Hit List: Best Finishing Powder
What’s the Best Finishing Powder…?
What brand/products win this category? What makes it so great?
Thanks to Johnny for today’s topic!
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65 Comments
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best one I’ve tried is the MUFE HD
I loved that powder until I realised it was just 100% silica, so now I refuse to buy it for that price.
Yep, I won’t pay for it either. Which is why I spent about $6 for a pound of silica and mix it with silk as a finishing powder. Looks uh-maze-ing. Alas, my skin is quite dry and the silica sucks up any leftover moisture so I have to be careful with it.
where do you buy the silica?
Same here, so I now use the Coastal Scents silica spheres, which are like $4 for twice as much as the MUFE HD. Does a pretty good job soaking up the oil from my t-zone and gives a nice finished look!
May sound strange, but I use just a very, very light dusting of Johnson & Johnson plain old-fashioned baby powder; I put enough on that you can see it with a cotton ball, then brush it off. There is no color & it soaks up moisture & oil without showing or clumping, it does not dry out my skin, it is reasonably priced, etc., etc..
Try it ~ you’ll like it!
Guerlain Illuminating and Mattifying! 🙂
Sorme Mineral Secrets Finishing Powder in Sheer Translucent
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Deep Dark
Maybelline Dream Matte, hands down. It’s the only one that looks natural and controls oil without being cakey. I absolutely love it
It’s too bad that there’s such a limited range of shades for this product. The lightest one made me look sickly and grey. 🙁
I had the exact same problem… 🙁 So now I use the Chanel loose powder (AAAHMAZING!!)
I love it!
The lightest shade matches me perfectly, too bad that the darker shades aren’t as yellow-toned as that one…
XOXO
laura mercier and mufe hd
Those were also my two lol
we are awesome!
YSL Semi Loose Powder!
I love 3 finishing powders:
– Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – MAC
– HD Microfinish Powder – Make up for Ever
– Météorites Powder For The Face – Guerlain (this one has a wonderful scent too).
agreed with the MSFN and MUFE HD! (never tried the 3rd!)
MUFE HD
I used to like MAC MSF natural, but then I started using MAC Studio Careblend. It’s awesome! Much more natural finish, less powdery, and I find it doesn’t get cakey throughout the day.
Awesome, going to have to try that! I use MSFN right now but it turns orange throughout the day I feel like LOL
I feel likee mine looks orange throughout the day too! I’ve stopped using it since I bought the MAC Studio Fix Powder, it’s amazing!
Coty Airspun… CHEAP CHEAP but surprisingly awesome! Some people don’t like the smell of it but to me it smells like roses…very vintage. Also digging, MAC Studio Careblend and NARS loose powder. I use different powders based on the foundation I use that day. LOL!
Hi, I’m torn between Mac studio careblend and Nars loose powder. What’s the difference between the two?
Tarte Smooth Operator Finishing Powder.
AMAZING!!!! I have tried everything, from Drustore to expensive stuff and my make-up would cake, my face was an oil slick, nothing helped. This stuff is white and gives you a frosted glass appearance when you first put it on, but it quickly blends into your skin and at MOST you will have a healthy glow at the end of the day….no more shine….seriously guys it’s that good.
My skin improved using this, since I was always blotting or wiping away the oil…the is my HG. Worth every penny….did I say AMAZING???!!!
I like MAC Prep + Prime Translucent powder with MAC MSF Natural buffed over top with a 182 kabuki brush.
My exact combo…except i use MSF Natural in Medium Deep!
Oh these are my 2 favs but I never tried them together. What’s the benefit of layering over one another?
Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil
I also am still with BE Mineral Veil and want them to come out with a matte MV. Tarte Smooth Operator as well as their new Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder has my votes too.
I really like Le Metier de Beaute’s Classic Flawless Finish Loose Powder. I love the finish!
Mac Blot Powder, the palest one
I am a fan of Cargo Blu-Ray powder. I usually only need a dusting of it in the afternoon. I wear MUFE HD liquid foundation so I don’t really need the powder in the morning.
I actually like them all – MAC Prep&Prime, TF Primed and Poreless (coming close to being my favourite), MUFE HD and CoverFX Setting Powder. All are loose (though I’m interested in MAC’s new pressed Prep&Prime powder) and I do find they fly all over the place as they’re so finely milled so I now use a velour puff to apply them and then dust them around with a brush. I’ve also got MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural and Blot but I’m not sure if they “count” as finishing powders.
NARS loose powder and MAC studio care blend.
What’s the difference between the two? I’m planning to buy one that can control my oiliness.
Meow Cosmetics’ Top Cat! I need the *tiniest* amount (the $1 sample baggie lasts me more than a month), and it keeps my makeup looking fresh, and my oiliness at bay, for most of the day (considering how oily I am, this is no mean feat!). Definite HG.
Gosh Pressed Powder. A make up artist was doing my sister’s prom look, and at the moment she used this, I was not looking. After 20 seconds, I look at my sister and her complexion is drastically changed, it looked dreamy. I immediately bought it, and for a year now, it is my most precious make up product. It does not make me oily throughout the day, it makes my pores (around my nose) absolutely invisible, and my face skin looks like photoshoppped 😀
Laura Mercier loose translucent is my fav
MUFE HD!
MAC Prep+Prime Transparent finishing powder. It works even on dark skin tones without being ashy, although I do add a little MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Dark to add a little sparkle!
Depending on the weather, I alternate between MAC Studio Careblend, an oil-control pressed powder from Camera Ready Cosmetics’ product line, or a Frankenpowder (a mixture of crushed UD De-Slick, TF Primed & Poreless Powder, & Pretty-n-Pink Complexion Enhancer from Terra Firma Cosmetics).
MAC Prep & Prime Pressed Powder
Sadly, La Mer. It’s fantastic but I still hate paying so much for it. It’s much finer than Laura Mercier’s but somehow manages to make my skin look poreless and add just a bit of color and coverage. I’ve used Crema 01 for years and I can’t live without it now.
Allison raffaelle translucent finishing powder is my fav. Found it last year and haven’t looked back. Unless…Tom ford comes out with an amazing one!
MUFE HD Microfinish Powder
Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian clay finishing powder in translucent and bronze. I use the translucent one with a tiny bit of bronze added. For deeper complexions, I use varying amounts until I have them matching tone about right. Even the bronze has that translucent “lit from within” look. I like it because it doesn’t take the skin all the way matte – it leaves a glow – but it also doesn’t let my face get surfably oily. It’s really good and I recommend it highly.
Coty Airspun in the one without mineral oil is the bomb! If you’d like to wait until the Smooth Operator goes on sale again, it’s a good option to have. I can’t mix it, though, so I stick to Tarte.
I liked ELF’s HD Powder, but the packaging is insanely messy! My day-to-day setting powder is Rimmel Stay Matte in Translucent, though I don’t think that qualifies as a finishing powder…
The ELF Translucent Loose Powder! Super cheap and yet super amazing.
SUPER agree! I love how much product you get and how smooth it makes the skin feel.
There’s a few good finishing powders but I would have to say CHANEL Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder is my favorite hands down.
I’ve been using Clinique’s Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder Oil-Free, works wonders 🙂
MAC Prep + Prime Translucent powder or MAC Set Powder in Transluscent(Pro only).
I love MAC MSFN, MAC translucent loose powder (and now in the compact form, fantastic for travel!), and MUFE HD.
There are a few that I really like. I’m finding it hard to choose between them. My favourites are MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder and Chanel Natural Finish Loose Powder.
I usually use my BareMinerals Golden Medium foudation as my loose finishing powder. Its completely yellow toned, so it gives me this flawless finish that I absolutely love. And it photographs so well!
I really love the ELF Studio HD Finishing Powder. It’s translucent and gets the job done for $6!
Ugh I can’t figure out how to use it without getting powder absolutely anywhere. Any tips??
Diorskin nude loose powder
TF Candlelight translucent =]
Kudos to M·A·C for their finishing powder! ♥
I use M·A·C Invisible Set as my daily finishing powder (because its ability to set makeup for hours & stay matte) and Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder for more soft-focused & natural glow finish (I prefer using this powder for photography than Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder which oxidize on me!)
*BTW, for a superb oil-control, I recommend the #1 best selling Japanese brand loose powder (that was actually created for ballerina), Chacott Finishing Powder.
The second best oil-controlling finishing powder is a tie between M·A·C Invisible Set & Clarins Loose Powder. The reason I prefer M·A·C is because it’s cheaper than Clarins and even though my skin is extremely oily, but sometimes I can be really prone to eczema & dehydrated (maybe due to all of those mattifier product I had on) and Chacott can be really drying.
NARS and Anna Sui
I think you´re talking about loose powder.I used many,but I use a few years ago the finishing powder of Dermablend(Vichy).I´ll try to explain.The powder has not colour at all.This powder was to be used after the corrector of Dermablend.You put the powder and then,after a few minutes,you teke away the excess,using a powder brush.So your colour of foundation does not change,and you don´t wear too much powder.
I’ve been using Black Opal’s Oil Absorbing Invisible Pressed Powder, and I love it for my combo/oily skin. It is white in the pan, but it really does buff in invisibly on my NC50 skin. I can use it heavily, and once it mixes with my foundation and facial oils, it sets to the most beautiful semi-matte finish. It definitely does it’s job at blocking oil. Whenever I wear it, my makeup looks fresh all day, with no touch ups! This is a keeper for me! =)