is arguably the most bought, most worn setting powder in the last decade. It’s everyone’s go-to for a reason.
Read moreIt’s a lightweight, fine loose powder that blends effortlessly into the skin, setting makeup for up to 16 hours of flawless wear.
It’s an award-winning product known to give you a mattified, smooth face without any of the flashback. It reduces shine and absorbs excess oil throughout the day to keep you dry, and in place all day.
Translucent is perfect for fair to medium skin tones and their adjusted Translucent Medium Deep is for medium to deep skin tones.
2. Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder
The Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder is an ultra-refined loose powder designed to give the skin a natural-looking, flawless finish.
Read moreIt’s non-drying and suitable for all skin types, including dry skin. It’s finely milled, made to fill in fine lines, wrinkles and pores. It has a blurring effect to give an unbelievably smooth finish with every use.
3. Tarte Smooth Operator Finishing Powder
Tarte’s Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder is a translucent powder that will reduce pores and imperfections while keeping your makeup in place.
Read moreContinued use of this product on oily skin can help minimize the production of excess oils. Many women using this product claimed that this setting powder improved the wear time of their makeup as well as normalized excess oil production.
4. Maybelline New York Fit Me Loose Finishing Powder
One of our favorite budget buys is the Maybelline New York Fit Me Loose Finishing Powder.
Read moreThis is a mineral-based formula that controls shine and oil throughout the day while smoothing skin texture and imperfections.
It’s a pigmented powder, meaning it will give you an extra source of coverage on top of your foundation.
5. Dermablend Loose Setting Powder
The Dermablend Loose Setting Powder is known for its longevity. It claims to have 16-hours of smudge and transfer-resistant wear as well as the ability to mattify your complexion.
Read moreIt’s translucent which means it has no pigment in it, so it can be used on all skin colors and types. It’s a micronized powder that can be used for baking, setting, and finishing.
The unique twist on Dermablend as a brand is that it’s a dermatologist-recommended coverage brand!
6. Tarte Shape Tape Setting Powder
The Tarte Shape Tape Setting Powder is a vegan, fine powder that’s meant to blue, bake and set your makeup.
Read moreThis formula leaves your skin looking radiant while blurring fine lines and minimizing imperfections. It does not leave a white cast and prevents flashback in photos. It also includes a puff for on-the-go touch-ups.
7. Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Setting Powder
Fenty Beauty by Rihanna introduced their Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Setting Powder which is a superfine, weightless, loose powder.
Read moreIt comes in eight sheer shades that will extend your makeup wear while adding an extra layer of coverage to your foundation.
This powder will melt into your skin, letting you bake, set, and brighten without flashback or caking. It reduces shine without taking away your skin's radiance and glow.
Frequently Asked Questions
q: How Do You Use Setting Powder?
Setting powder is a versatile and sometimes vital makeup product. It’s usually a fine powder that’s either loose or pressed into a compact. There are a few ways of incorporating it into your makeup routine, so let’s go over a few common methods.
The first method is simply applying setting powder over your entire face base to lock in the cream products and avoid caking, oiliness and also to reduce the appearance of pores. With a big fluffy brush, dip into your desired powder and brush it over your entire face.
Baking, in this context, does not require an oven or a whisk. Baking is the act of applying a generous amount of setting powder to the places of your face that tend to crease up or cake throughout the day.
These areas include under your eyes, around your nose, corners of your mouth, etc. With a damp beauty sponge, pick up a good amount of product and pat it into your skin. Don’t panic if you’re looking like Casper the ghost at this point.
Leave the product to sit while you finish your eye makeup, and any other step in your beauty routine. In the end, simply brush away the excess product for flawless, porcelain-looking skin.
Did you know that you can mix your setting powder with your foundation? You can! If you have very oily skin that tends to break apart your foundation, or if you’re looking for an extra full coverage base, this trick might be your holy grail.
Foundations can contain a lot of oil, so mixing a tiny bit of setting powder into your foundation can help to stop that oil from breaking apart as the day goes on. If you’re using a pigmented setting powder, this will enhance the coverage of your usual foundation.
Lastly, setting powder is a great product to keep with you on the go. If you break a sweat, or if your makeup is simply feeling a little gross mid-day, grab your setting powder and refresh your face. It’ll remove any oil buildup and smooth out those creases.
q: Setting Powder Versus Setting Spray
Setting powder and setting spray can work in very similar ways. Essentially, both are supposed to keep your makeup in place and looking like it did when you first applied it.
Setting sprays can be waterproof which are a great option for rainy days, beach or pool dates, or to keep your makeup on through a good workout. Setting spray is a good option for anyone with dry skin, as setting powders can make already dry skin look flakey and cakey.
Setting powder is great for touch-ups, oily skin and to set your cream products so that they don’t shift and move with the moisture on your skin.
q: When Should I Apply Setting Powder?
You can use setting powder at different steps throughout your makeup routine. Some people claim that a dusting of setting powder after your primer will give you a long-lasting, smooth foundation all day long. This isn’t recommended for anyone with dry skin.
You can also, as mentioned, mix some powder into your foundation to increase the coverage and counteract the oils present in the product itself. And, most commonly, you can apply your setting powder at the very end of your makeup routine to keep everything in its place.
Celebrity style guide Writers
