One of my favorite aspects of setting powder is how smooth and velvety they can make the skin look! Since I’m indoors and at home most of the day, prolonged wear isn’t a major concern for me personally, but it is nice to have something that CAN extend wear when I do need it!
— Christine
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I have oily skin, so setting powder is a necessity for me.
Raves: It keeps my makeup from melting off, and makes my skin appear more matte. It give skin a nice, even, smooth appearance, and makes blending out contour, blush, etc. powders over it much easier.
Rants: When it gets cakey over oily areas, such as around the nose. Sometimes it can look too powdery and make skin appear dry. I hate that so many have strong scents added, because I can’t use them.
My love and hate are pretty much the same…. powders that are stellar and work with my skin make it look so smooth and wonderful. But ones that do not work with my skin make it look cakey and hot garbage.
“hot garbage” lol I hear ya!
I love the way setting powder sets my foundation into place and gives me a beautiful, matte look. I also love how setting powder gives my face a nice, smooth surface for easy blending of powder blush.
I really don’t have anything negative to say about my two favorite setting powders: Laura Mercier Translucent Powder and RCMA No Color Powder. It’s all good. But thinking about the powders I’ve used in the past that I didn’t like…
I don’t like the way some setting powders can look cakey. And I can’t stand the way some of them sort of fly up into a big, powdery cloud when you open the lid. Lol
As you, I love how smooth and velvety they make the skin, but also how lightweight they are.
But I hate how messy they are when I use them. Since loose powder is… loose, I’ll always waste some product during application and it’s so easy to spill product when you’re not too careful. I feel I get less waste and money value from pressed powder.
I have quite a love affair with finishing powder!! I have so many that I really love and yet just purchased two more recently, the Viseart and a light Guerlain foundation which is light enough in color and texture for me to use as a finishing powder that imparts a little bit of coverage. I use Guerlain Meteorites most days just because I love the finish and the slight ethereal glow it imparts to my skin. And I love the scent which I know dates me. If the powders are finely milled, lean translucent or white and does not displace my base when I am buffing them on, then I love them.
My only negative is if the powder is too heavy and makes me look cakey. But isn’t that why I also love face mists, LOL!!
Rave: I love that airbrushed, perfected effect it has….on others. Loved it on myself until a few years ago.
Rant: Unless one is able and willing to fork over a decent amount of coins, I just haven’t had much luck finding one that doesn’t add 10 years to my face! Not sure why, all of a sudden, they just look too dry and emphasize fine lines if I use one to set my concealer. A few readers did give me some recs for a future setting powder. I just wish there were more affordable, easier to access ones, too. Why does getting old mean having to spend more?!? ?
Have you tried RCMA No Color Powder? I use it sparingly (especially under me eyes) and it works very well for me. It’s one of the best I’ve ever used and only $12 for three ounces. But I agree that it is really hard to find a powder that works as one gets older. I keep reading that we should not use powder for mature skin, but I can’t imagine going without. I’d be shiny and melting. Ugh.
Not yet, I haven’t, Seraphine! But it sounds like it could work (hopefully better than my old favorite, Nyx HD Powder). My t-zone gets shiny because it is still quite oily. Breakout prone, too. My undereye area is changing, though. Nyx HD still looked alright in the undereye just a few years ago. And I do still love it on my stuck in adolescent oil well t-zone. Just so strange that at 59, my skin has such a ridiculous difference between the oily and dry areas of my combination skin!
Not for me RCMA in my advanced years was awful, dry and cake-y. As I have said before Sisley all the way. 🙂 xoxox
You’re not alone. I’m in my 50s with an oily T-zone and occasional breakouts. NYX HD didn’t work for me. Try the RCMA No Color…if it doesn’t work for you, not a lot of money lost*. I brush it on lightly over my foundation and it looks good for hours.
(*NYX HD is $10 for 1/4 ounce, RCMA is $12 for 3 ounces!)
I’ve never had a problem with the RCMA, but I’m very careful to not overdo it. I hope it works for you too, Nancy.
under *my* eyes
Lol
Thank you both for these suggestions, Seraphine and LindaP! I’ve made up my mind to start out with the RCMA No Color Powder first, because at $12 and higher performing than Nyx, I’m willing to give that a shot. Especially right now as I’m saving for my move across town. If the RCMA doesn’t do it for me, then on to Sisley. Which would certainly be an easier option *after* I secure a new place.
I like RCMA (for the price and texture), and Bourjois’ Java Rice Powder (isn’t bad either). However I’ve heard everyone tout Laura Mercier’s setting powder as THE best, but haven’t tried it. My staples are RCMA and MUFE. (I’m in my 50’s with lines)
I know the feeling, Nancy.
I need powder as my t-zone is an oil well. I also like how powder blurs the pores, but I can’t use any of the ones I have under the eyes anymore. A year ago I could. 🙁
I will see if I can get the Sisley, but it is painfully expensive.
Let us know when you find one you like.
Helene, that’s just it, it’s $95! Plus, I’d hate to order it and have it get lost in transit because of a probable address change. As it is, this apartment hunting has me a nervous wreck!
I’d certainly would want to test it before buying, and I’m not even sure I can get it on line. I’ve not checked it out yet. Before I moved from a bigger city to the tiny village I now live in, I could just take the subway to the one department store that carried Sisley. I do prefer living in the country, even if some brands are harder to get.
Good luck with the apartment hunting, I hope you’ll find “the one”, or at least the next best one.
Nancy, I too love and use the Nyx HD, but I use it more like a finishing powder than a setting powder. If you have easy access to CVS, Target, Walmart, etc., give the CoverGirl Advanced Radiance a go. It’s in white packaging and is pressed, not a loose powder. I’ve found that no matter how much I want a loose powder to work for me, it’s just not doing my undereye any favors. The CoverGirl is nice under eye, and gives a lovely layer of powder to help make blending other powders (blush, bronzer, etc) easier as well.
*A small edit here, as it’s not the nyx HD I currently use, but the Nyx #NoFilter Powder.
I love the effect on my still oily T zone(will be 59 in a couple months) and how it makes blending powder blush so easy. I have been using Laura Mercier for last 8 years or so and love it except for under my eyes. And I do need to set concealer. Like Nancy I am looking for something to set under eye area without aging me another 10-20 years. As far as baking….just no…worst thing I could do to under eye area.
I have oily skin and even if I’m indoors baking is a MUST for me! I mostly have a very oily T-zone, but cheeks are normal but I find I still some fading on my cheeks since I sometimes touch my face or may talk on the phone. However, I have to buy/use a different type of setting powder under my eyes Vs. the rest of my face because oddly enough that area is dry and I try to use creamy, but not too emoilent concealers to prevent any heavy creasing.
It depends on the look I’m going for, but I almost always use a setting powder. I usually go between Fashion Fair oil free pressed powder in pecan or Sascha cosmetics setting powder in translucent.
My pros are that there have been so much saturation of face powders that everyone can eventually find a powder that works for them.
My only rant for setting powder would be making sure it doesn’t leave a white cast on face since some ‘translucent’ powders are not truly translucent or can be seen in flash photography.
I love how it sets a smooth canvas for your face after foundation and as I like a semi matte effect, it makes my foundation look good. As it extends the wear time of my foundation, that’s a plus.
The only rant would be if the shade didn’t suit. But I use a translucent one by Rimmel and that’s great.
Rant and Rave:
I just can’t with setting powders–only because if I added up the amount I have spent trying to find the right one (now that I am in my late 50s)… oh boy…it would be a mortgage payment. Let’s see, over the past three years I have one success (below), but fails with all of these:
Laura Mercier
RCMA
Cover FX
Ben Nye
Charlotte Tilbury
Coty
Makeup Revolution
Bare Minerals
MAC
L’Oreal
MUFE
Each one has made my under eye area look like a crepe paper streamer. Ugh.
Then, one more time (ever the optimist), I tried Sisley Poudre Libre (Irisee 01 is my shade). I had never used a product from the line before I tried this powder, and since July 2016 it is the ONLY powder I have used without one iota of desire to try something else. I still have enough to get me to July 2018 (likely beyond) so the (steep) $95 price tag has amortized nicely (not so steep for two years and likely beyond).
I apply it via the method Wayne Goss recommends (using a velour to press and a powder brush only to sweep away excess [game changer]) and that is the ticket for me. https://youtu.be/-9lyg9DNfsY
I sweep it all together at the end with Guerlain Voyage’ Pearls of Powder Compact (bought the cheaper refill and store it in a Z palette) and it’s really, really a nice look.
The older one gets the more tricky many things become. It took me many, many disappointments to find what works for me, so I hope it helps some other beautiful woman here. xoxo
Thank you, Linda, for the powder recommendation and the Wayne Goss video link. Very helpful!
Hi Linda
Thank you for your recommendation, I too cannot find a good powder that wouldn’t make me look like a ghost and wouldn’t cake on me later on. When you reach certain age ( 51 girl here ) you realize you don’t need heighlither ( although I love it on other women ) nor a powder , I never liked Mac mineralized skin finish
I love how it sets my under-eye concealer (a must have product for me) and makes it look better and last longer.
Rave: My favorite setting powders for my dry skin are Cle de Peau’s Translucent Loose powder, Hourglass’ Ambient Light powder in Diffused Ligh,t & IT Bye Bye Pores. All smooth my pores & fine lines without looking cakey or drying my skin out. I use the IBBP mainly in the Summer when it’s humid as it seems to absorb oil a bit better than the others.
Rant: I hate heavily perfumed, chalky, flashback causing powders that overly dry my skin and look a cakey mess.
I am all rave and no rant when it comes to setting powder. I have very oily skin – I think I could end the oil shortage if companies started harvesting the amount I produce on my forehead – so I use an excessive amount of setting powder on a daily basis. My current favourite powder is the RCMA no color powder, but this is more because it’s so inexpensive and not because it’s a mind blowing product.
Like: help with keeping concealer and foundation in place
Dislike: if it’s not the just right (consistency wise), it easily makes more mature skin look older
Having on the dry/combo skin and being 54 soon in April turning 55 the two powders that have worked on me lately are Physicians Formula one that has these sort of silvery circles which quickly fade as you use I like this one in winter since it gives me a very nice soft glow and at the same time a bit of bronzer. The other one is WetnWild Dulce De Leche matte no shine just a great product and matches nicely my skin also adding a bit of color which this ghost badly needs. I have also preferred the Cover Girl loose powder over the Maybelline one. Have heard No.7/Boots makes a nice one need to try.